Ta'anit


A ta'anit is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water.

Purposes

A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including:

Full fasts

A Jewish full fast lasts from sunset to darkness the following night. There are two Jewish full fast days:
The two full fast days carry four restrictions in addition to eating and drinking - one may not wash his body, wear leather shoes, use colognes, oils or perfumes, or have sexual relations. Yom Kippur also has all the restrictions of Shabbat, and Tisha B'Av has restrictions somewhat similar to a mourner sitting shiva.
The Halakha status of the two Jewish full fasts is that they are obligatory.

Minor fasts

Minor fasts are observed from dawn to nightfall, without additional restrictions. There are four public minor fasts:
Three of the four minor fasts are mentioned in the Bible as fasts in memory of the destruction of the First Temple. However, after the Second Temple was built, these fasts ceased to be observed. The Talmud establishes general rules for observance of the fasts in later periods: if the Temple stands the fasts are not observed; if the Jewish people is being persecuted the fasts are observed; if neither of those is the case, then "should they desire, they fast, should they desire not to, they do not fast." Nowadays, the Jewish people are accustomed to observing these fasts, making them obligatory.

Four fasts

There are four Jewish fast that exist, in all or in part, in commemoration of events having to do with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple:
Customary fasts are practiced by specific communities, or by especially pious individuals, or by certain classes of individuals.
Customarily, special prayers called selichot are added in the morning prayer services on many of these days.

Break the fast

A break the fast is a meal that takes places following a fast. After Yom Kippur, it is viewed as a festive meal. The tendency is to overeat after a fast, but this should be avoided. Since the digestive system slows down during fasting, heavy foods such as meat are liable to cause indigestion. Therefore, many Jews are religiously accustomed to eating dairy foods after a fast. Eating light, dairy foods in moderation is considered healthier.

Liturgy

During the four Minor Fasts a number of changes are made to the liturgy.