Today is the Fast of Gedaliah . The story of Gedaliah ben Ahikam is told in Yirmeyahu Jeremiah 40 and 41 . The King of Bavel Babylon had made Gedaliah Governor over the remnants that were left in Judah , thus allowing still a part of our people to remain under part Jewish Governorship , but in the Seventh Month as Tanach says and as Gemorrah Rosh HaShanah 18b states , Ishmael ben Nethaniah came with ten men and assassinated him and others , for he was working for the King of Ammon . With this murder , our people lost the last hope of a bit of sovereignty , under Jewish Governorship , and with it a lost hope of our people having some Jewish leadership , in the Holy Land at that time . This was like the final blow , to add to our going into Galus Exile and Destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians . And so , we Fast on this day . Some Rabbonim say Gedaliah was murdered on Rosh HaShanah , but we delay the Fast till after the Yom Tov . Gedaliah was a close friend of Jeremiah ( who was sent to Gedaliah , by the Ruler of Babylon ) , and both had warned the people , that HaShem Had Gotten Upset With us , and so , did we have to go into Exile into Bavel , and so are we are to accept this as our punishment and not fight Bavel . HaShem Had Assured Jeremiah that we would come out of exile after Seventy years , and so would the Land of Israel be appeased for us not keeping the Land's Sabbaticals , during our stay there and for not listening to HaShem . Israel Is Given to us , not to do with it as we like , but to keep it a Holy Land , free of idol worship . It is to be a Land where anything bit Torah is allowed . HaShem Warned us that we are not to let the nation's beliefs into Israel , but to keep The Land Holy and Torah Following , where HaShem , The One And Only G-D , Is Followed . It is not to be a Land with cities like Paris , Los Angeles , New York , London , Johannesburg , Amsterdam , or any other popular modern secular city . No , Israel and Yerushalayim , is to be Holy Unto The L-RD . The Land of Israel , Is To Be A Land Where Strict Torah Rules and , as HaShem Commanded us in His Torah , we are to remove from The Land all traces of Idol Worship , in any shape and form . This is not to be a Land where , like other popular World Cities , anything is allowed . This is not to be a Land where parades are done promoting that which is forbidden in Torah . This is not to be a Land where other places of foreign worship are permitted , for G-D Directly Told us these are not to be in the Holy Land . This is not to be a Land where we permit our enemies to reside , For HaShem Warned us that they would be thorns in our eyes . This is not a Land where anything but Torah , is followed . This is HaShem's Direct Instruction , for HaShem Told us that the nations before , did these things and were thrown out . This is to be a Holy Land For HaShem , Where Only HaShem and no other intermediaries , false man deities or others beliefs are followed . This is HaShem's Land and It Is To Be Kept As HaShem Wants it and As HaShem Told us to Keep it , in His Torah . And so , the people that reside there , are to do the same . The death of Gedaliah was a very sad occasion , for again , our people were not listening to HaShem , and some who were with Ishmael , wanted to win the Land back , their own way , and carry on in their own way of belief , but we need to learn , that What HaShem Says , Is What Goes . Nothing else . We cannot make other ways or find other ways that sit with us better . HaShem , Who Is All - Knowing , Is Who we are to follow , whether we agree or not . HaShem Knows All . Our own logic is of no consequence . Nothing and no one matches HaShem , And If HaShem Tells us To Do Something His Way , then we are to listen . This is a very Meaningful Fast , for we can take the lesson to account , that from now on , we are to try our best to put our own ways and wants aside , and follow only in the Path Of HaShem Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu , The Holy One Blessed Be He . Wishing all those Jews Fasting , a Meaningful Fast .