Taanit 29a — the Talmud in English

And it was found that it was written [A0003]on that image whose hand had been broken:

and it was found that this was written on the same image whose hand had been broken]:

You desired to destroy the House; your hand completed it for him.

That is, the image says to its companion: “You wanted to destroy the House of the Holy One, blessed is He, by inclining Israel to worship you. And I took revenge upon you and repaid you for your hand” .

And since its hand was broken, Scripture did not consider it. Therefore it says, “the abomination that causes desolation,” in the singular, although in truth there were two there.

We learned in our Mishna:

On the ninth of Av it was decreed upon our fathers that they would not enter the Land.

From where do we know

that this was on the ninth of Av?

For it is written: “And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first of the month, that the Tabernacle was erected.”

And the Master said:

In

the first year Moses made the Tabernacle,

and its construction was completed on the twenty-fifth of Kislev .

Moses waited until the month of Nisan, which is the beginning of the

second

year, and then

Moses erected the Tabernacle.

And

in that year he

sent

the

spies.

And it is written: “And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle of the Testimony,” and it is written

later in Scripture:

“And they journeyed from the mountain of the Lord, a journey of three days.”

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said: That day [A0061]the third day of their journey,

[the third day of their journey]

they turned away from following the Lord ,

as is brought later in Scripture: “And the people were as murmurers,” and so on. It follows that this was on the twenty-third of the second month, which is the month of Iyar .

And it is written

afterward:

“And the rabble that was among them desired a desire, and the Children of Israel also sat and wept

and said: Who will feed us meat

and so on.”

And it is written

that Moses said to them: “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, and so on; not one day shall you eat, nor two days, and so on,

until a full month

until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you,

and so on.”

And that episode in which they desired a desire was on the twenty-third of Iyar, and afterward they ate meat for a month. It follows

that there were [A0098]that is, that it was, the end of that month, on

[namely, the end of that month, on]

the twenty-second [A0100]of

[the twenty-second]

Sivan [A0102]for the month was deficient, consisting of twenty-nine days.

[because that month was deficient, consisting of twenty-nine days].

And it is written

afterward that Miriam and Aaron spoke about Moses, and Miriam was punished and became leprous. And it is written:

“And Miriam was shut out seven days.”

It was [A0107]that is, that it was the end of those seven days, on

[namely, the end of those seven days, on]

the twenty-ninth of Sivan.

And it is written

immediately after that episode:

“Send for yourself men

and let them spy out the land of Canaan.”

And it was taught in a beraita: On the twenty-ninth of Sivan Moses sent the spies.

That is, this was immediately after Miriam’s seven days of confinement had ended.

And it is written: “And they returned [A0116]the spies

[the spies]

from spying out the land at the end of forty days.”

And on that night, when they returned, they spread an evil report about the Land, and the people wept, and the Holy One, blessed is He, established for them weeping for generations, as will be brought below.

And the Gemara wonders: According to the calculation above, it emerges that

these [A0121]days from the time the spies were sent until their return,

[days from the time the spies were sent until they returned]

were forty days less one [A0123]that is, they were one day short of forty days!

[they were thirty-nine days]!

For this is the calculation: Two days remained of the month of Sivan, namely, the twenty-ninth day itself, on which the spies were sent, and the thirtieth day. And another twenty-nine days of the month of Tammuz. And another eight days that passed from the month of Av until the spies returned, for on the following night the people wept. Altogether: thirty-nine days .

Yet in the verse it is written that the spies returned at the end of forty days of their journey!

Abaye said: The month of

Tammuz

of that year [A0136]that is, in that year,

[of that year]

they made full [A0138]that month, making it a month of thirty days. Through this another day was added, and the forty days ended on the ninth of Av.

[they made it a full month of thirty days]. Thus one additional day was added, and the forty days ended on the Ninth of Av.

For it is written: “He has called an appointed time against me to break my young men.”

The day of intercalating the month is called an appointed time , and “to break my young men” means the destruction of the Temple. That is, the destruction of the Temple was fixed for the ninth of Av because that month was made full.

And it is written: “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and the people wept on that night.”

For when the people heard the words of the evil report that the spies had spread about the Land of Israel, they raised their voices in weeping. And they did not heed the words of Joshua and Caleb, who said that the Land was very, very good.

Rabba said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: That night

on which the people wept

was the night of the ninth of Av,

as the calculation brought above establishes.

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to them

to Israel:

You wept

on this night

a needless weeping,

over nothing,

and I will establish for you

on this night

weeping for generations

to come, over the destruction of the Temple .

And on that night it was decreed upon them that they would not enter the Land, as it is said: “And I shall live, says the Lord, and so on: in this wilderness shall your carcasses fall, and so on; if you shall come into the Land, and so on, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, and so on.”

We learned in our Mishna:

The Temple was destroyed the first time.

From where do we know that the First Temple was destroyed on the ninth of Av?

For it is written

in the Book of Kings:

“And in the fifth month

which is the month of Av

on the seventh of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, chief of the executioners, servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and he burned the House of the Lord, and so on.”

And

on the other hand

it is written

in the Book of Jeremiah:

“And in the fifth month, on the tenth

that is, on the tenth day

of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, chief of the executioners, came and stood before the king of Babylon in Jerusalem,

and he burned the House of the Lord

and so on.”

And it was taught in a beraita: It is impossible to say

that the destruction of the Temple was

on the seventh

of the month,

for it has already been stated

in the Book of Jeremiah that the destruction was

on the tenth

of the month.

And it is impossible to say

that the destruction was

on the tenth

of the month,

for it has already been stated

in the Book of Kings that the destruction was

on the seventh

of the month!

How so?

How is it possible that in one place it is written that the destruction was on the seventh of the month, while in another place it is written that it was on the tenth of the month?

Rather, this is what happened:

On the seventh

of the month

the gentiles entered the Sanctuary, and ate and defiled it

on the

seventh

and

eighth days.

And

on the

ninth day, close to nightfall [A0217]toward evening,

[toward evening],

they set fire to it, and it continued burning throughout the entire

tenth day,

all of it.

As it is stated: “Woe to us, for the day has declined, for the shadows of evening are stretched out.”

That is, there was woe and grief for us when the day declined, on the ninth day close to nightfall, for then they set fire to the Temple.

And this is what Rabbi Yohanan said [A0224]and this is the meaning of what Rabbi Yohanan said:

[and this is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said]:

If only [A0226]if

[if]

I had been in that generation

in which the Temple was destroyed,

I would not have fixed it [A0230]I would not have fixed the day of mourning over the destruction on the ninth, but

[I would not have established the day of mourning for the destruction] except

on

the

tenth

day, and not on the ninth.

Because

as we said,

most of the Sanctuary was burned on

the tenth day,

was burned .

And the Rabbis,

why did they establish the day of mourning and fasting on the ninth, when most of the Sanctuary was burned on the tenth?

The Gemara explains: The reason is because

the beginning of the calamity [A0265]the time when the calamity began

[the time when the calamity began]

is preferable [A0267]is preferable and more important. Therefore the Sages established the day of mourning on the ninth and not on the tenth.

[more preferable and more significant]. Therefore the Sages established the day of mourning on the ninth, and not on the tenth.

We learned in our Mishna:

And on the second [A0270]for the Second Temple too was destroyed on the ninth of Av.

[which was also destroyed on the Ninth of Av].

From where do we know [A0272]this matter?

[this]?

For it was taught: They associate

a matter of

merit

and benefit

with a day

that is already, in any event,

meritorious .

And

a matter of

liability

they associate

with a liable day.

Therefore the destruction of the Second Temple was associated with the ninth of Av, which is a liable day, since calamities had already multiplied on it .

They said: When the Temple was destroyed the

first

time, that day was the ninth of Av ,

and it was the conclusion of Shabbat [A0294]that is, on Sunday,

[that is, Sunday],

and it was the conclusion of

the

seventh

year. That is, this was in the eighth year, the year after the Sabbatical year.

And

the time

was the watch of Jehoiarib, and the Levites were reciting song and standing on their platform [A0313]which was a raised place on which the Levites stood to sing.

[the elevated place on which the Levites stood to sing].

And what [A0315]which

[which]

song were they reciting

at that time?

This verse from the Book of Psalms:

“And He brought back upon them their iniquity, and in their evil He will cut them off

[He will destroy them].” And in truth, this is not the song fixed for Sunday, but the song of the day for Wednesday. Rather, this lament fell into their mouths because of the event .

And the Levites did not manage

to

say

the words

“The Lord our God will cut them off,” before gentiles came —

and conquered them.

And likewise

it

was with the second [A0333]at the destruction of the Second Temple.

[at the destruction of the Second Temple].

The Gemara continues to explain from where we know that those events mentioned in the Mishna occurred on the ninth of Av.

That

Betar was captured,

from where do we know that this was on the ninth of Av?

The Gemara.

That is, this is what we have received as a tradition from our teachers.

We learned in our Mishna that

the city was plowed under

Jerusalem on the ninth of Av. As it is stated in the Book of Micah: “Zion shall be plowed as a field.” That is, it was entirely plowed, until it became like a plowed field, and it was no longer apparent that houses had previously stood there.

It was taught: When [A0344]he destroyed

[after]

the wicked Turnus Rufus the Sanctuary

, a decree was issued that Rabban Gamaliel be put to death.

That governor came

who had been appointed over this,

stood in the house of study, and said: “The man with the nose is wanted; the man with the nose is wanted.” “The man with the nose” means a person of stature and distinguished appearance.

By this he hinted that the man was wanted to be killed. But he did not say so explicitly, so that the king’s men would not realize that he was revealing this information to Rabban Gamliel.

Rabban Gamaliel heard

the matter and understood the hint,

went and hid from them [A0383]that is, he went and concealed himself from them.

the matter and understood the hint,

He went to him secretly [A0385]that governor went to Rabban Gamaliel privately and in secret.

[he went and concealed himself from them].

He said to him: If I save you, will you bring me to the World to Come [A0387]that is, if I save you from being killed, will you bring me to life in the World to Come?

[the governor went to Rabban Gamliel discreetly and in secret].

He said to him: Yes.

He said to him: Swear to me [A0390]swear to me about this.

He said to him: Yes.

He swore to him [A0392]Rabban Gamaliel swore to him that he would indeed bring him to life in the World to Come .

[swear to me about this].

He ascended to the roof

the governor

fell and died

he threw himself down from there and died.

And it was taught

and so it was accepted among the royal people

that when they issued a decree, and one of them died

that if they issued a decree, and at that time one of them, from among those who had consulted in order to issue that decree, died —

they would annul their decree

they would annul the decree. Because they believed that the misfortune had come upon them because they had acted wrongly in issuing the decree.

And indeed, the decree was annulled, and they did not put Rabban Gamliel to death.

A heavenly voice went forth and said: That governor

who had saved Rabban Gamliel —

is destined

ready

for the life of the World to Come.

The Sages taught: When the Temple was destroyed for the

first

time, groups upon groups gathered

groups upon groups

of the young

of the young

priests, and the keys

of the gates

of the Sanctuary were in their hands.

And they went up to the roof of the Sanctuary and said before Him

before the Holy One, blessed is He :

“Master of the Universe! Since we have not merited being trustworthy treasurers,”

for the Temple was destroyed —

“let the keys be entrusted to You.”

And they threw them

the keys

upward.

And something resembling a hand came forth

from Heaven —

and received them from them

and received the keys from them.

And they,

those young priests

jumped and fell into the fire

into the fire.

And concerning them the prophet Isaiah lamented: “The burden of the Valley of Vision: What is happening to you now, that you have all gone up to the roofs? A city full of tumult, a joyous town; your slain are not slain by the sword, nor dead in battle.”

And so we expound the verse:

“The Valley of Vision” is Jerusalem, for everyone sees and looks upon it. “That you have all gone up to the roofs,” as we have said, for those young priests went up to the roof. “Your slain are not slain by the sword, and so on,” for those priests were not killed in battle, but killed themselves when they jumped into the fire.

It is also said concerning the Holy One, blessed is He

thus, that He laments over the destruction of the Temple. As it is stated later in that same verse:

“Crying out and calling to the mountain.”

And so the verse is expounded: “Crying out” — it is an expression of wailing. “Wall and calling” —

the Master laments and cries out [“wall” is an expression of master]. That is, the Holy One, blessed is He, laments and cries out over the Temple that is on the Temple Mount, which was destroyed. We learned in our Mishna:

“From when Av enters, one diminishes rejoicing, etc.”

From when Av enters, one decreases rejoicing, and so on.

Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, said in the name of Rav: Just as when

the month of

Av

enters, one decreases rejoicing,

, so when

the month of

Adar

enters, one increases rejoicing,

because at that time miracles for Israel increased. In the month of Adar — the miracle of Purim, and in the month of Nisan that follows it — the miracles of the festival of Passover.