Is fasting done as an “obedience thing” or are you purifying yourself before seeking God? Is it something totally different?

One interesting purpose for fasting is to act as whether we are offering ourselves as a sacrifice in atonement for our misdeeds. It’s similar to the notion you suggested about purifying yourself. When we fast, we deny our body one of its prime resources – food, the fuel that keeps our blood flowing. An fundamental portion of an animal sacrifice is the offering of the blood and fats. The Talmud (Berachos 17a) says that, after a fast, Rabbi Shaishes would entreat the Almighty, “…It should be Your will that my fats and my blood that have been diminished should be the equivalent of an offering before You on the altar…”

Here are some other reasons for fasting:

– Fasting breeds humility. When we deny ourselves even a small amount of food we experience weakness – evidence of our vulnerability and mortality.
– It’s an expression of our self-control – a sign

of our inner strength to overcome the natural drive to consume. Such strength helps us relate better to the Almighty (who is All – Mighty, infinitely strong), and so our relationship with Him becomes more intimate.

And yet, it is vital to remember that the Talmud (Taanis 16a) strongly encourages us to combine honest repentance with our fast. When the society of Nineve heeded the Prophet Jonah’s plea to fast, dress in sackcloth, and change their ways, the verse says (Jonah 3:10), “And G-d saw their deeds, their return from their evil ways.” The emphasis is on the fact that they, as humans, changed, not on their fasting and sackcloth. Fasting is actually a motivator to change, and it frees up a chunk of one’s moment to devote towards the needed introspection.

May all of our fasts and repentance be accepted before the Almighty as honest offerings, and through them may we merit an end to all of our suffering.

Best Regards,

Rabbi Mordechai Dixler

Original post by ATR