For the source text click/tap here: Taanit 2
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Most of Masechet Ta’anit deals with the laws and background of fast days – public and private, whether they occur on established dates or are instituted according to need.
With the exception of Yom Kippur, there is no mention of fast days in the Torah, although they are the subject of significant discussion in the books of Nevi’im and Ketuvim. From these writings we can glean much about the significance and purpose of fast days, both public and private, as they were kept in ancient times. Thus, many of the principles found in Masechet Ta’anit are based on oral traditions going back to Mount Sinai as we find them described in the prophetic writings.
Rabbi Yochanan states that there are three keys that Hashem does not delegate to the hands of an agent. They are the key to rain, the key for childbirth and the key for reviving the dead.
We explore the notion of Divine agency and why these three transition rites of passage were singled out.