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Prayer, fasting, and awe in times of war

שו”תCategory: HalachaPrayer, fasting, and awe in times of war
asked 2 years ago

Hello Rabbi Michi,
Since the beginning of the war, I have been terribly embarrassed about the dissonance between the wording of our prayer, which has not changed in most synagogues (and the minor change by the Rabbinate does not satisfy me. It is the most they are capable of doing within the framework of their conservatism), and the seriousness of the situation and the magnitude of the tribulation – dozens and hundreds of soldiers may lose their lives as a result of the war, due to an event of a much more serious magnitude than the criteria for fasting detailed in the Mishnah and Poskim (a vicious animal roaming around? An army of Gentiles just passing through the land? Diseases that have become harmless in our day?). I know the Rabbi’s opinion on requests in prayer, and I still think that the situation certainly justifies a direct request for miracles.
I would love to hear what the Rabbi thinks about the Seder Taaniot – specifically, the 24 blessings, fasting, blowing the shofar, and customs such as reading the Torah/reciting Selichot/Haftara) in the current situation –

  1. Apparently, there is a positive commandment from the Torah to warn and fast in the current situation (“Just as one inquires and prays about the rains, so one inquires and prays about the rest of the troubles” in the Torah, and similar versions are also found in the Rambam, Shulchan Aruch, etc.). Doesn’t someone who does not change the text of the prayer not commit a positive act of nullification?
  2. Is it possible to accept the above-mentioned laws (there are many additional blessings here that may be nullified – for example, 24 blessings) individually, without a judge imposing a fast on the public and without broad public consent?

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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 2 years ago

I don’t usually explain methods that I don’t agree with.
As a general rule, one can of course decree a fast and observe it. This has nothing to do with the Chief Rabbinate, which is an institution without value or validity.
You cannot undertake a public fast. You can undertake an individual fast.

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