(Jewish Group) Hillel, other Jewish groups call to dedicate a pre-Purim fast day to Ukraine

[Behind the Aegis]

Hillel and other Jewish groups call to dedicate a traditional pre-Purim fast day to Ukraine



Russia’s war on Ukraine was only a week old when Rabbi Jeremy Borovitz tweeted a bold suggestion: He called for a Jewish fast day dedicated to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Now, Borovitz is among a growing number of Jews who are planning to dedicate a traditional fast this week to Ukraine, in hopes of delivering spiritual strength to the forces defending that country from Russia.

The day before Purim is known as Ta’anit Esther, or the Fast of Esther, when many observant Jews fast from sunrise to sunset. It is an an echo of the fast that Esther, the heroine of the Purim story, asked the Jews of Shushan to observe before she petitioned the king to save them from a murderous villain intent on their destruction.

“Esther asked the people to fast because she wanted through the fasting of the Jewish people to give her strength, which is, I think, a deep idea in the Jewish tradition,” Borovitz told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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