The Jews of old asked Hashem, (Yeshayahu 56) “Why have we fasted, and You did not see; we have afflicted our soul and You do not know?”
The prophet answered, ” Offer your bread to the hungry, bring the wandering poor into your home. When you see someone naked, clothe him.”
Then you shall call and Hashem shall answer, you will cry and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ Hashem will always guide you and satiate your soul with radiance; He will strengthen your bones and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never cease”
G‑d exhorts the prophet Isaiah to admonish the people regarding their fasting ways which G‑d finds reprehensible — a message which resonated to this very day:
Instead, Isaiah teaches the Jews the proper way to fast:
“Loosen the fetters of wickedness, untie the bands of perverseness, send the oppressed free, and break every oppressive yoke. Offer your bread to the hungry, bring the wandering poor into your home. When you see someone naked, clothe him . . . Then you shall call and the L-rd shall answer, you shall cry and He shall say, ‘Here I am.’ . . . G‑d will always guide you and satiate your soul with radiance; He will strengthen your bones and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never cease…”
“Why have we fasted, and You did not see; we have afflicted our soul and You do not know?”
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and moaning poor you shall bring home; when you see a naked one, you shall clothe him, and from your flesh you shall not hide.
Then you shall call and the Lord shall answer, you shall cry and He shall say, “Here I am,” if you remove perverseness from your midst, putting forth the finger and speaking wickedness.
And you draw out your soul to the hungry, and an afflicted soul you sate, then your light shall shine in the darkness, and your darkness shall be like noon.
