The Fast of Esther

As you can see below the Fast of Esther revolves around Esther success as a result of fasting. Please the story of Esther below.

This time we are observing numerous ‘fasting’ traditions in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions. Probably not by accident.

We seem to be asked, from every angle, to retreat from life events and move into the silence. Fasting is rarely about food, though most traditions focus on the physical aspects of spiritual observations.

In my view, most significant spiritual teacher requested their followers to ‘fast’ on being engaged in daily activates and spend more time with the Divine in silent contemplation. The Fast of Esther seems to be one of these times with a specific focus on ‘overcoming challenges’ as a result of fasting. 

Today, I would like to invite you to spend some time in silent contemplation on what challenges would you wish God to support you to overcome?

Spending time is the silence or in silent contemplation will result in receiving inner guidance of what to do next or it may reveal some aspects of self that needs to be released in order to ‘succeed’. 

Read about Ester’s story

Esther is a prominent figure in the Old Testament. In the Bible, Esther was the Jewish wife of the Persian king, and risked her own life to save her people from an antisemitic royal advisor. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates Queen Esther’s story… Source

Book of Esther, book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. It belongs to the third section of the Judaic canon, known as the Ketuvim, or “Writings.” In the Jewish Bible, Esther follows Ecclesiastes and Lamentations and is read on the festival of Purim, which commemorates the rescue of the Jews from Haman’s plottings. The Book of Esther is one of the Megillot, five scrolls read on stated Jewish religious holidays. In the Protestant canon, Esther appears between Nehemiah and Job. In the Roman Catholic canon, Esther appears between Judith and Job and includes six chapters that are considered apocryphal in the Jewish and Protestant traditions.

The book purports to explain how the feast of Purim came to be celebrated by the Jews. Esther, the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), and her cousin Mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of Jews throughout the empire. The massacre had been plotted by the king’s chief minister, Haman, and the date decided by casting lots (purim). Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and, on the day planned for their annihilation, the Jews destroyed their enemies. According to the Book of Esther, the feast of Purim was established to celebrate that day …

Fasting is associated with some pivotal moments in the Purim narrative. One such moment is when Esther approached King Ahasuerus without permission in an effort to intercede on behalf of the Jewish people. Before she went to the king, she fasted for three days, and asked that all the Jews fast as well.

Another dramatic turnaround occurred on Adar 13 (the default date for the Fast of Esther), the date that Haman had set aside for killing the Jews. Instead the Jewish people soundly trounced their enemies. This triumph was accomplished while the Jews were fasting, as they prayed to G‑d that they be successful.

Source