Fast of the Firstborn
Fast of the Firstborn is a unique fast day in Judaism, which usually falls on the day before Passover. In modern times, the fast is usually broken at a siyum celebration, which, according to the prevailing custom, creates an atmosphere of rejoicing that overrides the requirement to continue the fast. Unlike all other Jewish fast days, only firstborn children must fast on this day.
This fast commemorates the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the Plague of the Firstborn, when, according to Exodus : "In the middle of the night יהוה struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle.
Origins
The primary source quoted for this custom is Tractate Soferim 21:3, where it is stated that firstborns fast "in commemoration of the miracle that they were saved from the Plague of the Firstborn". Asher ben Jehiel and Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen quotes the Jerusalem Talmud as an additional source for the fast, though the same passage can also be understood to mean that firstborns do not fast.The Shulchan Aruch records the custom of fasting. However, Moses Isserles records that some people instead "redeem" the fast. Later commentaries suggest that this redemption could be done by holding a siyum or by giving charity. Yosef Eliyahu Henkin suggested that since the custom is absent from the Babylonian Talmud, it is not universally binding but rather depends on current practice, allowing the current practice of replacing the fast with a siyum or charity.
Meaning of the fast
Fasts in Judaism can have a number of purposes, including atonement for sins; commemorative mourning, and commemorative gratitude.The Fast of the Firstborn incorporates commemorative gratitude for salvation from the Plague of the Firstborn, as detailed above.
According to Rabbi Jacob Emden, the Fast of the Firstborn also commemorates the salvation of the Jews from the plot of Haman. This is because Haman advanced his plot on the thirteenth of Nisan, and Esther reacted by instructing all Jews of Susa to undertake a three-day fast beginning the next day, the fourteenth of Nisan. For this reason, even some non-firstborns maintain the custom of fasting on the fourteenth of Nisan.
According to Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, the Fast of the Firstborn also includes an aspect of mourning: firstborns fast to mourn the loss of their priestly status which had initially been granted them on the fourteenth of Nisan. Furthermore, during the Temple period, this loss was most profoundly felt on the fourteenth of Nisan, which was the busiest day of the year for the kohenim and Levites.
Yehuda Grünwald, the rabbi of Satu Mare and student of Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, suggests that the firstborn Israelites fasted in trepidation in advance of the Plague of the Firstborn; despite a divine guarantee of safety, they felt a need to fast in repentance to achieve greater divine protection. Grunwald thus posits that this was the precedent for the Fast of the Firstborn.
Qualifications for fasting
There is disagreement among the early halakhic authorities as to who qualifies as a firstborn for purposes of the Fast of the Firstborn. All authorities agree, however, to the conditions of halakhic adulthood and sanity, preconditions for all positive mitzvot, to obligate one to fast..According to Joel Sirkis, Alexander Suslin, and arguably Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin, both men and women are obligated to fast. This is based upon the midrash, which states that both men and women among the firstborn Egyptians perished in the plague. Following a precedent common in Jewish commemorative rituals, the above authorities ruled that all those who were miraculously saved should participate in commemoration. Since both men and women died from the plague, all firstborn Jewish men and women alive at that time are considered to have been miraculously saved. Moses Isserles and the Vilna Gaon rule that women are exempt from the fast. As the Book of Exodus mentions the biblical commandment of Redemption of the Firstborn as commemorative of the salvation of Jewish firstborns in Egypt, and as this command only applies to firstborn males, Isserlies and the Vilna Gaon rule similarly that only males are obligated to fast. Common practice is that only males fast.
While a firstborn to both parents, or a firstborn to only the mother, must fast according to all authorities, there is a dispute among the early halakhic authorities regarding the status of a firstborn to only the father. The Shulchan Aruch codifies that a firstborn to only the father is obligated to fast, while most printings of the Arba'ah Turim indicate that such a person would be exempt. Common practice follows the Shulchan Aruch.
Typically, if the oldest in the family died, the next oldest is not required to fast. However, if the oldest child had died within 30 days of birth, the next oldest is required to fast. Yechezkel Landau maintains that this only applies if the oldest child had been born prematurely or was not born viable.
Many authorities, including Isserlies, note the custom that the father of a firstborn should fast on his child's behalf until the child reaches halakhic adulthood. The Rema rules that if the father is a firstborn himself, the mother should fast on behalf of the child. The Mateh Moshe and Yaakov ben Moshe dispute this and rule in such a scenario that the mother need not fast. Avraham Gombiner ruled that it is appropriate to follow the lenient opinion if fasting causes the mother excessive discomfort or if she is pregnant or nursing, but he adds that a mother who begins following the former opinion must maintain that custom and fast in subsequent years.
Jacob ben Joseph Reischer ruled that the above-cited custom of the father fasting for the child goes into effect as soon as the child is born, except where the child is born after chatzot ha'laila on the 14th of Nisan of that year. Nathaniel Weil disagreed. He wrote that the custom only goes into effect from the time the child is 30 days old. This relates, again, to the command to redeem the firstborn, which does not go into effect until the child is 30 days old.
There is some discussion among the posqim regarding whether a firstborn born through caesarean section is required to observe this fast, given that he is not obligated in the Redemption of the Firstborn. Jacob Reischer suggests that such a firstborn may be required to fast, while Yaakov Chaim Sofer rules that he need not fast. To circumvent this question, as well as a dispute regarding a firstborn proselyte, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv suggests that such firstborns participate in a seudat mitzvah.
Duration of the fast
As with most Jewish fast days, the fast begins at dawn. The common practice is that it is subsequently broken in the morning at a seudat mitzvah following a siyum. If the fast is not broken at a seudat mitzvah, there is a dispute among halakhic authorities regarding the duration of the fast. Normally, all Jewish fasts continue until nightfall. However, the presence of a fast immediately before a holiday presents a unique quandary. Normally, one may not enter a Shabbat or Yom Tov in a state of fasting. The Talmud discusses what one should do when a formal fast day falls directly before Shabbat or Yom Tov. The sages of the Talmud are divided over two options: Either one should break the fast shortly before sundown, or one should fast through nightfall, regardless. Since the Talmud arrives at no clear conclusion, disagreement arose among halakhic authorities. The Maharil rules that the fast continues until nightfall, while others rule that it should be broken before sundown.Breaking the fast
In modern times, however, this fast is rarely observed, as most firstborns opt to attend a siyum instead. This is considered a legitimate form of "breaking" the fast, and therefore the firstborn may eat during the rest of the day.The Mishnah Berurah quotes three opinions regarding circumstances in which the fast may be broken. According to the first, a healthy individual must fast if he can sustain the fast without undue suffering and without any subsequent weakening that would affect his ability or inclination to heartily partake of his Passover Seder meal. According to the second custom, the fast may be broken at any festive meal celebrating a circumcision or a redemption of the firstborn. According to the third custom, based upon the Maharshal, the fast may even be broken at a seudat mitzvah for a siyum celebrating the completion of study of a tractate of Talmud. The latter custom is commonly observed.
If a firstborn attending a siyum does not hear the completion of the tractate, or if he does not understand what he hears, or if he is in the shiva period of mourning and is thus forbidden from listening to the Torah material being taught, some authorities rule that subsequent eating would not qualify as a seudat mitzvah and he would therefore be forbidden to break his fast. Other authorities allow a firstborn to break his fast under such circumstances. The Minchas Yitzchak suggests that a firstborn in such a position should at least try to contribute to the siyum in some way, such as by sponsoring or helping to prepare the meal.
In order to break one's fast on a seudat mitzvah, many authorities rule that one must partake of at least a kotevet of food or a melo lugmav of liquid at the seudah. Other authorities rule that a firstborn need not eat anything at the siyum itself, and that he may break his fast anytime after the siyum.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein extends the possibility of breaking the fast to include even breaking it at a festive meal celebrating the completion of any mitzvah that required regular, continual involvement. According to these authorities, such a meal would be considered a seudat mitzvah of adequate caliber to exempt one from continuing the fast.
Additionally, the Mordechai quotes the ruling of his father-in-law Rabbeinu Yechiel that firstborns need not fast at all on the day before Passover; firstborns need only limit their diet to snacks. The Mishnah Berurah states that it is appropriate for a weak individual to follow this ruling.
Nevertheless, there are communities, including many North African communities and the Sephardic community in Amsterdam, where the firstborns do fast.