Fast of Esther

The Fast of Esther
Drawing of the Jewish people fasting and praying following Esther's request
Official name	תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר
Type	Jewish
Significance	Commemorating the three-day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim
Observances	Fasting
Begins	13th day of Adar at dawn (if Shabbat, then 11th day of Adar at dawn)
Ends	The same day, at nightfall
Date	13 Adar
2024 date	March 21
2025 date	March 13
2026 date	March 2
2027 date	March 22
Related to	Purim

The Fast of Esther (Hebrew: תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר, romanized: Ta'anit Ester) is a fast in Judaism observed on the eve of Purim. The fast commemorates two communal fasts undertaken by the Persian Jewish community of Shushan in the Book of Esther to pray for salvation from annihilation due to an evil decree that had been instigated by Haman, the king's royal vizier, an antisemitic enemy from the Amalekite nation.

Unlike other fasts, the Fast of Esther is a Jewish custom. It is not mentioned in the Talmud, but it is mentioned in the Midrash and other later sources from the days of the Geonim. Therefore, it is considered less severe than the other fasts.^[1]

Esther asked Mordecai to have the Jews fast and pray on her behalf for three days and three nights before she approached her husband, King Ahasuerus, to beg for the life of her people. Another is presumed to have occurred on the 13th of Adar, the day before the Jews fought a battle to defend against their enemies, who had been given irrevocable permission to murder Jews for one day a year on the 14th of that month, which is now a Jewish holiday of Purim on account of their victory.^[2]

Before approaching the king unbidden at risk of her life, Esther told Mordechai:

Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.^[3]