The Fast of Esther’s 8th Cent. C.E. Origins
The book of Esther never mentions a fast on the 13th of Adar; in fact, in the late Second Temple period, it was a day of celebration. Talmudic sources never mention the fast either. How did it originate?
Mitchell First
Mitchell First is an attorney, with an M.A. in Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School. He is the author of Roots and Rituals: Insights into Hebrew, Holidays, and History, as well as Esther Unmasked: Solving Eleven Mysteries of the Jewish Holidays and Liturgy and Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy Between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology, and Links to Our Legacy: Insights into Hebrew, History, and Liturgy, and Words for the Wise: Sixty-Two Insights on Hebrew, Holidays, History and Liturgy. His website is www.rootsandrituals.org.
Last Updated: November 10, 2026
Books by the Author
From Eden to Exodus: A Journey into Hebrew Words in Bereshit and Shemot
Words for the Wise
Links to Our Legacy
Roots and Rituals: Insights into Hebrew, Holidays, and History
Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology
Esther Unmasked: Solving Eleven Mysteries of the Jewish Holidays and Liturgy
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Articles by Author
Pe before Ayin in Biblical Pre-Exilic Acrostics
Abecedaries uncovered in pre-exilic Israel and Judah suggest that in their Hebrew alphabet, ayin followed pe. This order is attested in a number of biblical acrostics, some of which have been corrected by later scribes to make them fit what eventually became the standard ayin-pe order.
If Achashverosh Is Xerxes, Is Esther His Wife Amestris?
How do the names in the book of Esther correlate with those we know from Persian history? Do some of them refer to the historical personages described in the Greek sources of Herodotus and Ctesias?
