By vosizneias.com and gruntig.blogspot.com
Rav Yehuda was told about a plague among swine (pigs).
He decreed a fast, something that is done in times of danger, even though the Jews didn’t seem affected, certainly not by financial loss and not by a threat to their health.
The Gemara asks if Rav Yehuda’s rationale is that a plague on one type of livestock can spread to other types of livestock.
The Gemara concludes that Rav Yehuda’s fear was that the digestive tract of a pig resembles the digestive tract of a human, indicating that a health threat to the former is a health threat to the latter.
The Tosefot commentary is somewhat different, explaining that Rav Yehuda was worried that the plague would spread from the swine to non-Jews, and then from the non-Jews to the Jew.
Ein Chadash Tachas Hashemesh
there’s nothing new under the sun!
(what’s the Hebrew saying that comes from?)
So, instead of fasting, we should increase in positive action-more ahavas yisroel and learning!
I was just talking about this on Shabbos, remembering having learned it in seminary, but wasn’t sure of the details.
Thats why its called swine Flu
you?