This lecture addresses the question of private fasting, or rather its relative absence, in early Rabbinic writings such as the Mishnah. Why is full prominence given to public fasting and grand liturgies, whereas Second Temple literature is mainly characterized by individual practices? This textual survey highlights what this contrast reveals about the Sages’ attitude, shedding light on their literary and religious project of building a new social and religious reality.
Fr. Olivier Catel, who holds a PhD in French Literature, is a Dominican friar and priest. He teaches Rabbinic literature at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem. He has recently completed a second PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on fasting practices and meanings in ancient Jewish and Christian literature.