Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar has called on the public Thursday to hold a special day of fasting on the eve of the month of Elul as means of combating the swine flu epidemic.
Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, as well as Great Rabbinical Court judges Rabbi Ezra Bar Shalom and Zion Boeron have joined Amar's call.
The rabbis issued a statement urging people to fast, even only for half a day. Those who are unable to fast, they said, should refrain from speaking on that day.
Rabbi Amar noted that according to the Ta'anit tractate in the Gemara, Rabbi Yehuda has ordered the public to fast upon hearing of an epidemic among pigs, because "the intestines and digestive system of pigs is similar to humans'."
Earlier this week, a group of rabbis set out for a flight over Israel
in order to fight the spread of the disease in the country.
During the flight the passengers blew the shofar seven times and said prayers intended for abolishing illnesses.
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