[Avodah] The Many Facets of Asarah B'Teves

[Zev Sero via Avodah]

On 06/01/17 13:08, elazar teitz via Avodah wrote:
>      It should be noted, though, that there_is_ an avoidance of Friday
> fasting.  When a  fast falls out on Shabbos but cannot be observed on
> Sunday (Ta'anis Esther and Ta'anis B'chorim), it is pushed back to
> Thursday rather than Friday.

Yes, if we can choose a day, we don't choose Friday, so as not to go 
into Shabbos fasting.  Also because Mondays and Thursdays are 
traditionally appropriate days for fasting, so if we have a choice why 
not go for them.

But of course only happy fasts are pulled back rather than pushed 
forward; sad ones are delayed, because we're not eager to face them, and 
maybe Moshiach will come and we won't have to fast at all, whereas the 
happy fasts will go on anyway.

I wonder whether another reason to avoid Friday fasting might not be 
that it's a traditional day for fasting among Xians.  I got this idea 
because an early Xian manual exhorts Xians not to fast on Mondays or 
Thursdays, so as not to appear like Jews, but rather to prefer fasting 
on Tuesdays and Fridays.  So I wonder whether a similar sentiment among 
Jews may have led to shunning Friday fasts, when possible.  But this is 
pure speculation, since there's enough reason to avoid it anyway.

-- 
Zev Sero                May 2017, with its *nine* days of Chanukah,
zev at sero.name           be a brilliant year for us all