The Jewish fasts?

Question

Ok I have a huge test tomorrow. On the Jewish fast days. Give me anything you know about them. I don't want bad answers. I want them to actually have information about the Jewish fasts. State which fast you are telling me about. Also I only want fasts that exist now adays, but you can tell me things that happened a long time ago if it has something to do with the fast. Thanks.
P.S. A best answer will be chosen for this question.

Answer 1

In addition to Yom Kippur, The Talmud discusses four fast days that commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples and the exile of the Jewish People from their homeland. In addition, two other fast days are mentioned in the Rabbinical literature, yielding a total of six tzomot (seven if Yom Kippur is included). The following list shows the seven fast days of the Jewish year, from the first fast of the year to the last:

1. Ta’anit Bechorim - The Fast of the Firstborn is a fast observed only by firstborn males, commemorating the fact that they were saved from the plague of the firstborn in Egypt. It is observed on the day before Pesach
2. Tzom Tammuz - Fast of the 17th of Tammuz. Fast day commemorating the breaking down of the wall of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the cessation of Temple worship during the siege of Titus (Jun/Jul). In the Bible, this is referred to as the Fast of the 4th month.
3. Tishah B’Av - The Ninth of Av, a fast day remembering the tragedies of the Jewish people (July/Aug). In the Bible, this is referred to as the Fast of the 5th month.
4. Tzom Gedaliah - The fast right after Rosh Hashanah (on Tishri 3) commemorating the murder of the Judean governor Gedaliah by Zionist Jews (Sept/Oct). In the Bible, this is referred to as the Fast of the 7th month.
5. Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement (Tishri 10) is the most holy day of the Jewish year. This a fast day where no work of any kind is permitted.
6. Asarah B’Tevet - The 10th of Tevet, a fast day commemorating the fall of the Jerusalem. In the State of Israel, Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the deceased) is recited on this day for people whose date or place of death is unknown (Dec/Jan). In the Bible, this is referred to as the Fast of the 10th month.
7. Ta’anit Esther - The Fast of Ester is observed on the day before Purim, on Adar 13 (in Feb/Mar).

Answer 2

The only Fast ordered by Scripture is The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, which is the 10 th day of the Seventh month. I thought that Scripture forbade fasting on any other Sabbath, but when I looked for the cite, I couldn't find it.

Answer 3

Major festivals
The Torah describes two cycles of festivals (cf. Vayikra [Leviticus] Ch. 23, Bamidbar [Numbers] Ch. 28-29): the three pilgrimage festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot) and the High Holidays (Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur).

Rosh Hashana (New Year)
1-2 Tishri
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
10 Tishri
Sukkot (Tabernacles): Full Holiday
Diaspora: 15-16 Tishri
Israel: 15 Tishri
Sukkot: Chol Hamoed (Semi-Holidays)
Diaspora: 17-21 Tishri
Israel: 16-21 Tishri
Sh'mini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly)
22 Tishri
Simchat Tora (Rejoicing of the Tora)
Diaspora: 23 Tishri
Israel: combined with Sh'mini Atzeret (22 Tishri) Pesach (Passover): Full Holiday
Diaspora: 15-16 Nisan
Israel: 15 Nisan
Pesach: Chol Hamoed (Semi-Holidays)
Diaspora: 17-20 Nisan
Israel: 16-20 Nisan
Pesach: Final Holiday
Diaspora: 21-22 Nisan
Israel: 21 Nisan
Shavuot (Festival of Weeks)
Diaspora: 6-7 Sivan
Israel: 6 Sivan

Answer 4

It really depends on who you are talking to when you ask about fast days, Some Orthodox Jews fast on days that Reform Jews do not. I think the big fast for me (Reform Jew) is for Yom Kippur, its a fast from sundown the first night, to sundown the next night, you can't even drink water. Some male firstborn Jews fast for Passover, some don't. Hope that helps a little.

Answer 5

Among the Jews fasting was instituted in Biblical times as a sign of morning, or when danger threatened, or when the seer was preparing himself a divine revelation. Occasional fasts were also instituted for the whole community, specially when the nation believed itself to be under Divine displeasure, or a great calamity befell the land, or pestilence raged, or drought set in.

The Jewish calendar contains comparatively few regular fast-days. Besides the day of Atonement, which is the only fast-day prescribed by the Mosaic Law, there were established after the captivity four regular fast-days in commemoration of the various sad days that had befallen the nation during that period. There were fasts of the fourth month (May), of the fifth month (June), of the sixth month (July) and the tenth month (Tebet). According to some Rabbis of the Talmud these fasts were obligatory only when the nation was under oppression, but not when there was peace for Israel.

In addition to these there are other fasts which are observed in memory of certain disasters that befell Israel. These are not regarded as obligatory and have found little acceptance among the people. Their number, with a few changes, is twenty-five.

Besides the fixed fast-days, there are some other fasts which may be described as local or regional. These fasts, too, are related to an unfortunate occurrence or another in the history of the Jews. Many fasts are divided among different classes, with each class observing the fast in memory of a certain calamity, or of a particular occasion of joy or sorrow. It is customary among many Jewish communities to fast on the eve of New Year's Day. The Synagogue is empowered to impose fasting in case of a misfortune befalling the people, such as pestilence, famine, or an evil decree enforced by the ruler of the day.

Private fasts have also been frequent among the Jews during the earliest times. One may take upon oneself to fast on certain days, either in memory of certain events in his own life, or in expiation of his sins, or in time of trouble to arouse God's mercy. The Rabbis, however, did not encourage such abstinence. They positively forbade it in the case of a scholar who would be disturbed in his study, or of a teacher who would thereby be prevented from doing his work properly. Fasting was also done in consequence of seeing an evil dream. While in general no fast is permitted on Sabbaths or holidays the Talmud allows it to be undertaken on these days provide that it is complemented later by another fast.

The Jewish fasts begin at sunrise and end with the appearance of the first stars of the evening, except those of the Day of Atonement (tenth day of Seventh Month - Tisri) and the ninth of Ab (in commemoration of the first or second event of the burning down of the Tabernacle) which last from 'eve to eve'. There is no special ritual for the ordinary fast-days. The giving of charity on a fast-day, specially the distribution of food necessary for the evening meal, is encouraged.

The first nine days of Ab, and with some Jewish communities, the period from the seventeenth of Tammuz to the tenth of Ab, are regarded as partial fasts in which the eating of meat and the drinking of wine alone are forbidden.

Answer 6

i know that they fast on the same day that moses defeated Farrel when he (Farrel ) drowned in the red sea
so do Muslims fast that day as well