Taanit 26b (כו:) — the Talmud in English

The Tablets were broken [

the Tablets of the Covenant] by Moses our teacher, when he saw the calf and the dances that the Israelites had made while he delayed descending from the mountain.

b.

And

the offering

of

the daily offering

was discontinued because the government decreed that it should not be sacrificed.

c.

d. And Apostomus burned the Torah . e. And he erected King Manasseh [ he was the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah] an image in the Sanctuary . These are the five calamities that befell our ancestors on the ninth of Av: a. It was decreed against our ancestors

And the wall

of

the city

of Jerusalem was breached by the enemies.

d. And Apostomus burned the Torah. e. And King Manasseh [he was the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah] erected an image in the Sanctuary. These are the five things that occurred on the ninth of Av: a. It was decreed upon our ancestors in the wilderness that they would not enter the Land [ because of the episode of the spies, as related in the Book of Numbers, chapter 13 and onward].

And Apostomus burned the Torah.

in the wilderness

that they would not enter the Land [

because of the incident of the spies, as related in the Book of Numbers, chapter 13 and onward].

set up an image in the Sanctuary.

And these are the five things that occurred

on the ninth of Av: A.

It was decreed upon our ancestors

in the wilderness

that they would not enter the Land [because of the incident of the spies, as recounted in the Book of Numbers, chapter 13 and onward].

b.

and the Temple was destroyed

the Temple

b

the fifth time

first

that is, the First Temple],

g.

and

even when it was destroyed

b

the fifth time

second

the Second Temple, this too occurred on the Ninth of Av.

d.

and Betar was captured,

the city

Betar,

which was a large city, inhabited by Jews, and they were all killed .

heh.

and the city was plowed under,

Jerusalem by the enemy .

And since those evil events occurred on the Ninth of Av, therefore—

When

the month of

Av enters,

that is, from the beginning of the month of Av onward—

we diminish our joy .

On

Shabbat

of the week

in which the Ninth of Av occurs

within that week, some mourning practices are observed. Therefore,

it is prohibited to cut one’s hair and to launder

during that week.

v

If the Ninth of Av occurs on Friday evening , then

on

the

Thursday

preceding it, even though it is within the week in which the Ninth of Av occurs,

it is permitted

to launder ,

for the honor of Shabbat

so that one will have laundered clothing for the honor of Shabbat, which follows immediately after the Ninth of Av .

At the final meal eaten on

the eve of the Ninth of Av,

one should afflict oneself more. Therefore,

a person may not eat two cooked dishes,

such as meat and fish , .

Likewise,

he may not eat

meat at that meal,

nor may he drink

wine

there.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: He should alter his practice

the Gemara will explain what Rabban Shimon meant.

Rabbi Yehuda obligates one to overturn the bed

turning the bed over onto its face, and he may not sleep on it, but only on the ground .

But the Sages did not agree with him

in this matter, as they hold that it is unnecessary to overturn one’s bed .

The Mishna continues to discuss the month of Av.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as festive for Israel—

as the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur .

Since

these days were festive days for Israel,

on them,

during these days, all

the daughters of Jerusalem,

even wealthy women who possessed fine garments of their own,

would go out in white garments

that they had borrowed

each woman asking another for a garment, rather than wearing her own.

And why did the daughters of Israel practice this way?

In order

not to embarrass one who has nothing.

And

since the daughters of Israel would borrow garments from one another, therefore

all the garments

the clothing

required immersion.

Each woman would immerse the garment she borrowed, because no woman was expert in the conduct of her fellow, and perhaps she was a menstruant and her garments were impure .

And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance

dancing; the expression “dances”

in the vineyards .

And what would they say?

Young man! Lift your eyes and see what you choose for yourself .

Do not set your eyes on beauty

, set your eyes on family!

That is, ascertain that the woman comes from an honored family and is distinguished in her deeds. As Solomon said:

“Charm is false and beauty is vain;

a woman who fears the Lord

she shall be praised.”

And it says

another verse is stated concerning this:

“Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her deeds praise her in the gates.”

Thus, a woman is praised and extolled for her good deeds, not for her external beauty.

And likewise it says

“Go forth

and see

the daughters of Zion, the king Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding and on the day of the joy of his heart.”

“The daughters of Zion”—that is, sons distinguished for the Holy One, blessed be He, through circumcision, phylacteries, and ritual fringes [Rashi on Song of Songs].

“With the king Solomon”—that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, for this is an appellation for the King to whom peace belongs.

“His mother”—that is, the Assembly of Israel .

“On the day of his wedding”—

this is the Giving of the Torah.

That is, Yom Kippur, on which the last Tablets were given.

“And on the day of the joy of his heart”—

this is the building of the Temple, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days .

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna:

“On three occasions during the year, the priests lift their hands,” etc.

The Gemara asks: How can we understand that on those three occasions—the fasts, the ma'amadot, and Yom Kippur—the priests lift their hands four times, namely: Shacharit, Musaf, Mincha, and Ne'ila?

Granted, on Yom Kippur there are those four prayers .

But

with regard to the fasts and the ma'amadot, is there a Musaf prayer [that is, is there a Musaf prayer on those days]?

The Gemara answers: Our Mishna, as it appears before us, is

missing a passage [it is incomplete].

And

in truth,

this is how it teaches [it should be emended]:

On three occasions, the priests lift their hands whenever they pray [in every prayer that is held on each of those days].

That is, Shacharit, Mincha, and Ne'ila.

And among them,

on those three occasions, there is one occasion on which the priests lift their hands

four times a day: Shacharit, Musaf, Mincha, and the closing of the gates.

This is because on that day there is also a Musaf prayer. This is Yom Kippur, on which there are four prayers.

And these are the three occasions: the fasts, the ma'amadot, and Yom Kippur.

Rav Naḥman said that Rabba bar Avuha said:

The statement in our Mishna that the priests lift their hands during all the prayers of the day,

is the statement of Rabbi Meir.

But the Sages say:

In the prayers of

Shacharit and Musaf—

there is the lifting of the hands.

But in the prayers of

Mincha and Ne'ila—

there is no lifting of the hands.

Who are the Sages [who are the sages] who disagreed with Rabbi Meir?

It is Rabbi Yehuda.

As it was taught in a beraita: Shacharit and Musaf, Mincha and Ne'ila—all contain the lifting of the hands.

This is the statement of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says: Shacharit and Musaf—

contain the lifting of the hands.

Mincha and Ne'ila—

do not contain the lifting of the hands.

Rabbi Yosei

disagrees both with Rabbi Yehuda and with Rabbi Meir, and

says: Ne'ila—

contains the lifting of the hands.

Mincha—

does not contain the lifting of the hands.

With regard to what do they disagree [what is the subject of the disagreement] among these tannaim?

Rabbi Meir,

who says that the priests lift their hands during all the prayers of the day,

held: Every day, what is the reason that the priests do not spread their hands during Mincha [what is the reason that the priests do not lift their hands during Mincha]—

Because

the Mincha prayer is after the midday meal, and there is concern that one might prolong his midday meal and become drunk from it, and lift his hands while in a state of

drunkenness,

as a priest intoxicated by wine is prohibited from lifting his hands!

If so, this concern applies specifically on a day when people eat, since then there is concern that one may become drunk during his meal.

But

now,

today, on a fast day, there is

no

concern of

drunkenness [there is no concern that one will become drunk], and therefore the priests lift their hands even during the Mincha prayer.

And

Rabbi Yehuda held: In the prayers of

Shacharit and

Musaf, since every day [even on every ordinary day, which is not a fast day]

drunkenness is not common

during them,

since

the time for the meal has not yet arrived—

the Sages did not decree concerning them [the Sages did not decree that the priests should not lift their hands during them, as there is no concern of drunkenness at all during these prayers].

But in the prayers of

Mincha and Ne'ila, since every day drunkenness is common [on every ordinary day, which is not a fast day, drunkenness is common at that time ],

and therefore the priests do not lift their hands every day during the Mincha prayer,

the Sages decreed concerning them [the Sages decreed] that they should not lift their hands even on a fast day, although drunkenness is not relevant then. This is because if they were to lift their hands on a fast day, they might come to lift their hands even on an ordinary day, when there is concern of drunkenness.

And

Rabbi Yosei held:

The Mincha prayer,

which exists every day [which is held every day of the year],

the Sages decreed concerning it

that the priests should not lift their hands even on a fast day, lest they come to lift their hands during Mincha even on an ordinary day of the year.

This is not so with regard to the prayer of

Ne'ila, which does not exist every day [which is not held every day], but only on a fast day;

the Sages did not decree concerning it

that the priests should not lift their hands during it. Since this prayer is not common every day, there is no concern that if the lifting of the hands were permitted during it, they would come to lift their hands every day during the Mincha prayer.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Meir.

The priests lift their hands during all the prayers of a fast day.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said

in this formulation:

The people followed Rabbi Meir.

And Rava said

in this formulation:

The practice follows Rabbi Meir.

The Gemara now explains the practical difference between these formulations used by the amoraim.

The one who says [the one who used this formulation]:

“The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Meir,”

holds that

we expound it publicly [he holds that this matter is expounded and proclaimed before the public], so that everyone will act accordingly.

The one who says: “The practice

follows Rabbi Meir,” holds that it is not entirely clear that the halakha follows Rabbi Meir. Therefore,

we do not expound it publicly [we do not expound this matter before the public], but

we instruct accordingly [if a person comes to ask how to act, we instruct him to lift his hands].

The meaning of “practice” is that the matter has the status of a valid practice.

And the one who says: “The people followed

Rabbi Meir,” holds that even if a person comes to ask how to act,

we do not instruct accordingly [we do not instruct him to lift his hands].

But if he did it—

he did it [and if he lifted his hands on his own initiative, he has acted],

and we do not make him repeat it [we do not make him retract. That is, we do not tell him not to do so].

The meaning of “they followed” is that they followed this practice on their own initiative, but this practice is not the primary ruling.

And Rav Naḥman said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei.

During the Mincha prayer the priests do not lift their hands, whereas during the Ne'ila prayer they do.

The Gemara concludes:

And the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei.

And

since this is the halakha—that the priests do not lift their hands during the Mincha prayer on a fast day—we must explain:

now,

today,

for what reason do the priests spread their hands

during the Mincha prayer of a fast day [why do the priests lift their hands during Mincha on a fast day]?

The Gemara explains:

Since they spread their hands close to sunset [since nowadays the practice is to pray Mincha on a fast day only close to sunset, and they lift their hands then, unlike on every ordinary day, when Mincha is prayed immediately at its time, from six and a half hours onward]—

it is comparable to the Ne'ila prayer [this Mincha prayer resembles the Ne'ila prayer, whose time is at sunset], and therefore there is no concern that they will come to lift their hands during the Mincha prayer throughout the year, since the Mincha prayer of a fast day does not resemble the prayers of the entire year .

The Gemara now returns to explain the matter mentioned here incidentally: that an intoxicated person is prohibited from lifting his hands.

In any event, according to all opinions [in any event, all of them—all the tannaim and amoraim mentioned above] hold that

an intoxicated person is prohibited from lifting his hands.

From where are these matters derived [from where do we learn this matter]?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of bar Kappara:

It is written in the Torah that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded the descendants of Aaron: “Thus shall you bless the Children of Israel; say to them: May the Lord bless you,” etc. Here the priests were commanded to bless Israel with the Priestly Blessing.

Adjacent to this command, at the beginning of that chapter, the law of the nazirite is stated: “When a man or woman explicitly takes a nazirite vow,” etc.

And now,

why was the passage of the priest who blesses—

juxtaposed to the passage of the nazirite?

To say

and teach us:

Just as a nazirite—

is prohibited from wine [as it is stated concerning him: “From wine and strong drink he shall abstain”],

so too a priest who blesses—

is prohibited from wine.

If he is intoxicated, he is prohibited from blessing.

He raised an objection [he challenged and objected to this statement]

the father of Rabbi Zeira [Rabbi Zeira’s father],

and some say it was Ushaya bar Zavda [and some say that the one who raised the objection was Ushaya bar Zavda]:

If,

if this is so, that the law of the priest who blesses is learned from the law of the nazirite, perhaps we should further derive the following from the nazirite concerning the priest:

Just as

a nazirite [just as a nazirite]

is prohibited

even

from a grape seed [and not only from wine itself, as it is stated: “From grape seeds to grape skins he shall not eat”],

so too a priest who blesses

shall be

prohibited from a grape seed?!

Rabbi Yitzḥak said:

It is impossible to say this. For

the verse says [the verse states]: “On that day the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi,” etc.,

“to minister to Him and to bless in His Name.”

From the juxtaposition of the priest who ministers, who performs the Temple service, with the priest who lifts his hands and blesses Israel, we learn that the law of the priest who blesses is comparable to the law of the priest who ministers.

And this is what we learn from this juxtaposition:

Just as

a

ministering priest—

is permitted to eat a grape seed,

as it is stated concerning him: “You shall not drink wine or strong drink, etc., when you enter the Tent of Meeting,” indicating that he is prohibited specifically from drinking wine, but not from eating grape seeds—

so too a priest who blesses—

is permitted to

eat

a grape seed,

and is prohibited only from drinking wine .