Pesachim 54b (נד:) — the Talmud in English

And some say: even

the garment of Adam, the first man,

was created on the eve of Shabbat, during twilight. This is the garment of skin that the Lord made for Adam and Eve.

The Sages taught: Seven things are concealed from human beings. And these are they:

1.

The day of death.

2.

And the day of consolation,

when each person will be consoled from his sorrow. 3.

And the depth of judgment,

which most people do not fathom and concerning which they err. 4.

And no person knows what is in the heart of his fellow.

5.

And no person knows through what

he will

profit

[gain]. 6.

And

he does not know concerning

the kingdom of the House of David, when it will return.

7.

And the wicked kingdom

[the evil kingdom, the kingdom of Rome]

when it will end.

The Sages taught: Three things arose in the Divine thought to be created,

and they were created.

And

even

if they had not arisen

in thought,

it would have been just that they should arise

and be created, since without them a person could not exist in the world.

And these are they:

That the dead should decompose,

for if not, his relatives would hide him away and would not bring him to burial, and they would constantly see their sorrow before them.

And that produce should rot,

for if not, its owners would store it and bring famine upon the world.

And some say:

the thought also arose

concerning a coin that would circulate

—that is, that there would be currency accepted in commerce, with which anything could be purchased. For if not, the poor, who have neither a field nor a vineyard, would have nothing to eat.

Mishna:

In a place where the practice is to perform labor on Tisha Be-Av,

they

perform it.

And in a place where the practice is

to

not perform

labor then,

they do not perform it,

because it is prohibited to violate the practice of the place.

And everywhere, Torah scholars refrain

from labor on that day, even in a place where the rest of the people perform labor.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Every person should always conduct

his

own

self

as

a “Torah scholar”

in this matter: If he wishes to refrain from labor on that day, he is permitted to do so. We do not say that it appears to be presumptuous for him to conduct himself as a Torah scholar.

Gemara:

Shmuel said: The stringency of a communal fast in Babylonia applies to

no fast

except Tisha Be-Av alone!

Since there is no need for rain in Babylonia, fasts are not decreed there because of withheld rains. Therefore, even when a fast is decreed there for another reason, it does not have the stringency of a communal fast, with regard to the prohibition against labor, with regard to beginning the fast on the previous evening, or with regard to the other stringencies practiced in a communal fast beyond those of an individual’s fast.

Only Tisha Be-Av has the stringency of a communal fast, even in Babylonia.

And we challenge this:

Is that to say that Shmuel holds

that on

Tisha Be-Av,

even

during its twilight it is prohibited

to eat, just as the stringency of a communal fast is to prohibit eating even during twilight? That is what is implied by Shmuel’s assigning it the status of a communal fast.

And

this is difficult, for

Shmuel said: On Tisha Be-Av—

during its twilight it is permitted

to eat!

And if you would say

that Shmuel holds that with regard to

every communal fast

during its twilight it is permitted

to eat, because twilight is a matter of uncertainty, and we rule leniently in a case of uncertainty.

This cannot be said. For—

Did we not learn: One eats and drinks

on the eve of the fast

while it is still day,

for as long as it is still daytime?

What, does this not come to exclude

the

twilight

of the eve of the fast from eating, because it is possibly already night, and perhaps the fast has already begun? If so, why did Shmuel permit eating during twilight on the eve of Tisha Be-Av, when he holds that it has the status of a communal fast?

And we answer: In fact, eating during twilight is permitted for all communal fasts.

And that which we learned, “One eats and drinks while it is still day,”

does not

come to exclude twilight.

Rather, it

comes to exclude

the night of the fast. It means:

Once it grows dark,

when it is certainly night, eating and drinking are prohibited.

And we inquire:

Let us say that this supports

Shmuel, that eating during twilight on Tisha Be-Av is permitted, based on that which was taught:

The only difference between Tisha Be-Av and Yom Kippur is that the uncertainty concerning this one is prohibited, whereas the uncertainty concerning that one is permitted!

[This is speaking with regard to what one may do ab initio. But with regard to punishment, they are certainly different.]

We inquire about this:

What is meant by “the uncertainty concerning it is permitted”

as stated with regard to Tisha Be-Av?

Is it not twilight

itself?

Twilight is uncertain: it may belong to the preceding day, or it may be the night of the following day. Learn from this that eating during twilight is permitted.

And we reject this:

No,

it is not speaking of the uncertainty of twilight. Rather,

as Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi, said

below, there is

a

distinction with regard to the uncertainty concerning

the fixing of the month

between Tisha Be-Av and Yom Kippur.

If a person does not know whether the court intercalated the preceding month and sanctified the new month on the thirty-first day, or whether it sanctified it on the thirtieth day, and he is uncertain whether Yom Kippur falls today or tomorrow, he fasts for two days because of the uncertainty. This is not so with Tisha Be-Av, since it is only rabbinic, and in a case of rabbinic uncertainty one rules leniently.

And

here too,

the beraita comes

to

distinguish the uncertainty that arose

concerning the fixing of the month.

Rava taught: Pregnant and nursing women fast on Tisha Be-Av, and complete it

—they fast until the end of the fast—

just as

they

fast and complete

their fast

on Yom Kippur.

And during its twilight it is prohibited

to eat, unlike Shmuel.

And they likewise said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan

that eating during twilight on Tisha Be-Av is prohibited.

And we challenge this:

Did Rabbi Yoḥanan really say this?

But Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Tisha Be-Av does not have the status of a communal fast!

What, does this not refer

to

twilight?

He said that during twilight on a communal fast eating is prohibited, whereas on Tisha Be-Av it is permitted. Thus, these statements contradict what was said in his name.

And we answer:

No,

he was not speaking of twilight. Rather,

with

regard to

labor.

Tisha Be-Av does not have the status of a communal fast, during which labor is prohibited; rather, labor is permitted on Tisha Be-Av.

And we ask: Was it necessary for Rabbi Yoḥanan to say that

labor

is permitted?

But

we already learned

this explicitly in our Mishna:

In a place where the practice is to perform labor on Tisha Be-Av, they perform it. And in a place where the practice is not to perform it, they do not perform it!

And even Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said only

that it is permitted for every person to conduct himself as a Torah scholar and refrain from labor even in a place where the practice is to perform labor. He teaches us

that when he sits and does not work, it does not appear presumptuous. But he did not prohibit

labor.

And we answer:

Rather, what

did Rabbi Yoḥanan mean by saying, “Tisha Be-Av

does not have the status of a communal fast”—

with

regard to

the Ne’ila prayer

he said this. On a communal fast, one recites the Ne’ila prayer in addition to the three daily prayers, but not on Tisha Be-Av.

And we challenge this again:

But Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Would that a person would pray and continue throughout the entire day!

It is permitted to add to the three prayers instituted by the Sages and to pray as much as one wishes. If so, one may add the Ne’ila prayer every day, and it is not specifically a communal fast.

And we answer:

There,

with regard to a communal fast, the Ne’ila prayer is

obligatory.

But

here,

on Tisha Be-Av, as well as on the other days of the year, it is only

optional.

And if you wish, say instead: What

did Rabbi Yoḥanan mean by saying, “Tisha Be-Av

does not have the status of a communal fast with

regard to

the twenty-four

blessings”? On a communal fast, six blessings are added to the eighteen blessings, but not on Tisha Be-Av.

Rav Pappa said:

In fact, as we initially said, when Rabbi Yoḥanan said that Tisha Be-Av does not have the status of a communal fast, he was referring to twilight.

Nevertheless, these statements do not contradict his earlier statement.

For

what

did Rabbi Yoḥanan mean when he said that Tisha Be-Av

“does not have the status of a communal fast”?

He said this as a stringency:

It

does not have the status of

the

first

[as will be explained below]

fasts, but rather that of the later fasts, and

eating during twilight

is prohibited

on it.

As we learned: When the beginning of the month of Kislev arrives and no rain has fallen, the court decrees three fasts upon the community. During those three initial fasts, one does not fast from the night; rather, one eats and drinks until morning. If these fasts pass and they are still not answered, the court decrees three additional fasts upon the community. During these fasts, one may eat only while it is still day on the eve of the fast.

This is what Rabbi Yoḥanan meant: Tisha Be-Av has the status of the later fasts, during which eating is prohibited from twilight on the eve of the fast.

Meytivi

from that which we learned:

The only difference between Tisha Be-Av and Yom Kippur is that the uncertainty concerning this one is prohibited, whereas the uncertainty concerning that one is permitted!

What, does this not mean that

“the uncertainty” refers to

its twilight?

And it teaches that eating is permitted. This is difficult for Rava and Rabbi Yoḥanan, who prohibit eating during twilight on Tisha Be-Av.

Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi, said: No,

it is not speaking of this.

Rather, it

comes to

permit on Tisha Be-Av the uncertainty that arose

concerning the fixing of the month.

If one does not know when the court sanctified the month and when Tisha Be-Av falls, he need not fast for two days because of the uncertainty.

The Gemara now derives another inference from the beraita:

Since it teaches that Tisha Be-Av and Yom Kippur differ from one another only with regard to uncertainty, it implies—

but with regard to all their other laws

they are

equal.

And if so,

this supports

the

opinion of Rabbi Elazar.

For Rabbi Elazar said: It is prohibited for a person to place

his

finger in water on Tisha Be-Av, just as it is prohibited to place his finger

in water

on Yom Kippur,

because bathing is prohibited on Tisha Be-Av as well.

The beraita implies that his statement is correct: They are entirely equal, except with regard to the uncertainty concerning the day.

Meytivi: The only difference between Tisha Be-Av and a communal fast is that this one,

the communal fast,

is prohibited with regard to performing labor, whereas that one,

Tisha Be-Av,

is permitted with regard to performing labor—

in a place where the practice is

to perform labor on it.

And we infer: This implies that they differ specifically with regard to labor.

But with regard to all their other laws, this one and that one are equal!

Yet concerning a communal fast, it was taught: When they said that it is prohibited

then

to bathe, they did not say

so

except

with regard to bathing

one’s entire body. But

bathing

one’s face, hands, and feet was not

prohibited.

And if so, the same should apply to Tisha Be-Av: bathing one’s face, hands, and feet should be permitted. This is difficult for Rabbi Elazar, who prohibits on Tisha Be-Av even bathing one’s finger.