Taanit 26a — the Talmud in English

Abaye and Rava both say

[they both said the same thing]: the reason is

because we do not recite

Hallel ha-Gadol

except over a satisfied soul and a full belly.

And this is because in Hallel ha-Gadol the verse is written: “Who gives bread to all flesh,” and therefore it is fitting that it be recited when they are satisfied.

The Gemara wonders:

Is that so?

Is the law really so, that we do not recite Hallel before they have eaten and drunk?

But Rav Pappa happened to come to the synagogue of Avi Gover

whose name was “Avi Gover"],

and decreed a fast, and rain fell for them until midday.

And he said

Rav Pappa

Hallel

while they were in the synagogue, in their fast,

and

only

afterwards they ate and drank!

And the Gemara answers: In truth, they do not recite Hallel after the fast before they eat and drink.

It is different

[they are different],

with the people of Mehoza

[there was that synagogue of Avi Gover],

for drunkenness is common among them

[drunkenness is common among them. That is, they are accustomed to becoming drunk]. And if they eat and drink, they will become drunk, and they will act wickedly and will not recite Hallel.

Therefore Rav Pappa told them that first they should recite Hallel, and only afterwards should they eat and drink.

We shall return to you, chapter “The Order of These Fasts.”

Mishna:

During most days of the year, the priests lift their hands once a day. In the morning prayer.

On days on which there is a Musaf prayer, the priests lift their hands twice: in the morning prayer and in the Musaf prayer.

However,

in three periods

of the year,

the

priests lift their hands four times in a day.

And these are those four times in a day when the priests lift their hands:

A.

In the

prayer of

Shacharit,

B.

In the

prayer of

Musaf,

C.

In the

prayer of

Mincha,

D.

And in the

prayer of

the closing of the gates

[that is, the fourth prayer that we pray on Yom Kippur toward evening. And they would customarily pray the closing prayer also on fasts].

And these are those three periods of the year in which the priests lift their hands four times:

A.

On fasts,

B.

And at the ma'amadot,

C.

And on Yom Kippur.

And now, what fasts are, and what Yom Kippur is—this is a known matter. But we must explain what those ma'amadot mentioned here are.

These are the ma'amadot:

because it is stated

concerning the daily offering:

"Command the Children of Israel regarding My offering, My food, etc.

You shall take care of offering it to Me at its appointed time." Here the Torah commanded the Children of Israel to offer the daily offering day by day: one lamb in the morning and one lamb between the evenings.

And how did that offering relate to all Israel?

Through the fact that the offering came from the contribution of the half-shekel, which was given by every one of Israel.

And one must wonder: If so, that the daily offering was the offering of all Israel,

then how can a person's offering be offered when he does not stand over it?

After all, the owner of the offering must stand over his offering at the time it is offered, and it is impossible for all Israel to stand over the daily offering!

Therefore

the early prophets instituted

[namely, Samuel and David, as explained below in the Gemara]

twenty-four divisions of priests,

each division from a different place in the Land of Israel. And those divisions would go up to work in Jerusalem, each in its turn, for one week.

And for each division and division

that would go up to Jerusalem for service,

there was a ma'amad in Jerusalem of priests, Levites, and Israelites

who would go up to Jerusalem—priests, Levites, and Israelites.

And for what purpose did they go up?

Priests—for the service.

Levites—for song.

Israelites—to stand over their offering and the offering of their brothers who remained in their cities.

When

the time came for the division to go up

to Jerusalem,

priests and Levites

[and likewise Israelites, those who would go up to stand over their offering]

would go up to Jerusalem.

And

the rest of

Israel belonging to that division

[from the same region from which that division went up], who remained in their places and did not go up,

would gather in their cities

to pray concerning the offering of their brothers who had gone up, that it be accepted favorably. And they would fast, and take out a Torah scroll,

and read the account of Creation

[Below it will be explained why they would read specifically the account of Creation].

And this was the order of the Torah reading: On the first day

of that week, they would read from the beginning of the portion of

Genesis,

and also the portion of

"And let there be a firmament".

The reason they would not read only the first portion of Genesis, but added the portion of “And let there be a firmament,” is that the first portion does not contain nine verses, the measure of reading for a priest, a Levite, and an Israelite [for they do not read fewer than three verses in the Torah].

B

On the

second

day, they would read the portion

"Let there be a firmament," and

the portion

"Let the waters be gathered."

B

On the

third

day, they would read the portion

"Let the waters be gathered, and

the portion

"Let there be luminaries."

B

On the

fourth

day, they would read the portion

"Let there be luminaries, and

the portion

"Let the waters swarm."

B

On the

fifth

day, they would read the portion

"Let the waters swarm, and

the portion

"Let the earth bring forth."

B

On the

sixth

day, they would read the portion

"Let the earth bring forth,"

and the portion

"And the heavens and the earth were completed."

[And on the seventh day of the division, which is Shabbat, they would read the fixed weekly portion].

And how would they read these portions?

A large portion,

that is, a portion containing more than three verses, such as the first portion of Genesis, which contains five verses,

they would read it with two

[with two people, who would go up for its reading, as will be explained below in the Gemara].

And

this small

portion,

which contains only three verses—they would read it with

one

individual

reader.

In

the prayer of

Shacharit, and in Musaf

, and in Mincha

, they would enter and read from memory

[each one by heart, separately]

as

they read the

reading of

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recitation of

the Shema.

All this applies on the other days of the week. But

on Friday, during

the prayer of

Mincha they would not enter [

they would not gather in the synagogue]—

because of the honor of Shabbat.

That is, because they were occupied with preparing the needs of Shabbat.

On every day on which

the recitation of

Hallel takes place—

there is no

ma'amad

during

the prayer of

Shacharit.

That is, those Israelites who stood in Jerusalem over the offering of their brethren did not conduct the ma'amad on that day.

And the reason is that there is no time to say both: both the Hallel and the ma'amadot. And the ma'amad was postponed because of the Hallel.

And on a day on which there is

an additional offering,

for which there is more busyness in its offering than in the busyness involved in the daily offering, which they offered every day, since there is no additional offering that does not contain at least two animals whereas the daily offering consists of one animal—since the priests of that mishmar are busy with the offering, and the Israelites among them are busy chopping wood and drawing water—

there is no

ma'amad during the afternoon prayer , which is adjacent to the time of offering the additional offering.

And even

in

the

closing prayer,

which is farther removed from the time of offering the additional offering, there is no ma'amad, because they are still busy.

And on a day on which there is

a wood offering

[below it will be explained what “a wood offering” is]—

there is no

ma'amad

in

the afternoon

prayer

that is adjacent to the time of the wood offering, because they are busy with its offering. But in the closing prayer, which is farther away, there is a ma'amad.

These are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

Ben Azzai said to

Rabbi Akiva:

This is how Rabbi Yehoshua would teach

the matter:

On a day on which there is

an additional offering—

there is no

ma'amad

in

the afternoon

prayer.

But in the closing prayer, which is farther removed during the day, they perform a ma'amad.

But on a day on which there is

a wood offering—

there is no

ma'amad

in

the

closing prayer.

And in the Gemara the reason of Rabbi Yehoshua will be explained.

When Rabbi Akiva heard that this was how Rabbi Yehoshua would teach,

he returned

also

to teaching as Ben Azzai.

Since we have mentioned the matter of the wood offering, the Mishna explains this matter at length.

The time of the wood of the priests and the people,

that is, those fixed times during which the members of certain families volunteer and bring wood for the arrangement, and those volunteers would offer an offering on the same day on which they brought the wood—

Nine

times there are.

And at each of these times, the families mentioned below bring the wood and the offering.

And these are those nine times and those families:

A.

On the first of

the month of

Nisan

they brought the wood:

the descendants of Arah son of Judah [that is, they were from the tribe of Judah. And likewise all those mentioned below by the name “son of Judah”]. For when the exiles went up from Babylonia, they volunteered first, on the first of Nisan. And the wood they brought sufficed for more than three and a half months—until the twentieth of Tammuz.

that is, they were from the tribe of Judah. The same applies to all those mentioned below by the designation “son of Judah.” When the exiles returned from Babylonia, they were the first to volunteer, on the first of Nisan. The wood they brought lasted more than three and a half months, until the twentieth of Tammuz].

B.

On the twentieth of Tammuz,

when the wood brought by the descendants of Arah son of Judah was exhausted, they brought wood:

the descendants of David son of Judah [they were from the family of King David].

descendants of David son of Judah brought wood [

C.

On the fifth of Av,

they brought wood:

the descendants of Parosh son of Judah.

D.

On the seventh of it [of the month of Av]

they brought wood:

the descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab [they were from the family of Jethro].

the

E.

On the tenth of it,

in the month of Av, they brought wood:

the descendants of Senaah son of Benjamin [they were from the tribe of Benjamin].

the month of Av,

F.

On the fifteenth of it,

in the month of Av, they brought wood:

the descendants of Zattu son of Judah, and with them

they also brought wood:

priests and Levites, and anyone who had lost track of his tribe

and no longer knew with whom he should go,

and the descendants of the Gamblers with Ladders and the descendants of the Fig-Cutters [below it will be explained who are those called “the descendants of the Gamblers with Ladders” and “the descendants of the Fig-Cutters”].

the

G.

On the twentieth of it,

in the month of Av, they brought wood:

the descendants of Pachat

Moab son of Judah.

the month of Av, the descendants of Pahat Moab son of Judah brought wood .

H.

On the twentieth of Elul

they brought wood:

the descendants of Adin son of Judah.

I.

On the first of Tevet, on which

[they returned,]

the descendants of Parosh,

who had already brought wood on the fifth of Av, brought wood a

second

time.

On the first of Tevet,

which is the first of the month and falls during the days of Hanukkah,

there was no ma'amad

at all. Because

there was

also the recitation of

the Hallel, and

also

the additional offering

of the first of the month,

and

also

a wood offering,

which the descendants of Parosh brought. Therefore, since they were exceedingly busy on that day, there was no ma'amad on it.

Five things

evil

befell our ancestors on the seventeenth of Tammuz, and five

things befell them

on the ninth of Av.

Page 26b

And these are the five things that befell our ancestors

on the seventeenth of Tammuz: