world
Many Jews Fast on the
Day Before Purim. Some Are
Dedicating the Ritual to Ukraine
PHILISSA CRAMER | JTA.ORG
R ussia’s war on Ukraine was
only a week old when Rabbi
Jeremy Borovitz tweeted a bold
suggestion: He called for a Jewish fast
day dedicated to Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky.

Now, Borovitz is among a growing
number of Jews who are planning to
dedicate a traditional fast this week to
Ukraine, in hopes of delivering spir-
itual strength to the forces defending
that country from Russia.

The day before Purim is known as
Ta’anit Esther, or the Fast of Esther,
when many observant Jews fast from
sunrise to sunset. It is an echo of the
fast that Esther, the heroine of the
Purim story, asked the Jews of Shushan
to observe before she petitioned the
king to save them from a murderous
villain intent on their destruction.

“Esther asked the people to fast
because she wanted through the fast-
ing of the Jewish people to give her
strength, which is, I think, a deep idea
in the Jewish tradition,” Borovitz said.

About Zelensky, he said, “This is
a Jew in the world who needs our
strength right now.”
Borovitz works with Hillel
International in Berlin as part of a rab-
binic career that he said was spurred by
his two years as a Peace Corps volun-
teer in Ukraine a decade ago.

Now, Hillel is a leading amplifier
of the call for a fast in solidarity with
Ukraine. The international group
serving Jewish college students and
young adults — its Kharkiv, Ukraine,
headquarters were heavily damaged by
Russian bombs in the war’s early days
— is urging Jews who can to refrain
from eating and drinking on March
16, and dedicate their fast to Ukraine.

The group launched a website and a
hashtag, #FastforUkraine, to galvanize
participation. “The fast of Esther reminds us as
Jews that in order to make change in
12 Hillel International is leading an effort to get Jews to turn the Fast of Esther into a day to support Ukraine.
the world, we must look inward as
well as outward,” Rabbi Ben Berger,
Hillel International’s vice president of
Jewish education, said in a statement.

“Fasting aligns our bodies, our minds,
and our spirits with the deep pain and
need present in the world, awakening
MARCH 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
our souls to the role we might play in
providing comfort and healing for our-
selves and for others.”
Hillel is not alone in connecting
Purim with the war in Ukraine. Moshe
Azman, one of multiple men who lay
claim to the title of chief rabbi for
Hillel Facebook
Ukraine, also called for a special fast
on March 16, Borovitz said. Last week,
the chief rabbis of Israel issued a special
call for prayer at the Western Wall just
before the fast day, saying, “The sorrow
and pain of the Jews of Ukraine touched
the hearts of all Jews around the world.”