Fast of Gedaliah

The Fast of Gedaliah is an annual fast day immediately following Rosh Hashanah instituted by the Jewish Sages to commemorate the assassination of Gedaliah Ben Achikam, the Governor of Israel during the days of Nebuchadnetzar King of Babylon destroyer of the First Temple.

Jewish fast days are akin to animal sacrifice where the blood and the fat of the animal was sacrificed on the alter; by not eating, the fire of the body burns the flesh for nourishment–our sacrifice to God for what transpired over 2500 years ago. It is during this time we cry out to God asking, “Turn your ears, open your eyes and see our desolation.”

The Fast of Gedaliah is not for the destruction of the First Temple where the animal sacrificed brought down pillars of fire in the form of a lion, but for the way the Jewish People acted after the destruction by assassinating their own leader. Five hundred years later the Second Temple was destroyed and now after 2000 years of exile–for the first time the majority of Jewish population lives within the borders of Israel.

The Jewish People are coming home as prophesied. The Jewish People are constantly being tested and criticized for our return, not to see if we are pure, but to help us to be better.