Taanit 29b — the Talmud in English

Rav Pappa said: Therefore:

therefore, since in the month of Av one diminishes rejoicing, and in the month of Adar one increases rejoicing, therefore—

a Jew who has a lawsuit with a gentile:

a Jewish person who has a legal dispute with a gentile, and must go to litigate with him in a gentile court,

should evade him in Av

he should evade him and not litigate with him during the month of Av,

because his fortune is bad:

because at that time the fortune of Israel is bad.

And he should present himself to him in Adar

whereas in the month of Adar, on the contrary, he should present himself to him, so that he may litigate with him then,

because his fortune is healthy:

because at that time his fortune is healthy and good .

And since the Gemara brought the statement of Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, concerning our Mishna, the Gemara brings another statement of his:

It is written in the prophecy of Jeremiah: “So said the Lord, etc., to all the exile whom I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon, etc.,

to give you a future and hope.”

That is, the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Israel that since they would remain in exile for seventy years, He would give them there a future and hope.

And what are those “future and hope”?

Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, said in the name of Rav: These are date palms,

of which there are many in Babylonia, and Israel would support themselves from them,

and linen garments

to wear .

The Gemara further brings a statement of Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat:

It is stated in the Book of Genesis, in the blessings with which Isaac blessed Jacob:

“And he said: See, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that the Lord has blessed.”

What is that field that the Lord has blessed?

Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, said in the name of Rav: Like the fragrance of an apple field .

?

We learned in our Mishna:

When the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls occurs, it is forbidden to cut the hair and to launder.

Rav Naḥman said: They taught

that it is forbidden to launder during the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls only

to launder and to wear.

That is, he launders in order to wear the laundered garments during that same week.

But to launder and put away,

that is, he launders and does not wear them immediately, but puts the laundered garments away in order to wear them after Tisha Be-Av—

is permitted.

But Rav Sheshet

disagreed with Rav Naḥman and

said: Even to launder and put away—

is forbidden.

Because when he engages in laundering garments, he appears to divert his attention from the mourning .

Rav Sheshet said: Know,

this is a proof and evidence for the matter,

for

behold,

the launderers

of Rav’s house

are idle from their work during the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls, even though they launder in order to put away.

Rav Hamnuna raised an objection

from the words of our Mishna. For we learned: Although it is forbidden to launder during the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls, nevertheless,

Rav Hamnuna

from the wording of our Mishna. We learned that although laundering is prohibited during the week in which the Ninth of Av occurs, nevertheless

on

the

fifth day they are permitted

to launder

for the honor of Shabbat

—that is, when Tisha Be-Av falls on Friday.

And we must explain what the Mishna means, that they are permitted to launder on Thursday for the honor of Shabbat. How does he honor Shabbat by laundering on Thursday, which occurs before Tisha Be-Av?

The Gemara asks:

What is the meaning of “they are permitted,”

for what purpose is it permitted to launder on Thursday?

If you say

that the intention is that it is permitted

to launder and wear

immediately, on Thursday—

It is impossible to say this. For what is the reason it is permitted?

What honor of Shabbat is there

in this? Behold, he is not laundering for the needs of Shabbat, but for immediate wearing!

Rather,

certainly the intention is that it is permitted for him to launder now, on Thursday, in order

to put away

and wear only on Shabbat [they permitted him to launder specifically on Thursday. But on Friday, which is the day of the fast itself, they did not permit it].

And

from the fact that the Mishna stated that on Thursday it is permitted to launder for the honor of Shabbat, it is proven that

on

the

fifth day—

only then is it permitted

because, since it is the day adjacent to Shabbat, it is apparent that he is doing it for the needs of Shabbat.

But

to launder on the days of

the entire week

[on the other days of the week, apart from Thursday] in order to put away and wear after Tisha Be-Av—

is forbidden!

Thus, in truth, to launder and put away is forbidden, and only on Thursday, for the needs of Shabbat, did they permit it!

The Gemara answers:

Actually,

it is possible to say that our Mishna is speaking with regard to

laundering and wearing

immediately.

And

nevertheless, it is permitted to launder already on Thursday, because the case is

when he has only one garment,

and he has nothing with which to change. And if he does not launder it now, he will not have a clean garment for Shabbat .

For we find this also with regard to laundering on the intermediate days of a festival. Although it is forbidden to launder during the intermediate days of the festival, nevertheless, one who has only one garment is permitted to launder it even during the intermediate days of the festival. For even if he had preceded and laundered it before the intermediate days of the festival, as is proper to do, he is compelled to launder it again during the intermediate days of the festival, since he has only one garment.

For Rav Asi said that Rabbi Yohanan said: One who has only one garment—

is permitted to launder it during the intermediate days of the festival.

It was also stated

[another statement] in accordance with the words of Rav Naḥman:

Rabbi Binyamin said that Rabbi Elazar said: They taught

that it is forbidden to launder only

to launder and wear

immediately.

But

to launder in order

to put away—

is permitted.

He raised an objection: It is forbidden to launder before Tisha Be-Av, even

in order

to put away

the laundered garments

until after Tisha Be-Av.

The beraita continues and says:

And our pressing,

of the people of Babylonia, which generally benefits the cleaning of garments more than laundering, benefits only

like their laundering

, that of the people of the Land of Israel . Therefore, since it is like laundering, it is forbidden to launder even in order to put away. But our laundering, that of the people of Babylonia, which is not as effective as their laundering, is permitted .

that of the people of the Land of Israel . Therefore, since it is equivalent to laundering, it is prohibited to launder even in order to put the garments aside. But our laundering, that of the people of Babylonia, which is not as effective as their laundering, is permitted . Others say that the leniency concerning linen garments was stated only with regard to pressing. The primary purpose of pressing is not whitening, but the polishing implement passed over the garment and the press that restores it to its new appearance. Therefore, in Babylonia, where laundering for the purpose of whitening is permitted, linen garments are not subject to pressing: the laundering that is prohibited because of whitening does not whiten them, and the pressing process does nothing to them because it does not restore them to their new appearance. Thus they are always permitted in Babylonia. In the Land of Israel, however, where laundering is prohibited even for linen garments, they are at least prohibited because of the whitening produced by laundering. If they are new, they are certainly subject to pressing. See the Sfat Emet, who discussed whether our laundering is also permitted for wearing, or whether the leniency applies only to laundering. He wrote that from the wording of Rashi and other early authorities, it appears that wearing the garment is prohibited. He concluded that the matter requires practical examination, since in the Ritva and the Beit Yosef, the prohibition is stated explicitly.

And linen garments—

are not subject to pressing

, and therefore there is no prohibition against pressing them.

In any event, we learned in the beraita that it is forbidden to launder even in order to put away!

And the Gemara’s conclusion is:

Tiyuvta.

Indeed, there is a difficulty from the beraita against the words of Rav Naḥman.

Rav Yitzḥak bar Giuri sent in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Even though they said

the Sages that

linen garments are not subject to pressing, nevertheless it is forbidden to wear them

[the pressed linen garments]

during the week

[the week]

in which Tisha Be-Av falls.

Rav said: They taught

that it is forbidden to launder during the days of the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls

only

on the days

before it

[before the day of Tisha Be-Av]. For example, if Tisha Be-Av falls on Tuesday of the week, it is forbidden to launder on Sunday and Monday of that week.

But

on the days

after it,

that is, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, even though they are in the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls—

it is permitted

to launder .

And Shmuel said: Even

on the days

after it—

it too is forbidden

to launder.

He raised an objection: The week

[the week]

in which Tisha Be-Av falls, it is forbidden to cut the hair and to launder.

And on

the

fifth day they are permitted

to cut the hair and to launder—

for the honor of Shabbat.

How so?

If

Tisha Be-Av falls

on

Sunday,

it is permitted to launder

the entire week

[all the days of that week in which Tisha Be-Av falls]. For all the days of the week are after Tisha Be-Av.

And if Tisha be-Av falls

on

a

Monday

or

Tuesday

or

Wednesday or Thursday,

then on the weekdays that were

before it,

before Tisha be-Av—

it is forbidden

to launder. But on the days that are

after it,

after Tisha be-Av—

it is permitted

to launder.

And if

Tisha be-Av falls

Девятое ава

on Friday,

nevertheless

it is permitted to launder on

день

Thursday,

even though it is one of the days before Tisha be-Av,

for the honor of Shabbat .

Если

And if he did not launder on

Thursday,

it is permitted to launder

for the needs of Shabbat even

on Friday,

although it is the very day of Tisha be-Av.

But in this case, he should not launder in the morning, but only

from Mincha onward .

The Gemara interrupts its citation of the beraita and says:

Abaye cursed him

, and some say Rav Aha bar Yaakov, for this [the meaning is: Abaye cursed him, and some say it was Rav Aha bar Yaakov who cursed him, for this matter—for laundering on Tisha be-Av, even when it fell on Friday, and even from Mincha onward].

за то, что человек стирает в Девятое ава, даже если оно приходится на канун Шабата, и даже после полудня.

The Gemara now continues its citation of the beraita:

If

Tisha be-Av falls

Девятое ава

on

a

Monday or Thursday [that is, on Monday or Thursday],

then

three

are called

to the Torah

, since on every Monday and Thursday three people are called to the Torah: a kohen, a Levite, and an Israelite, as this was instituted by Ezra .

And one maftir

is selected from among those three who were called.

And if Tisha be-Av falls

on

день

Tuesday or Wednesday [that is, on Tuesday or Wednesday], when there is no Torah reading on those days during an ordinary week,

one person reads, and the maftir

is

that same

one

who read from the Torah.

Rabbi Yosei says: In all cases,

whether Tisha be-Av falls on Monday or Thursday, or whether it falls on Tuesday or Wednesday, in every case

three are called up and one serves as maftir.

In any event, we learned in the beraita that on the days after Tisha be-Av, even though they are within the week in which it falls, laundering is permitted. If so, this beraita is

a refutation of Shmuel [a difficulty and challenge to Shmuel’s statement]!

Гемара отвечает:

The Gemara answers:

Shmuel could say to you

[Shmuel would answer and say to you concerning this difficulty]: This matter—whether it is permitted to launder during the week following Tisha be-Av or not—

is subject to a dispute between tanna’im [there is a dispute between tanna’im concerning this matter].

As it was taught in a beraita: If Tisha be-Av falls on Shabbat, and likewise if the eve of Tisha be-Av falls on Shabbat,

he need not reduce the amount of his eating. And if the eve of Tisha be-Av falls on Shabbat, he need not interrupt his meal.

Rather,

he eats and drinks as much as he requires, and places on his table even a meal like the meal of Solomon in his time [“in his time” means during the time of his reign and greatness, when the meal of the king and his servants was exceedingly lavish .

But there was a period when he was not king, as we find in tractate Gittin 68b] .

And it is forbidden to take haircuts and to launder from the beginning of the month

of Av

until the fast.

These are the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says: The entire month

—

it is forbidden to take haircuts and to launder.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: It is not forbidden

to take haircuts and to launder except during

that week

that same week]

alone.

Thus, Rabbi Meir holds that it is forbidden only before the fast, but afterward it is permitted. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, by contrast, hold that both before and after the fast, it is forbidden to take haircuts and to launder.

And it was taught in another beraita

and we learned in another beraita]:

And one observes mourning

the practices of mourning]

from the beginning of the month until the fast.

These are the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says: The entire month is forbidden.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: It is forbidden only during that week.

лишь.

Rabbi Yohanan said: And all three of them,

Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel—

expounded a single verse.

They merely disagreed about how that same verse should be expounded.

As it is written

in the prophecy of Hosea [chapter 2, verse 13]:

“And I will put an end to all her joy, her festivals, her new moons, and her Sabbaths.”

That is, the prophet prophesies that the Holy One, blessed be He, will put an end to and abolish Israel’s joy, its festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths .