וּבְכָל־מְדִינָ֣ה וּמְדִינָ֗ה מְקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר דְּבַר־הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ וְדָתוֹ֙ מַגִּ֔יעַ אֵ֤בֶל גָּדוֹל֙ לַיְּהוּדִ֔ים וְצ֥וֹם וּבְכִ֖י וּמִסְפֵּ֑ד שַׂ֣ק וָאֵ֔פֶר יֻצַּ֖ע לָֽרַבִּֽים׃
At sa bawat lalawigan, saanmang lugar umabot ang utos ng hari at ang kanyang batas, nagkaroon ng malaking pagdadalamhati ang mga Judio, at pag-aayuno, at pag-iyak, at pananaghoy; magaspang na sako at abo ang inilatag na higaan ng marami.
Duties of the Heart
Among them, that which the people of Nineveh did, when they heard what the Creator decreed on them, as written: "So the people of Nineveh believed in G-d, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them" (Yona 3:5), and similarly what our fathers did in the days of Haman, as written: "And in every province, where the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes" (Esther 4:3), and many like this in our books, when you investigate it, you will find it scattered frequently in the words of our ancestors.