Taanit 15a (טו.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

The order

of the

fast days—

how?

How are the fast days conducted?

They take out the ark

which is the chest in which the Torah scrolls are placed

to the city square,

to a place visible to everyone,

and they place

they put

ashes from a fire

ashes produced by burning

upon the ark,

And

also

upon the head of the Nasi and upon the head of the head of the court

they place ashes from a fire.

And each and every one

of the people

places

ashes from a fire himself

upon his head.

The elder

among them

among the people

says before them words of

reproof.

And this is what he says:

Our brothers! It was not said concerning the people of Nineveh,

when it is related that they repented and put sackcloth around their waists,

“And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting,”

Rather,

this is what was said:

“And God saw their deeds, that they had turned back from their evil way”

as related in the Book of Jonah.

That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, accepted their repentance because He saw that they had indeed turned back from their evil way, and not because of the external acts—that they fasted and covered themselves with sackcloth.

And

so

in the Writings

in the books of the Prophets and Writings, in the Book of Joel

he says

the prophet commands and says to Israel:

“And tear your hearts—

and not your garments.”

That is, God does not desire external acts, such as tearing garments, which is a sign of mourning and distress, but rather internal acts—the breaking of the heart's desires.

Afterward

they stand for prayer

they stand to pray.

They bring down

before the ark

a communal emissary who possesses the qualities listed below:

a.

An elder,

b.

And

who is

accustomed

to prayer and experienced in it, so that he will not err,

c.

And he has children

as the Gemara below explains, meaning that he has children but lacks the means to support them, so that his heart is broken and contrite,

d.

And his house is empty

as the Gemara will explain, this does not mean literally that he is poor; rather, his body is clean of sins, he has not sinned, and no evil reputation concerning a transgression has attached to him—

so that his heart will be wholehearted in prayer.

And

the communal emissary

before them

before the people

recites twenty-four blessings:

eighteen

blessings

that

are recited

every day

in the Eighteen Benedictions prayer,

And they add another six

blessings.

And these are

those six additional blessings:

a.

Remembrances

verses of Remembrances recited on Rosh HaShana,

b.

And Shofarot

verses of Shofarot recited on Rosh HaShana,

c. The psalm “Song of Ascents,”

“To the Lord, in my distress, I called, and He answered me,”

from the Book of Psalms,

d. The psalm “Song of Ascents,”

“I lift my eyes to the mountains, etc.,”

e. The psalm “Song of Ascents,”

“From the depths I have called You, Lord,”

f. The psalm

“A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint.”

Rabbi Yehuda says: It was not

the communal prayer leader

required to recite

before them

the verses of Remembrances and Shofarot .

Rather, he recites in their place

[in place of the verses of Remembrances and Shofarot] these psalms:

a.

“When there is famine in the land, when there is pestilence

in the land, and so on” ,

b.

“The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the matter of the droughts” .

And

at the conclusion of each blessing

he recites their concluding formulas .

That is, for each passage [for each of the added blessings], he recites a conclusion corresponding to the subject of the passage.

After Remembrances, he recites the conclusion of Remembrances; after Shofarot, he recites the conclusion of Shofarot. And so with all of them, as follows:

For the first

[the first time that something is added to the regular blessings of the Amida, namely, in the blessing of “Redeemer of Israel”],

he recites: “He Who answered Abraham

at Mount Moriah, may He answer you

and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

And he concludes with the regular conclusion of the blessing:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Redeemer of Israel.”

However, this is not a blessing in its own right, but only an addition to an existing blessing.

From this point onward, he begins to recite the six additional blessings, and concludes them as follows:

For

the

second

the recitation of the verses of remembrance, which is the first of the six additional blessings,

he recites: “He Who answered our ancestors at the Red Sea, may He answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

This is the recitation of the verses of Remembrances, which is the first of the six additional blessings,

In this blessing, concerning Remembrances, he mentions the Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the Red Sea, because Israel had been forgotten in Egypt for many years and had despaired of redemption, but the Holy One, blessed be He, remembered them and redeemed them. As we find, the language of remembrance is used with regard to the Exodus: “I have also heard the groaning of the Children of Israel, whom the Egyptians enslave, and I have remembered My covenant.”

And he concludes in a manner corresponding to the blessing, concerning Remembrances:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Who remembers the forgotten.”

For

the

third,

the verses of Shofarot,

he recites: “He Who answered Joshua at Gilgal, may He answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

He mentions the matter of Joshua at Gilgal because Joshua was answered in the battle of Jericho through shofarot, and this occurred while Israel was at Gilgal.

And he concludes in a manner corresponding to the blessing, concerning Shofarot:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Who hears the terua.”

For

the

fourth,

the psalm “To the Lord, when I was in distress I called, and so on,”

he recites: “He Who answered Samuel at Mitzpa, may He answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

He mentions the matter of Samuel at Mitzpa because it corresponds to the psalm, in which David called to the Lord in his distress.

And he concludes:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Who hears a cry.”

He uses the expression “cry” because concerning Samuel it is stated, “And he cried out to the Lord.”

For

the

fifth,

the psalm “I lift my eyes to the mountains,”

he recites: “He Who answered Elijah at Mount Carmel, may He answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

He mentions this matter, that Elijah was answered at Mount Carmel, because it corresponds to the psalm “I lift my eyes to the mountains.”

And he concludes:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Who hears prayer.”

He uses the expression “prayer” because it is stated concerning Elijah, “Answer me, Lord,” which is a prayer.

For

the

sixth,

the psalm “From the depths I call You, Lord,”

he recites: “He Who answered Jonah from the belly of the fish, may He answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

He mentions this matter, that Jonah was answered from the belly of the fish, a place of depth and difficulty, because it corresponds to the verse “From the depths I call You, Lord.”

And he concludes:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Who answers in time of distress.”

He uses this expression because it is stated concerning Jonah, “I called from distress to the Lord.”

For

the

seventh,

the psalm “A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint,” which is the sixth of the six additional blessings ,

he recites: “He Who answered David and his son Solomon in Jerusalem, may He answer you and hear the sound of your cry on this day.”

[That is, there was a crisis in David’s time, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the days of David, three years, year after year,” and David was answered through his prayer. Solomon was answered when he brought the Ark into the Holy of Holies] .

And he concludes:

“Blessed are You, Lord, Who has mercy on the Land,”

because David and Solomon prayed concerning the Land of Israel. Moreover, the psalm “A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint” is applicable to a time of withholding of rain , and in Solomon’s time it is stated, “When the heavens are shut up, and so on.”