The Hidden Power of Fasting: 7 Spiritual Benefits

In Ta’anit (11a), the sages praise those who fast, teaching that “Anyone who fasts is called holy.”

Rabbi Eliezer Papo, in his Pele Yoetz, quotes the kabbalist who authored Tziporen Shamir, who explains that a person who fasts can attain seven immense spiritual qualities.

7 Spiritual Qualities of Fasting

1. The yetzer hara cannot rule over someone who is fasting. This is the secret of the offering, whose fat and blood rise as a pleasing fragrance, as discussed at length in the holy Zohar in Parashat Shemot.

2. Through fasting, a person comes to humility and recognizes the frailty of a human being: withholding even a little bread can weaken a person’s strength.

3. Someone who is fasting does not come into trials, because Hashem sees that the person is already testing themselves through fasting.

4. Such a person is called a hero who conquers their inclination and is worthy for the Divine Presence to rest upon them.

5. They have no accuser, and their prayer is heard.

6. If they are obligated to undergo suffering, they demonstrate that they accept it with love.

7. There are angels that cannot ascend except through the power of human fasting.

The kabbalist and author of Tziporen Shamir promises that “all these qualities, and even more than these, apply when, through fasting, a person examines their deeds, repents, and fasts for atonement.”

In other words, fasting is not simply about going without food. When accompanied by genuine regret and teshuvah, it becomes an opportunity for profound spiritual change.

“The essential purpose of fasting is for one’s uncircumcised heart to be humbled, for a person to examine their deeds, loosen the bonds of wickedness, abandon the path of wickedness, create boundaries and safeguards for themselves, and return to Hashem, who will have mercy on them,” explains the Pele Yoetz.

The One Thing to Be Especially Careful About

There is one behavior that the Pele Yoetz warns a person to guard against particularly carefully on a fast day: anger.

“Above all, one must be careful of anger, for on a fast day a person is very likely to become angry at anyone at all. And since one who becomes angry is considered like one who worships idols, the loss outweighs the gain, and the absence of good is preferable to the presence of evil if one fasts only to quarrel and fight. Therefore, a person should strengthen themselves greatly and stand guard, so that their efforts are not in vain.”

The message is striking: The spiritual purpose of a fast can be undermined if hunger and discomfort lead a person to anger, arguments, or mistreating others. The physical act of fasting must therefore be accompanied by inner work.

Another important aspect of fasting is tzedakah. The Pele Yoetz cites the words of our sages in Berachot (6b), “The reward of a fast is charity,” as well as the teaching in Sanhedrin (35a), “Any fast on which charity is delayed is as though blood was shed.”

There is also a hint found in the Hebrew word ta’anit, which can be understood as an acronym meaning “give to the poor.” One appropriate custom is therefore to give a poor person the amount of money that would otherwise have been spent on food that day. This is not a halachic obligation, but it is considered a fitting practice.

A Fast Is About More Than Not Eating

The Pele Yoetz also recommends limiting business activities on a fast day and devoting more time to spiritual pursuits.

“It is fitting for a person not to spend the entire fast day on business, but to limit their business dealings and engage in Torah, ethical books, and fear of Hashem.”

The Rambam similarly emphasizes that fasting is intended to lead a person toward reflection and teshuvah. In Hilchot Ta’aniyot, he writes:

“What is gained or added by fasting over troubles that have already passed?... Rather, the essential purpose of fasting is to take to heart that the troubles came because of the sins of our ancestors, and we still have not purified ourselves, and our deeds are like theirs; therefore, we have not been redeemed. Thus, we should return to Hashem, and He will have mercy on us.”

For this reason, a fast day calls for particular care to avoid wrongdoing. If fasting is meant to encourage a person to examine their actions and return to Hashem, it would be self-defeating to continue engaging in the very behaviors the fast is meant to help correct.

As the Pele Yoetz writes: “One must be careful on a fast day of every stumbling block and sinful thought, so that one is not like someone who immerses while holding a creeping creature, or like someone who plants trees while cutting down the saplings from another side.”

Ultimately, according to the Pele Yoetz, the hunger itself is not the goal. A fast is meant to awaken humility, self-examination, teshuvah, tzedakah, prayer, and greater awareness of one’s relationship with Hashem.