Fast of Gedaliah · Tzom Gedalia

Culture of origin: Jewish · Cultural

Holiday sources: Israel · Judaism

The Fast of Gedaliah, the day after Rosh Hashanah, mourns the murder of Gedaliah, whom the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar made governor of Judah after the First Temple was destroyed. His killing by Ishmael son of Nethaniah ended the last remnant of Jewish self-rule after the Babylonian conquest, and the Jews who remained fled to Egypt. It is a minor fast, kept from dawn to nightfall. No public fast but Yom Kippur is kept on the Sabbath, so when 3 Tishrei falls on a Saturday the fast moves to Sunday.