{"id":5834,"date":"2010-02-07T03:00:37","date_gmt":"2010-02-07T01:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=5834"},"modified":"2010-02-07T03:00:37","modified_gmt":"2010-02-07T01:00:37","slug":"05-07-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/","title":{"rendered":"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The minor fasts last from daybreak (alot hashachar<\/i>) to the emergence of the stars (tzait ha-kochavim<\/i>).\u00a0 Alot hashachar<\/i> is when the first light begins to appear in the east.\u00a0 Tzait ha-kochavim<\/i> is when three medium-sized stars are visible in the sky.\u00a0 There are different opinions as to when exactly alot hashachar<\/i> occurs \u2013 either when the first light begins to appear in the east (when the sun is 17.5 degrees below the horizon) or a short time later, when the eastern sky is illuminated (when the sun is 16.1 degrees below the horizon).<\/p>\n

There are also two major opinions regarding tzait hakochavim<\/i>.\u00a0 It occurs either when experts and those with excellent eyesight can see three stars (when the sun is 4.8 degrees below the horizon) or when regular people can see three stars (when the sun is 6.2 degrees below the horizon).<\/p>\n

There is a common mistake that people make regarding this issue.\u00a0 They think that there is a set interval between alot hashachar<\/i> and sunrise and between sunset and tzait hakochavim<\/i>, which is not true.\u00a0 Rather, these intervals depend on the time of year and the place.\u00a0 Therefore, one should use a precise calendar.[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

According to the letter of the law, we should follow the more lenient opinion, because these fasts are Rabbinic enactments.\u00a0 However, it is best to act strictly.\u00a0 Since we are already fasting all day long, it is preferable to add a few extra minutes in order to fulfill our obligation according to all opinions.<\/p>\n

When the Tenth of Tevet falls out on a Friday, one must fast until after tzait hakochavim<\/i>, even though Shabbat has already begun by then (SA 249:4).<\/p>\n

One who flies from America to Israel will fast less time, because he is flying in the opposite direction of the sun.\u00a0 Every hour in flight shortens the fast by more than half an hour.\u00a0 If he flies from Israel to America, he will fast longer, because he is flying in the same direction as the sun.\u00a0 Every hour of flying adds more than half an hour to his fast.\u00a0 The rule is that the fast starts at alot hashachar<\/i> and ends at tzait hakochavim<\/i>, according to the place in which one finds himself at that time (Iggrot Moshe<\/i>, OC 3:96).<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n[4]<\/a>. Regarding alot hashachar<\/i>, see Peninei Halachah<\/i>, Prayer<\/i>, chap. 11, notes 1 and 10.\u00a0 Regarding tzait hakochavim<\/i>, see ibid. 25:5, note 3.\u00a0 [I will give some examples] in order to give the reader an idea [of the differences]:\u00a0 According to the 16.1\u00b0 measurement, the interval between alot hashachar<\/i> and sunrise in Eretz Yisrael<\/i> on Tzom Gedalyah is around 73 minutes, while it is around 86 minutes on the Seventeeth of Tammuz.\u00a0 According to the 17.5\u00b0 measurement, it\u2019s around 80 minutes on Tzom Gedalyah, and around 94 minutes on the Seventeenth of Tammuz. \u00a0I wrote \u201caround\u201d because the solar-calendar day on which the Hebrew date falls changes from year to year and this change can make a difference of up to two minutes.\u00a0 In Israel\u2019s coastal plain, the sun rises later, because the mountains [in the east hide the sun longer].\u00a0 Therefore, the interval [between alot hashachar<\/i> and sunrise] increases by about five minutes.\u00a0 The interval between sunset and tzait hakochavim<\/i> also fluctuates according to the time of year, but the difference is smaller.\u00a0 There is also a considerable difference between the mountains and the plains.\u00a0 According to the earlier measurement (4.8\u00b0), the interval [between sunset and tzait<\/i>] in Jerusalem on Tzom Gedalyah can be as short as 14 minutes.\u00a0 And according to the later measurement (6.2\u00b0), the interval in the coastal plain on the Seventeeth of Tammuz can be as long as 29.5 minutes.\u00a0 This is why one must use a precise calendar.\u00a0 In the footnotes cited above from Peninei Halachah, Prayer<\/i>, I explain the issue thoroughly.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The minor fasts last from daybreak (alot hashachar) to the emergence of the stars (tzait ha-kochavim).\u00a0 Alot hashachar is when the first light begins to appear in the east.\u00a0 Tzait ha-kochavim is when three medium-sized stars are visible in the sky.\u00a0 There are different opinions as to when exactly alot hashachar occurs \u2013 either when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-05-07"],"yoast_head":"\n3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The minor fasts last from daybreak (alot hashachar) to the emergence of the stars (tzait ha-kochavim).\u00a0 Alot hashachar is when the first light begins to appear in the east.\u00a0 Tzait ha-kochavim is when three medium-sized stars are visible in the sky.\u00a0 There are different opinions as to when exactly alot hashachar occurs \u2013 either when […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-07T01:00:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63\"},\"headline\":\"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-07T01:00:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":619,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"7 - The Laws of the Minor Fasts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/\",\"name\":\"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts - Peninei Halakha\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-07T01:00:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/05-07-03\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"description\":\"HaRav Eliezer Melamed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Peninei Halakha\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63\",\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/author\\\/shlomit12\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts - Peninei Halakha","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts - Peninei Halakha","og_description":"The minor fasts last from daybreak (alot hashachar) to the emergence of the stars (tzait ha-kochavim).\u00a0 Alot hashachar is when the first light begins to appear in the east.\u00a0 Tzait ha-kochavim is when three medium-sized stars are visible in the sky.\u00a0 There are different opinions as to when exactly alot hashachar occurs \u2013 either when […]","og_url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/","og_site_name":"Peninei Halakha","article_published_time":"2010-02-07T01:00:37+00:00","author":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/"},"author":{"name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63"},"headline":"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts","datePublished":"2010-02-07T01:00:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/"},"wordCount":619,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["7 - The Laws of the Minor Fasts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/","name":"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts - Peninei Halakha","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-02-07T01:00:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/05-07-03\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea","item":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 \u2013 The Duration of the Minor Fasts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","name":"Peninei Halakha","description":"HaRav Eliezer Melamed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization","name":"Peninei Halakha","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","width":300,"height":64,"caption":"Peninei Halakha"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63","name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8"},"url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/author\/shlomit12\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}