30 Jun CHUKAS: A PERPLEXING FAST DAY

A Guide To The
Perplexing Fast
Day Of Erev
Shabbos Parshas
Chukas
The Magen
Avraham cites a ‘practice of individuals’
to fast on the Friday prior to the reading
of Parshas Chukas [Shulchan Aruch
Orach Chaim Chapter 580]. In general,
it is an anomaly to have a fast day
scheduled for a Friday. Of even greater
significance is the fact that most fast
days are established on a specific
calendar date, while this one is not. The
Magen Avraham writes that no matter
what day of the month the Friday prior
to Parshas Chukas falls, that is the day
when ‘individuals’ fast.
What is the significance of this fast
day? It commemorates the burning of
20 wagon-loads of the Talmud and
other Sefarim in France. When the

event happened, it occurred on the 9th
day of Tammuz. However, various
Rabbinic authorities of that day learned
through dreams that the ’cause’ of the
incident was not related to the day on
the calendar, but to the fact that it was
the day before the Torah reading of
Parshas Chukas.
The Magen Avraham explains that the
Aramaic Targum of the opening words
of the parsha [Bamidbar 19:2] “Zos
Chukas HaTorah” [This is the law of
the Torah] is “da Gezeiras Oraiysa”
[this is the Torah’s decree]. This was
understood to be a Torah decree that
such a tragic event would occur on the
Friday before this Torah reading.
The Imrei Shammai supplies additional
historical background to this incident.
He says that in the exact place where
the Talmud and other Sefarim were
burnt, the Jews of that town had in
previous years publicly burnt the

Rambam’s Guide To The Perplexed
(Moreh Nevuchim).
The Moreh Nevuchim was a
controversial work. In those days, the
Rambam did not yet have the
unquestioning allegiance that he gained
in later generations. As surprising as it
may seem to us, he had his detractors
and there were authorities who were
highly critical of the Moreh Nevuchim.
In fact, there were even some places
where his Book of Knowledge (Sefer
HaMadah) (the first volume of his
Major Work “The Yad HaChazakah”)
was not accepted.
As a Heavenly punishment for this
earlier burning of the Rambam’s works,
20 cart loads of Torah books were now
publicly burnt. When the Jewish
community saw this, they recognized
their earlier misdeed and repented by
establishing a fast day. They prayed for
forgiveness and subsequently there was

no more controversy about the Guide
To The Perplexed.
In this way they were very fortunate.
They had a clear Sign from Heaven in
terms of what they had done wrong. It
did not take a genius to put two and two
together and draw the appropriate
conclusion. The connection was
obvious. This is the historical
background of the custom of
‘individuals’ to fast on the Erev Shabbos
preceding Parshas Chukas.