Fast of Gedaliahצוֹם גְּדַלְיָה

After the conquest of Jerusalem, the king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam governor over the remaining population at Mizpah. In the seventh month he was murdered by Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his companions; the inhabitants then went down to Egypt for fear of the Babylonians.^1,2

The Talmud identifies "the fast of the seventh month" in Zechariah with 3 Tishrei, the day of Gedaliah's death, and adds that this teaches that the death of the righteous is equal to the burning of the House of God.^3,4

The fast is also interpreted as a warning against internal division: the tragedy did not come from a foreign power but at the hands of a fellow Judean.

The fast falls within the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and so penitential prayers are added to it.

As with the other minor fasts, there is no eating or drinking from dawn until nightfall; the other restrictions of Tisha B'Av do not apply. The sick and pregnant or nursing women are generally exempt under common halakhic practice; a rabbi decides the details.⁵

Anenu ("Answer us") is inserted into the Amidah, and selichot and Avinu Malkeinu are recited. At the afternoon prayer the Torah reading is Exodus 32:11–14 and 34:1–10, and in the Ashkenazi rite the haftarah Isaiah 55:6–56:8 is added.^6,7

The fast has no objects or symbols of its own; its sign is the abstention from food itself and the penitential prayers.

There are no established special dishes. Because the fast follows Rosh Hashanah, leftovers from the festive meals are often finished early in the morning before dawn.

The fast is kept by Orthodox and a large part of traditional communities; in liberal movements and in the secular part of society it is little known.

On the day after the New Year, Jews remember Gedaliah, a good governor who was killed by one of his own people. Adults fast. It is a chance to talk about why it is wrong when people of one nation destroy one another.