Taanit 11: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, for One Who Fasts Is a Sinner
Talking Talmud - A podcast by Yardaena Osband & Anne Gordon
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Suffering through famine should save the person who chooses to do so from a strange death. Plus, other outcomes of famine, like avoiding sexual relations to avoid having children during years of famine. Also, separating from the community, and the negative consequences thereof. Also, the Gemara says - anyone who fasts is called a sinner (which seems to contradict the premise of the tractate!). Where does the Nazir, as one who abstains, fit into this equation? Asceticism isn't the goal of the fasting for rain. This spectrum of delving into the enjoyment of life to one who intentionally chooses to refrain or abstain.