The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day commemorating the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by the Roman army ultimately resulting in the destruction of the Holy Temple three weeks later on the 9th of Av. However, in a year like this one, when the calendar configuration results in this date coinciding with Shabbat, the fast day is deferred until Sunday, the 18th of Tammuz. (In my family this is a welcome change as the 17th is my mother’s birthday so we actually get a chance to celebrate.)
The Talmud relates a Halachic debate between the sages and Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi regarding fast days that are deferred. Rabbi Yehudah argues that once the fast is tabled because of Shabbat it should be terminated entirely (for that year). While the sages do not accept his opinion as Halacha, and indeed there is still an obligation to fast the next day (Sunday), there is still an application for Rabbi Yehudah’s argument.
The prophet Zachariah (8:19) informs that in the era of redemption the fast days will be converted to holidays. Why is this so? Because even now there are two elements to the fast days. They are days of fasting and denying ourselves so that we become more focused on the spiritual. At the same time Isaiah (58:5) calls them “days of goodwill before G-d.” In fact the fasting is merely a way for us to access “the day of goodwill” because of our state of spiritual decline in the time of exile. Were this not the case, the fasting would be unnecessary.
To take it a step further, the inner dimension of a fast day shows us how exile all together is really just a phase in the quest for redemption. Indeed when Moshiach comes we will be able to look back at our exile experience and see exactly how every aspect of it paved the way for redemption.
Now Shabbat is referred to as “a taste of the time to come” – a state of quasi-redemption. We are elevated above the mundane and not as bound to our material state as during the week. So on Shabbat we can experience the “day of goodwill” without needing the fasting. Not only do we avoid fasting, we also do not display any sadness. So we partake strictly of the “positive” element of the fast day. In a sense a fast day falling on Shabbat is also a taste of the time to come, when those days will be transformed into holidays.
This is where Rabbi Yehudah’s take is so meaningful. When the date of the fast coincides with Shabbat, and all we have is the positive and even joyful aspect of the fast day and exile, we then turn to G-d and say, since the fast day was tabled, let it be terminated, indeed even transformed into a day of joy.
G-d willing this is the year in which it takes place!
Shabbat Shalom and happy July 4th!
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin