Taanis 30
Summary
- An English-language shiur on תענית דף ל׳ frames the learning and the cycle’s סיום as dedicated לזכר נשמת גלעד, אייל, ונפתלי and as a zechus to bring שלום על ישראל, and it continues the halachic and aggadic arc of אבילות around משנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה, שבוע שחל בו, ערב תשעה באב, and תשעה באב itself. It follows the Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah Berurah on laundering, haircuts, marriages, סעודה המפסקת, and post-fast practice, and then moves through the Gemara’s machlokesim and pesakim, including Ravah’s dual rulings that narrow the period of restrictions and allow immediate leniencies after the fast (with מנהג to wait until חצות of the tenth). It develops the theme that תשעה באב parallels but does not fully replicate personal אבילות, explains the Torah-learning prohibition as rooted in *simchah* of תלמוד תורה, and presents Rav Soloveitchik’s explanation for the emotional shift after חצות on תשעה באב and the נחמה of שבת נחמו as arising from the idea that Hashem “took the collateral” of the בית המקדש and spared the people. It ends with practical norms of מלאכה on תשעה באב, the promise that “כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה,” and the conclusion that the next learning will begin מסכת מגילה.
- An English shiur sets today’s דף as תענית דף ל׳ and calls it the last דף being done now, with tomorrow’s דף to be uploaded from the last cycle. An OU and other organizations dedicate the סיום of תענית this cycle around לזכר נשמת גלעד, אייל, ונפתלי, with the לימוד intended לעילוי נשמתם, and also להבדיל as a zechus for שלום על ישראל. An appeal asks that the לימוד lead הקדוש ברוך הוא to “look down” and bring שלום to עם ישראל soon and bring good things for all of עם ישראל.
- An English explanation ties משנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה to halachic נפקא מינות such as choosing when to go to a דין תורה and to the Ritva’s idea that *אין מזל לישראל* might not apply in the same way to these months because there is already a נטייה toward tragedy. An English presentation rules stringently like the Shulchan Aruch that during שבוע שחל בו one may not launder even clothing not intended to be worn until after תשעה באב, because planning for “after” is treated as a היסח הדעת from אבילות. An English summary cites תקנ״א סעיף ג׳ that even one with only one חלוק is אסור, and it states that after the fast laundering and haircuts are permitted מיד, while the מנהג is to wait until חצות on the tenth of אב, with a noted leniency when תשעה באב falls on Thursday to allow preparations Friday morning לכבוד שבת. An English account contrasts the gradations of severity as תשעה באב, then שבוע שחל בו, then the nine days, then the three weeks, and it records the Rema’s מנהג not to marry from י״ז בתמוז and the Mishnah Berurah’s allowance for סעודת אירוסין.
- An English account states that regarding ליינינג, even though a תנא disputes the number of aliyos when תשעה באב falls on Monday or Thursday, the psak follows רבי יוסי that there are always three aliyos, with the מפטיר as the שלישי who reads the הפטורה. An English explanation states that when תשעה באב falls on שבת, the Gemara is applied to avoid minimizing normal Shabbos activities, and the Mishnah Berurah is cited that one may eat meat and drink wine in סעודה המפסקת and may set one’s table “even like סעודת שלמה בעת מלכותו,” while still stopping before שקיעה. An English presentation brings the Mishnah Berurah’s two views about mood and company at that Shabbos סעודה, quoting the Rokach to sit in דאבון נפש and avoid a סעודת חברים, and quoting *Bchor Shor* that refraining from one’s normal Shabbos gathering would constitute אבילות בפרהסיא; it adds that eating with בני ביתו is permitted and that on Shabbos they do form a זימון. An English transition notes a prior מחלוקת מחבר and Rema about דברים שבצנעא such as תשמיש המטה when תשעה באב is on שבת.
- An English explanation presents a three-way machlokes: רבי מאיר defines the restriction period as “nine days,” רבי יהודה as the entire month, and רבן שמעון בן גמליאל as only that week, with a second ברייתא stating parallel formulations from ראש חודש to the fast, all month, or that week alone. An English report quotes רבי יוחנן that all three derive from the same pasuk in הושע, “והשבתי כל משושה חגה חדשה ושבתה,” with each opinion anchored in one word: חגה for the pre-fast span, חדשה for the whole month, and שבתה for that week. An English conclusion cites רבא’s rulings of הלכה כרבן שמעון בן גמליאל and הלכה כרבי מאיר and explains the Gemara’s וצריכא as meaning both rulings are intended לקולא: restrictions apply only during שבוע שחל בו before תשעה באב, and restrictions do not continue after the fast. An English reading explains that without the ruling like רבן שמעון בן גמליאל one might extend restrictions back to ראש חודש, and without the ruling like רבי מאיר one might extend restrictions after תשעה באב, so both are needed to narrow the time window.
- An English account states Tosafos’ חידוש that when תשעה באב falls on Thursday, laundering and haircuts should be allowed from חצות onward on תשעה באב for כבוד שבת, and it records that the Beis Yosef rejects this and that the accepted practice keeps the day’s prohibitions in force. An English explanation states that the only major relaxation commonly noted for תשעה באב afternoon is sitting on a chair, alongside מנהגים such as putting on תפילין after חצות and saying תתקבל, while learning and שאלת שלום and other restrictions largely remain.
- An English presentation reports Rav Soloveitchik’s idea, as printed in “The Lord is righteous in all His ways” pages 36–37, that until late afternoon of תשעה באב it is “very scary” because it is not yet decided whether כלל ישראל or only the בית המקדש will be destroyed. An English narrative states that he portrays מדת הדין as arguing that חורבן בית המקדש is not enough and that the people should be destroyed, and it says that until late afternoon no one knew whether Hashem would destroy His people or substitute the בית המקדש for them. An English description states that after מנחה Hashem chooses to take His משכון, and that when Titus set the בית המקדש on fire כלל ישראל knew the substitute was chosen and the people would survive, so קינות are recited only in the morning and the afternoon resembles a more typical fast day with *Vayechal* and “דרשו השם בהמצאו.” An English conclusion links this to שבת נחמו as נחמה that Hashem kept כלל ישראל as His people, and it adds a מדרש explaining כפה עליהם הר כגיגית as creating a bond “so that He would never be able to divorce us,” invoking “ולא תהיה לאשה לא יוכל לשלחה כל ימיו.”
- An English reading states the Gemara’s rule that ערב תשעה באב one may not eat שני תבשילין, and it attributes to רב יהודה that this applies only from six hours and up, while earlier in the day there is no limitation. An English account states Rav Yehudah’s second rule that the limitation applies only to the סעודה המפסיק בה, while earlier meals—even after חצות—are not restricted, and the Gemara’s וצריכא explains that both conditions are required so the restriction is only the final meal after חצות. An English report cites ברייתות supporting both formulations, including one that permits meat and wine if one will eat another סעודה afterward and forbids them if not, and another that defines the שינוי as reducing dishes, guests, and cups after חצות while permitting before חצות.
- An English explanation contrasts אבילות חדשה after a death, which begins intensely and then gradually lessens through day-of-burial, day one, שבעה, שלושים, and י״ב חודש, with אבילות ישנה of תשעה באב that intensifies as it approaches, moving from the three weeks to ראש חודש אב to שבוע שחל בו to ערב תשעה באב and then the fast itself. An English statement asserts that this is why the “final meal” structure is reversed from personal mourning, where the bread-and-eggs meal follows the event, while here the bread-and-eggs סעודה המפסקת precedes the fast’s full restrictions.
- An English account states that Rishonim debate how to define תבשיל, including whether two items cooked together count as one dish or two, and it notes that contemporary practice often renders this less practical because people eat earlier and then have a simple סעודה המפסקת of bread and egg with ashes. An English quotation-based summary reports Tosafos’ definition that “two dishes” means two pots, while a mixed cooked dish containing onions, cheese, and eggs is treated as one תבשיל for this דין because the restriction is tied to *oneg* and multiple courses rather than ingredient count.
- An English account cites a ברייתא that at the meal “משום תשעה באב” meat and wine are forbidden and washing is also forbidden, while another view attributed to רבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי בשם אביו says that any time eating is permitted, washing is permitted as well. An English explanation states the Ramban’s position, quoted by the Ran, that once one begins אבילות via the סעודה המפסקת one should also avoid washing and anointing because it is inconsistent to practice mourning at the meal while engaging in *idunim* on oneself. An English account presents the Rosh’s leniency that washing is forbidden because its pleasure carries into the fast, but other laws such as removing shoes do not begin until dark because one will change shoes later, and it records that Shulchan Aruch is lenient on removing shoes during the סעודה המפסקת and the Rema adds explicitly that there is no need to remove them then.
- An English quotation-based summary states a ברייתא that “כל מצות הנוהגות באבל נוהגות בתשעה באב,” listing the prohibitions of eating, drinking, washing, anointing, wearing shoes, marital relations, and learning Torah, including Torah, Neviim, Kesuvim, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, halachos, and aggados. An English account states that it permits learning unfamiliar material that causes distress and permits reading קינות, איוב, and the “דברים הרעים שבירמיה,” and it states that תינוקות של בית רבן are בטלין because “פקודי ה׳ ישרים משמחי לב,” with רבי יהודה restricting even unfamiliar study and allowing only Iyov, Kinos, and bad passages in Yirmiyahu. An English explanation attributes to the Ramban the clarification that the comparison to personal mourning is incomplete because practices such as קריעה, כפיית המטה, and עטיפת הראש are not done on תשעה באב, and the day adopts primarily the prohibitions rather than the positive mourning acts.
- An English presentation attributes to Rav Avraham min haHar the claim that all מצוות are *mitzvos lav lihanos nitnu* except תלמוד תורה, because the enjoyment of Torah is part of its definition, as proven by “פקודי ה׳ ישרים משמחי לב,” which explains why one מודר הנאה may not use communal ספרים. An English account brings the *Eglei Tal* that *Torah lishmah* does not mean learning without enjoyment and that enjoying Torah is central to its internalization. An English summary states a Rishonim dispute whether an אבל may learn “דברים הרעים,” and it records that Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah permits Iyov, Kinos, bad passages in Yirmiyahu, and halachos of aveilus, with special allowances when רבים צריכים לו to teach via a מתורגמן.
- An English account cites *Aruch HaShulchan* תקנ״ד סעיף ג׳ that Torah learning includes both שמחה and the צער of exertion, but its essence brings joy to the Jewish soul even when the act is difficult. An English explanation frames the tannaitic dispute as whether to focus on the immediate experience of strain or on the soul’s underlying joy, and it links this to the Rambam’s “כופין אותו עד שיאמר רוצה אני” as evidence that the inner רצון differs from outward feeling. An English conclusion states that learning “דברים הרעים” is permitted because the soul also feels pain over צרת ישראל, so the צער offsets the Torah joy sufficiently to allow it.
- An English account states the Gemara’s allowance on the eve meal for בשר מליח and יין מגיתו as inferior forms not treated like standard meat and wine. An English quotation-based summary defines בשר מליח as permitted only as long as it is “כשלמים,” and it defines יין מגיתו as permitted only while it is תוסס, with fermentation lasting three days; it adds that יין תוסס has no concern of גילוי in that period.
- An English account reports Rav Yehudah בשם רב that Rabbi Yehudah bar רבי אילעאי’s practice was to eat פת חריבה with salt while sitting between the oven and stove and to drink a jug of water, feeling “כמי שמתו מוטל לפניו.” An English aside records a tradition that the *Chasam Sofer* would not begin תשעה באב until he had “a cup of tears” and reached the proper mood before reading איכה.
- An English summary states the Mishnah in Pesachim that doing מלאכה on תשעה באב depends on local custom, while תלמידי חכמים refrain everywhere, and רבן שמעון בן גמליאל says everyone should act like a תלמיד חכם to be מתענה. An English account cites a ברייתא that one who eats and drinks on תשעה באב is like one who eats and drinks on יום הכיפורים, and it states a distinction that many poskim do not require *shiurim* eating on תשעה באב when one is permitted to eat. An English report quotes רבי עקיבא that one who does מלאכה on תשעה באב never sees סימן ברכה from it, and it quotes Chazal that one who does not mourn for ירושלים will not see its joy, while “כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה.” An English explanation attributes to the *Chasam Sofer* the reading of זוכה ורואה as present tense, tied to Rashi’s “אין מקבלין תנחומין על החי,” implying ongoing life and hope, and it adds the tradition about Napoleon concluding that a nation mourning so long will regain its Temple. An English note attributes to the Magen Avraham that avoiding מלאכה is rooted in avoiding היסח הדעת from אבילות, and it cites Tosafos urging self-affliction such as reducing pillows.
- An English account states that the Rema records a מנהג not to learn from חצות on ערב תשעה באב except what is permitted on תשעה באב, while the Mishnah Berurah says this is not strict הדין and cites Acharonim who accepted the מנהג even when the fast is on Shabbos. An English summary states that some Acharonim questioned the practice as a חומרא that leads to קולא because people then waste the time in markets and idle talk, and the Biur Halacha argues that if one is not learning anyway, it is better to learn, while concluding that he cannot change the ברור איסור of the day itself and that ערב תשעה באב leaves room for leniency.
- An English summary cites the statement that one who eats meat and drinks wine on תשעה באב is described by the pasuk “ותהי עוונותם על עצמותם.” An English account attributes to the Ritva the פירוש that such a person’s bones will not rise in the תחיית המתים associated with the building of the בית המקדש for those who died in exile yearning for redemption, while still allowing the possibility of a later תחייה “ביום הדין שהוא אחר ימות המשיח.”
- An English narrative reports the Mishnah that רבי יהודה requires כפיית המיטה on תשעה באב and the חכמים reject it, with רבי יהודה conceding for one who cannot and the חכמים conceding for one who can, and it identifies the remaining difference as whether one must overturn other beds besides one’s own, as is required in ordinary mourning. An English conclusion states Ravah’s הלכה like the Mishnah’s תנא that כפיית המיטה is not practiced on תשעה באב, and it adds Tosafos’ note that even in standard aveilus the practice is not done today, citing reasons such as concern for כשפים and changes in bed structures. An English explanation conveys the symbolic reason given by מפרשים that overturning the bed reflects a diminution of צלם אלקים in the world, connects it to covering mirrors as reducing focus on צלם אלקים, and records that Rav Soloveitchik would also cover pictures though that is not the מנהג העולם.
- An English closing returns to the dedication that the סיום is לזכר נשמת אייל, נפתלי, and גילעד and as a prayer for שלום בארץ ישראל and worldwide. An English final statement says that the next learning will pick up with מסכת מגילה.
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