Taanit 11b — the Talmud in English

But did he not say [ [A0003]and did he not say]

And Rabbi Elazar said:

Rabbi Elazar: A person should always measure [ [A0005]estimate, reckon]

himself

the

himself as ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location")

as though a holy one resides within his innards.

That is, as though all his innards were holy, and it is forbidden to starve them and diminish them.

As it is stated: "A holy one is within you, and I will not come into the city." "A holy one is within you"—

that is, the innards within you are holy, and therefore it is forbidden to diminish them. We see that Rabbi Elazar holds that it is forbidden for a person to starve himself through fasting!

And the Gemara answers:

There is no difficulty.

This

that which Rabbi Elazar said that he is called holy refers to a situation

in which he is able to afflict himself [ [A0036]in which the one fasting is capable of enduring the fast].

—the one who fasts is able to endure the fast.

Whereas

this

that which Rabbi Elazar said that it is not proper for a person to afflict himself refers to a situation

in which he is unable to afflict himself [ [A0041]in which the one fasting is incapable of enduring the suffering of the fast].

—the one who fasts is unable to endure the suffering of the fast.

The Gemara brings another opinion concerning the definition of one who fasts.

Resh Lakish said:

one who fasts

is called pious.

As it is stated: "He who rewards his soul is a man of kindness, but he who troubles his flesh, etc."

That is, "He who rewards his soul"—one who separates his soul from food and drink ["rewards" is an expression of separation, as in "on the day that Isaac was weaned," when he was weaned from nursing ]—"a man of kindness,"

he is called pious .

Rav Sheshet said:

That Torah scholar who sits in a fast [ [A0086]that Torah scholar who sits in a fast],

[that scholar who fasts],

let a dog eat his meal [ [A0088]let a dog eat his meal] .

That is, he is like a person who fasts because he has nothing to eat, and his fast accomplishes nothing for him.

And Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said: There are no

stringencies of

a communal fast

that is, they eat only while it is still day, and they are forbidden to wear shoes,

in Babylonia except

on the fast of

Tisha Be-Av alone .

But on fasts for rain and the like, they eat throughout the entire night of the fast, and are forbidden only food and drink.

Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said in the name of Resh Lakish: A Torah scholar is not permitted to sit in a fast, because he

becomes weakened through the fast and cannot study, and

diminishes his work for Heaven.

We learned in our Mishna:

They eat and drink from nightfall, etc.

Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rav Huna: An individual

who accepted a fast upon himself

on the eve of the fast day, saying: I am sitting in a fast tomorrow, then

even

if

he ate and drank the entire night

following the acceptance of the fast, until dawn,

on the morrow

he recites

in the morning prayer

the prayer of a fast ["

Aneinu"].

And if

he spent the night in his fast,

that is, for example, he fasted on Sunday and did not eat at all after the conclusion of the fast, which is Sunday night leading into Monday, but spent that entire night until morning fasting ,

he does not recite

in the morning prayer of Monday a prayer

of a fast .

Rav Yosef said: What does he hold [ [A0245]what does he hold]

[what is]

Rav Huna?

Does he

hold

that

one does not fast for part of the hours ,

that is, one who accepts a fast upon himself only for a number of hours ,

and not for the entire day, this is not considered acceptance of a fast, and he may eat. And therefore, since this person did not initially intend to fast throughout the entire night following his fast, as implied by the expression "spent the night in his fast," which implies that he did not intend this initially—and in truth he initially thought to eat at the end of the fast day—and only after part of the night had passed, an hour or two, did he reconsider and decide to continue fasting ,

this is not considered a fast, and therefore he does not recite a prayer of a fast in the morning.

Or perhaps [or perhaps] Rav Huna in fact holds that

one fasts for hours, and

the one who accepts upon himself a fast for hours, this is considered a fast,

and he is forbidden to eat and drink.

And

nevertheless,

one who fasts for hours—

does not recite the prayer of a fast,

because this fast is not sufficiently significant and stringent to recite the prayer Anenu?

Abaye said

to Rav Yosef:

Rav Huna always holds

that

one fasts for hours, and

he also holds that

one who fasts for hours—

recites the prayer of a fast.

But here it is different

and the case here is one who slept in his fast,

for there are night hours that he did not accept upon himself from the outset

[for he did not initially accept that fast of the night upon himself], since at first he accepted upon himself a daytime fast, and only at night did he reconsider and decide to continue fasting.

Mar Ukva

happened to come to Ginzak

[he happened to come to a place called “Ginzak”].

They asked him

[the people of the place asked him]: Is

one fasting for hours, or does one not fast for hours?

He had no answer

[he had no answer to their question].

They asked him further:

the vessels of gentiles,

into which they put wine of libation so that it would be preserved in them—are those vessels

forbidden

to use after the wine has been emptied from them,

or permitted?

He had no answer

[he had no answer].

They asked him further: We find that Moses served in the service of the Tabernacle of Testimony during the seven days of inauguration [Leviticus, chapter 8]. We must clarify what garments he wore when he served in the service of the Tabernacle. It is not reasonable that he wore the garments of the high priest, for at the time Moses served, Aaron wore the priestly garments. Nor do we find it written that Moses wore priestly garments. On the other hand, it is not reasonable to say that he wore the ordinary garments that he normally wore when he went out to the marketplace, while he served in the Temple, for it is not fitting to do so .

If so,

in what

[what type of garments]

did Moses serve throughout all seven

days of inauguration?

He had no answer

[he had no answer].

He went and asked in the beit-midrash

[Mar Ukva went and asked their questions of the sages sitting in the beit-midrash].

They said to him

as follows:

The halakha

[the practical halakha]:

one fasts for hours, and

also

recites

during that fast

the prayer of a fast.

And the halakha: the vessels of gentiles, after twelve months

during which they stood empty and without any use—

are permitted

without any kashering. For the taste of the wine disappears from the vessels after twelve months. But before twelve months have passed over the vessels, they require water immersion for three days, each day for a full twenty-four-hour period .

And concerning the final question:

in what did Moses serve during all seven days of inauguration?

They answered him: Moses served neither in priestly garments nor in ordinary secular garments, but

in a white tunic

of linen, made especially for this purpose .

Rav Kahana taught

[he taught] as follows: Moses served

in a white tunic that had no hem

[that had no edge or folded hem]. That is, it was entirely sewn in one weaving and stitching, and not like ordinary garments, in which the body of the garment is first sewn separately, and the sleeves separately, and afterward they are joined by stitching, so that the garment has hidden folds in which things can be concealed.

The reason he wore specifically a garment sewn in this manner was so that they would not suspect him of having hidden in those folds sacred funds found in the Tabernacle, in order to take them for himself .

To fulfill what is stated [Numbers 32:22]: “And you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel” . That is, a person must ensure that he is free of suspicion not only before the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows the secrets of the heart, but also before Israel. Therefore he must do everything so that there is no concern whatsoever that they will suspect him of behaving improperly .