The Eli B. Sitt Edition and Audio Series of the Talmud Bavli, Tractate Ta’anit, is being studied לעילוי נשמת Abraham ben Esther. May his soul be bound in the bond of life. Amen. Today’s page is also being studied for the complete healing of Eliyahu Hayim ben Shafia.
We begin today’s page, 29a, on the second line. The Gemara says that it was on Tisha B’Av that it was decreed upon our forefathers in the wilderness that they would not enter Eretz Yisrael. This followed the episode of the spies. The spies returned and gave a negative report about Eretz Yisrael, the Jewish people accepted their report, and they cried. HaKadosh Baruch Hu then decreed that they would not enter the land.
The Gemara now needs to establish the timeline. How do we know that this took place on Tisha B’Av? The Gemara takes us back to the beginning of the history of the Jewish people in the wilderness and traces each event in order, demonstrating that the spies returned on the eighth of Av, that the people accepted their report, and that they cried that night.
As it says, “It was in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the Mishkan was erected.” This verse tells us that the Mishkan was inaugurated in the second year of the Jewish people’s stay in the wilderness. During the first year, Moshe Rabbeinu built the Mishkan; in the second year, he inaugurated it. We therefore know that the spies were sent during the second year, the same year in which the Mishkan was inaugurated.
The Torah then says that the cloud rose from above the Mishkan, which was the signal for the Jewish people to begin traveling. They traveled from Har Sinai on a journey of three days.
Rav Hama bar Hanina explains that on that day they traveled away from Har Sinai quickly. The verse can be understood as indicating that they hurried away from the mountain. They left on the twentieth of Iyar and traveled for three days. This already marked the beginning of the decline of the Jewish people.
What happened next? The rabble among the Jewish people began to crave. They wanted meat, and they began complaining about the food. They cried and complained, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave them meat for a period of one month, until it came out of their noses, as the verse says.
Let us calculate the dates. They left Har Sinai on the twentieth of Iyar and traveled for three days: the twentieth, twenty-first, and twenty-second. On the twenty-second of Iyar, they began complaining about the meat. According to Rashi, when the Torah says “a month of days,” it does not mean a thirty-day month but a lunar month, which consists of twenty-nine days. Counting twenty-nine days from the twenty-second of Iyar brings us to the twenty-second of Sivan.
Let us review the sequence. We are in the second year. On the first of Nisan, the Mishkan was inaugurated. On the twentieth of Iyar, the cloud rose from the Mishkan and the Jewish people began traveling. After three days, on the twenty-second of Iyar, the rabble began complaining. HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave them meat for a month. According to Rashi, that month consisted of twenty-nine days, bringing us to the twenty-second of Sivan.
The Torah then relates that Miriam spoke slander about Moshe Rabbeinu and was punished. She contracted a skin affliction and was quarantined for seven days. Seven days after the twenty-second of Sivan brings us to the twenty-ninth of Sivan.
Immediately after the episode in which Miriam spoke about her brother, the spies were dispatched to Eretz Yisrael. They were sent on the twenty-ninth of Sivan and returned after forty days. The Gemara says that the forty-day count is short by one day. Why?
Rashi explains that the calculation includes two days of Sivan—the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of Sivan—because Sivan was a full month. It includes twenty-nine days of Tammuz, because Tammuz is generally a deficient month, and then eight days of Av. That calculation gives only thirty-nine days. If the spies returned on the eighth of Av, the eighth would therefore be only the thirty-ninth day.
Rav Hama bar Hanina says that in that year Tammuz was a full month and contained thirty days. Consequently, the eighth of Av was actually the fortieth day. The spies returned on the eighth of Av, and the people cried that night, the night of Tisha B’Av. As a result, they were punished and were not permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael.
How do we know that Tammuz was a full month that year? The verse says, “He called an appointed time against me.” In this context, “an appointed time” refers to the additional day, the thirtieth day of the month, which could have become either the additional day of Tammuz or the first day of Av. That additional day is called an appointed time.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu called that day an appointed time because He wanted the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash to take place on the same day that had been designated for destruction. The same day was therefore also used for the punishment resulting from the spies.
The Gemara says that the entire people raised their voices and cried that night. It says, “They cried that night.” That night was the night of Tisha B’Av. They were crying without cause. HaKadosh Baruch Hu said to them, in effect: I told you that the land was good, and you accepted the slander against it. You are crying because you do not want to enter the land; now you will have a reason to cry. You will be punished and will not enter Eretz Yisrael.
On that night, approximately fifteen thousand people from the generation of the wilderness died each year until the forty years were completed and all those who had been included in the decree had died without entering Eretz Yisrael. Their baseless crying led to crying for generations. This is how we know that Tisha B’Av was the night on which the decree was made against the Jewish people.
The Mishnah then says that the first Beit HaMikdash was destroyed on Tisha B’Av. How do we know this? The verse says, “In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, Nebuzaradan, the chief executioner and servant of the king of Babylonia, came to Jerusalem.” According to this verse, Nebuzaradan burned the Beit HaMikdash on the seventh of Av.
We have another verse, however, which says that Nebuzaradan came on the tenth of the month and stood in Jerusalem. We must therefore reconcile the two verses. Was the Beit HaMikdash destroyed on the seventh or on the tenth? It cannot have been on the seventh, because another verse says the tenth; but it also cannot have been on the tenth, because the first verse says the seventh.
A Baraita explains that on the seventh day, Nebuzaradan entered the Sanctuary. He and his men ate there, drank there, celebrated, and committed various abominations in the Beit HaMikdash itself. They remained there and continued their abominations on the seventh and eighth of Av.
As darkness approached on the ninth of Av, near sunset, they set the Beit HaMikdash on fire. The fire continued burning throughout the entire tenth of Av. The verse says, “The day has turned,” and “the shadow has lengthened,” referring to the approach of evening. The people cried, “Woe to us,” because at that point the Beit HaMikdash was being destroyed.
Thus, Nebuzaradan entered on the seventh, they celebrated and committed their abominations on the seventh, eighth, and part of the ninth, and then they set the Beit HaMikdash on fire toward the end of the ninth. The fire burned throughout the tenth, which is why one verse refers to the seventh and another to the tenth.
Rabbi Yohanan said that if he had been present in that generation, he would have established the fast on the tenth of Av, because the majority of the Beit HaMikdash burned on the tenth. In truth, the destruction was primarily on the tenth. The question is therefore why the fast was established on the night of the ninth, when the fire began only toward sunset and the majority of the Beit HaMikdash burned on the tenth.
The Sages responded that we follow the beginning of the calamity. Once the fire was set, everything was already in motion. Therefore, because the fire was kindled on the night of Tisha B’Av, that night is considered the day of the calamity and destruction.
The Gemara then asks how we know that the second Beit HaMikdash was also destroyed on Tisha B’Av. A Baraita teaches that merit is arranged for a meritorious day, and calamity for a day designated for calamity. Good things occur on days suited for good, and bad things occur on days suited for bad. Since Tisha B’Av was already designated as a day of destruction, it was fitting that the second Beit HaMikdash would also be destroyed on that day.
Many calamities occurred on Tisha B’Av. The Gemara says that on the day the second Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, it was Shabbat. It was also the year following the Sabbatical year, the eighth year of the cycle. The priestly family serving that week was the family of Jehoiarib, and the Levites were standing on the platform near the altar and singing.
What song were they singing? They were singing the verse, “And He will destroy them for their evil, and He will destroy them.” They did not finish the verse. They were about to say the words indicating that God would destroy them when the gentiles entered the Sanctuary and began destroying the Beit HaMikdash.
Why were they singing that song? It was the song designated for the fourth day, not the song for the first day of the week, which is the song sung after Shabbat. Rashi, and possibly Tosafot as well, explains that although this was not the appropriate psalm for that day, the verse was placed in their mouths miraculously at the time of the destruction.
The word used for this occurrence refers to a lamentation. The psalm was placed in their mouths by divine design so that they would be reciting words of destruction precisely when the enemies entered the Sanctuary and destroyed it. The same sequence of events occurred during the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash: it was the same priestly division, the same point in the Sabbatical cycle, and the same pattern of events. The events of the first destruction were repeated during the second.
Another calamity that occurred on Tisha B’Av was the destruction of Beitar. Beitar was a stronghold of the Jewish people even after the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash. A large Jewish population lived there, and as long as Beitar remained, there was still a possibility that the Jewish people might defeat the Romans and perhaps rebuild the Beit HaMikdash. Once Beitar was destroyed, the Romans were able to declare a final victory.
When was Beitar destroyed? It was destroyed on Tisha B’Av. How do we know? The Gemara says that this is a tradition. We have no verse proving it; we received it as a tradition from our ancestors.
After the destruction of Beitar, the Romans came and plowed over Jerusalem. They plowed through the entire city and razed it to the ground.
A Baraita relates that when Turnus Rufus, the wicked Roman official, came to destroy the Sanctuary, a decree was issued against Rabban Gamliel, the head of the Sanhedrin, that he should be put to death. One of the Roman officials came to the study hall and announced that the prominent one—the important one, the greatest leader of the generation—was being summoned by the government.
Why was Rabban Gamliel called “the one with the prominent nose”? The commentators explain that the value of Rabban Gamliel to the Jewish people was like the breath in their nostrils. Without him, the Jewish people could not continue to exist. If the Roman Empire was viewed as one body and its subjects as parts of that collective body, the most important part would be the organ through which one breathes. Therefore, they called Rabban Gamliel “the master of the nose”: he was the source of life for the Jewish people.
Rabban Gamliel understood why he was being summoned. He knew that they intended to kill him, but he went. He then fled and hid in a private place. The Roman official found him there.
The official said to Rabban Gamliel: If I save you, will you guarantee me a portion in the World to Come? Rabban Gamliel answered that he would. The official asked him to swear, and Rabban Gamliel swore that he would do so.
The official then climbed onto the roof and jumped off, taking his own life. The Romans had a tradition that whenever they issued a decree and one of their own people died, they considered it a bad omen. They would say that the death had resulted from the decree they had issued against the Jewish leader, and they would therefore annul the decree.
By killing himself, the official saved Rabban Gamliel. One of their own had died, and the decree against Rabban Gamliel was consequently withdrawn. A heavenly voice emerged and declared that this official indeed had a prepared portion in the World to Come because he had sacrificed himself to save Rabban Gamliel.
The young priests who had been serving in the Beit HaMikdash gathered together. They held the keys to the Sanctuary, and they climbed onto the roof of the Beit HaMikdash. They said that since they had not merited being loyal caretakers of the Beit HaMikdash, they were evidently guilty. They had not properly guarded the treasury and the Sanctuary, and they therefore had to return the keys.
They threw the keys toward Heaven, and a hand emerged from Heaven and accepted them. They then jumped into the fire. The Beit HaMikdash was already burning, and they had climbed onto the roof to save themselves temporarily from the flames. They returned the keys to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and then jumped into the fire themselves.
This was not considered ordinary suicide, because the fire was going to consume them in any event. They were destined to die, and they chose to die in this manner rather than wait to suffocate in the flames and endure terrible suffering. The prophets lamented their deaths.
The prophet speaks of the vision of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called the city of the vision because everyone looks toward it. The prophet asks what is happening and why the people have gone up to the rooftops. The verse describes the city that had once been bustling, joyful, and great, and now asks why its people are dying on the rooftops.
It says that the dead did not die by the sword, nor did they die in battle. How did they die? They died by jumping into the fire on the roof of the Beit HaMikdash.
Another verse says that God was lamenting and crying. These are expressions of mourning and lamentation. The mountain of Zion was being destroyed, and the prophet describes the mourning over its destruction.
We have now established the five calamities that occurred on Tisha B’Av. The Gemara proceeds to the Mishnah’s statement that when the month of Av begins, we decrease our joy. The Gemara says that just as we decrease our joy when Av begins, we increase our joy when the month of Adar begins.
Why do we increase our joy in Adar? The Gemara explains that the miracles of Adar are not limited to Purim. They include Purim and Pesach. Adar begins the period of miracles, and the joy continues into Nisan. It is therefore a two-month period of joy for the Jewish people.
Rav Pappa says that if a Jew has a court case with a gentile, he should avoid appearing before the court during the month of Av, because the fortune of the Jewish people is weak during that month. He should make himself available for the court case during Adar, when the fortune of the Jewish people is strong.
Tosafot quotes what we learned on the previous page: good days are designated for good things to happen. For that reason, one should avoid becoming involved in a court case during Av, a month of misfortune, and should instead arrange it for Adar.
Some say that one should avoid beginning a court case throughout the entire month of Av and should wait until Rosh Chodesh Elul. Others say that it is sufficient to wait until the fast has ended, after which one may begin the court case. In any event, the best time would be Adar.
The Gemara then quotes another statement of Rabbi Yehudah. The verse says that God exiled the Jewish people to Babylonia “to give them a future and a hope.” How did the exile to Babylonia give them a future and a hope?
Rav Yehudah, son of Rav Shemuel bar Shilat, said in the name of Rav that this refers to the date palms and the flax. Babylonia had an abundant supply of dates, and it also had flax from which clothing could be made. Although God sent the Jewish people into exile, He sent them to a place where they could sustain themselves comfortably.
The Maharsha explains that these things are described as providing a future and a hope because they endure. Dates remain on the tree for a long time, and linen clothing also lasts for a long time. These durable resources gave the Jewish people the ability to survive in exile.
The Gemara then discusses Yaakov Avinu’s entry into the presence of his father, Yitzchak, wearing Esav’s clothing. Yitzchak’s clothing was made from goat hair, and nothing smells worse than goat hair. Yet when Yaakov entered, Yitzchak said, “See, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that God has blessed.”
What was this fragrance? It was like the fragrance of a field of apple trees. Tosafot explains that the smell was like a field of apples, which gives a pleasant fragrance, similar to the fragrance of an etrog. Thus, the garments did not merely smell like goat hair; they had the fragrance of a blessed field.
The Gemara now returns to the laws of the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs. During that week, it is forbidden to take haircuts or to launder clothing.
Rav Nahman says that the prohibition applies only when one launders clothing in order to wear it. If one launders clothing and puts it away, it is permitted. According to Rav Nahman, the prohibition is laundering for the purpose of wearing. Laundering merely to place the clothing in a drawer is permitted.
Rav Sheshet says that even laundering clothing in order to put it away is forbidden. In his view, the act of laundering itself is prohibited, even if one does not intend to wear the clothing. Why? In earlier times, laundering was a significant undertaking. One had to go to the river, carry the clothes there, wash them, squeeze them out, use the cleaning materials, and dry them. The entire process could distract a person from mourning. The Sages therefore did not want a person to be occupied with another type of activity instead of focusing on the mourning of Tisha B’Av.
Rav Sheshet brings a proof from the fact that the laundresses in Rav’s house stopped working during the week after Tisha B’Av. If Rav Nahman were correct, they could have continued laundering as long as the clothing was not worn. Since they stopped entirely, this indicates that even laundering for the purpose of putting the clothing away is forbidden.
The Gemara explains that the laundresses were called those who shrink clothing, because laundering causes clothing to shrink.
Rav Menuna raises a difficulty from a Baraita: On Thursday of the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs, laundering is permitted for the honor of Shabbat. If the permission is only to launder and wear, what does that mean? Would a person launder the clothing on Thursday and wear it on Thursday? That would not be for the honor of Shabbat. The obvious meaning is that he launders the clothing on Thursday in order to wear it on Shabbat. This seems to prove that laundering in order to put clothing away is permitted at least on Thursday.
Rav Nahman answers that the Baraita is discussing a person who has only one garment. Normally, one may not launder clothing during that week, but a person with only one garment may launder it on Thursday. He wears it on Thursday, and the honor of Shabbat is that he enters Shabbat wearing a garment that is at least somewhat clean. Since he has only one garment, this leniency is granted.
Rav Asi says that the source for this leniency is a statement of Rabbi Yohanan regarding the intermediate days of a festival. Generally, one may not launder clothing during those days, because one is expected to launder before the festival. However, if a person has only one garment, he may launder it during the intermediate days and wear it.
The reason is that the garment becomes infested with lice and becomes dirty. Even if the person washed it before the festival, he may wash it again during the intermediate days because he has only one garment. This demonstrates that there is a special dispensation for someone who has only one garment.
Zephat discusses whether children’s clothing is included in this leniency. Children may have many garments, but because they constantly soil them and require clean clothing repeatedly, their clothing is comparable to the single garment of an adult. Accordingly, the same leniency may apply to the clothing of young children who consistently dirty their clothes.
Another statement of the Sages appears to support Rav Nahman. It says that it is forbidden to launder clothing before Tisha B’Av even in order to put it away and wear it after Tisha B’Av. This is a difficulty for Rav Nahman and a proof for Rav Sheshet, because even laundering for later use is prohibited.
The Gemara distinguishes between two forms of cleaning clothing: pressing and laundering. Laundering is done with water. In Babylonia, the water was not clear and was not particularly effective, so Babylonian pressing was comparable to laundering in Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, in Eretz Yisrael, laundering was prohibited, while in Babylonia, pressing was prohibited.
Rashi explains that the pressing of Babylonia was equivalent to the laundering of Eretz Yisrael. The laundering of Babylonia, however, was inferior, because the water was not clear, and therefore it remained permitted. Nevertheless, the Baraita teaches that even pressing before Tisha B’Av is prohibited, including pressing in order to put the clothing away until after Tisha B’Av.
With regard to linen garments, the Baraita says that pressing them is permitted. Pressing does not benefit linen in the same way, because linen becomes wrinkled and the pressing does not produce the same noticeable improvement. Therefore, pressing linen clothing is permitted.
The Gemara concludes that this is a refutation of Rav Nahman. Rav Nahman, an Amora, had said that laundering in order to put clothing away is permitted, but the teaching of the Tannaim indicates that it is prohibited. Rav Yitzchak therefore leaves Rav Nahman’s opinion as refuted.
Rav Yitzchak bar Giyurei said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan that although we have said that pressing linen is not prohibited because it does not significantly improve the garment, one should nevertheless not wear linen garments that have been pressed during the week of Tisha B’Av. Pressing is not itself the problem, but wearing the pressed garments during that week is prohibited.
Rav says that this prohibition applies only before Tisha B’Av. After Tisha B’Av, even though it is still the same week, one may wear the garments. Shmuel disagrees and says that the garments may not be worn throughout the entire week, including after Tisha B’Av.
The Gemara challenges Shmuel from a Baraita. The Baraita discusses the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs and says that pressing is forbidden, but on Thursday it is permitted for the honor of Shabbat. This indicates that the prohibition applies before Tisha B’Av, while after Tisha B’Av it is permitted. That would be a refutation of Shmuel.
Before resolving the matter, the Gemara presents the full Baraita. If Tisha B’Av occurs on a Sunday, one may launder during the entire preceding week, because that is not the week of Tisha B’Av. If Tisha B’Av occurs on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, the days before Tisha B’Av are prohibited, but the days afterward, although they are still part of the same calendar week, are permitted according to the Baraita.
If Tisha B’Av occurs on Friday, one may launder on Thursday for the honor of Shabbat. If he did not launder on Thursday, he may launder on Friday from midday onward. The Baraita is saying that for the honor of Shabbat, one should launder on Thursday, but if he did not do so, he may launder on Friday from midday onward.
The Gemara briefly digresses to record that Abaye—or, according to another version, Rav Aha bar Yaakov—would curse anyone who laundered clothing on Tisha B’Av itself, even though the Baraita permits laundering on Friday afternoon when Tisha B’Av occurs on Friday.
The Gemara then returns to the Baraita’s laws concerning Torah reading. When Tisha B’Av occurs on a Monday or Thursday, three people are called to the Torah, as on every other Monday or Thursday. The third person also serves as the maftir and reads the concluding passage.
When Tisha B’Av occurs on Tuesday or Wednesday, which are not ordinarily days on which the Torah is read publicly, one person is called to the Torah and also serves as the maftir. Since there would otherwise be no Torah reading on that day, one person is called up because of Tisha B’Av, and that person also reads the concluding passage.
Rabbi Yosei says that in every case three people are called to the Torah and the third serves as the maftir, whether Tisha B’Av occurs on Monday or Thursday or on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The Gemara now returns to the dispute between Rav and Shmuel. It says that the Baraita is a refutation of Shmuel because the Baraita explicitly permits wearing the garments after Tisha B’Av, even though the rest of the week has not yet ended.
Shmuel responds that although the Gemara has brought one Baraita supporting Rav, there is another Baraita that clearly supports him. The second Baraita says that when discussing the week of Tisha B’Av, the prohibition applies before Tisha B’Av, but after Tisha B’Av it is permitted. Thus, according to Shmuel, the term “the week of Tisha B’Av” can mean the period leading up to Tisha B’Av, not necessarily the entire calendar week.
The Gemara then discusses the case in which Tisha B’Av occurs on Shabbat, or when the day before Tisha B’Av occurs on Shabbat, meaning that Tisha B’Av occurs on Sunday. Since one does not fast on Shabbat, one eats and drinks whatever one needs. There are no restrictions of mourning on Shabbat.
At the final meal before the fast, when Tisha B’Av occurs on a Sunday, one may eat a full meal and place as much food on the table as one wishes. One may even eat a meal like that of King Solomon in his time, when he was king and his table contained every delicacy. There is no mourning on Shabbat.
The Gemara now returns to the laws of haircuts and laundering. One opinion says that the prohibition lasts from Rosh Chodesh Av until the fast. Rabbi Yehudah says that the entire month of Av is prohibited. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that only the week of Tisha B’Av is prohibited.
These are three opinions. Rabbi Meir prohibits haircuts and laundering from Rosh Chodesh until the fast. Rabbi Yehudah prohibits them throughout the entire month of Av. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel prohibits them only during the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs.
The Gemara explains that all three Sages derive their positions from the same verse: “I will cause to cease all her joy, her festivals, her new moons, and her Sabbaths.” The verse contains references to a festival, a month, and Shabbat. Each Sage focuses on a different expression.
The Sage who says that the prohibition begins on Rosh Chodesh derives it from the word referring to a festival. Rosh Chodesh is called a festival, as we learned earlier when the verse referred to Rosh Chodesh as an appointed time. Therefore, when the verse says that God will cause the joy to cease from the festival, it begins on Rosh Chodesh.
The Sage who says that the entire month is prohibited derives the law from the word referring to the month. The Sage who says that only the week of Tisha B’Av is prohibited derives the law from the reference to Shabbat, meaning the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs.
Rav says that the law follows Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. The prohibition applies only during the week of Tisha B’Av. Rav also says that the prohibition applies after Tisha B’Av when Tisha B’Av occurs at the beginning of the week. The Gemara asks how Rav can make both statements. Does the law follow Rabbi Meir, who prohibits from Rosh Chodesh until the fast, or does it follow Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, who prohibits only during the week of Tisha B’Av?
The Gemara answers that Rav adopted the leniencies of both opinions. Rabbi Meir’s leniency is that the prohibition lasts only until the fast and does not continue afterward. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel’s leniency is that the prohibition begins only during the week of Tisha B’Av, not from Rosh Chodesh. Rav therefore rules that the prohibition applies during the week leading up to Tisha B’Av, but not after Tisha B’Av.
The Gemara asks why Rav needed to state both parts of his ruling. It would not have been sufficient to say only that the prohibition begins on Rosh Chodesh and ends with Tisha B’Av, because that might have implied that the prohibition continues throughout the week. Rav therefore had to clarify that he follows the lenient aspect of each opinion: the prohibition applies only during the relevant week and ends once Tisha B’Av has passed.
May the study of these teachings bring merit, and may we merit to see the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash speedily in our days. Amen.