First off, I think you have it backwards. Upon arriving home, one is *allowed* to fast immediately; however on arrival at a strange place, one is not *forced* to fast immediately.
I hardly see that the wording of the passage is in line with this. I don't see why saying "but if he come to his home, where he hath heretofore been permanently resident, he *must* commence his fast upon the first day after his arrival" should mean we are *allowed* to fast. Surely it means that we are supposed to. To say that we are allowed to fast then makes out that it is worded as an exemption, but this is not so. Also, in regards to arrival in a strange place, it says "he should not observe the Fast till three days have elapsed." By saying that we are merely not forced to fast, you give the impression that Baha'u'llah gives us the choice, yet His words seem quite clear that we shouldn't fast for three days.
In my opinion, Americans, especially American men, have such a poor sense of belonging that the normal feelings of dislocation that should occur when away from home are not allowed to be acknowledged. In fact being homesick is seen as a indication of immaturity.
We are not talking about some form of jet lag here, which appears to be a simple disruption of the circadian rhythm. Recovery from this is generally blvd to take about 24 hours per time zone of change.
I'm not sure how this helps. If feelings of dislocation have any relevance, why wouldn't we be commanded not to fast the whole time? Why are we told not to fast for three days? From what you describe, one would think an exemption after the three days had passed would be in order.
Regards, David
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