Taanit 30b — the Talmud in English

They would bring him

dry bread

[dried]

with salt,

and

he would be

sitting ![](pamud.bmp "

exact column position")

between an oven and a stove

[which is a disgraceful place]—and he would eat his bread,

and drink a small jug of water with it

[a type of vessel]

—and

he would impose such suffering upon himself that he

would appear like someone whose dead relative is lying before him.

We learned there

[in tractate Berakhot]:

In a place where people are accustomed to perform work on Tisha B’Av—

they perform it.

In a place where people are accustomed not to perform

work on Tisha B’Av—

they do not perform it.

But everywhere,

whether this is the local custom or not,

Torah scholars refrain from work.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A person should always conduct himself as though he were a Torah scholar,

even if he is not one, and should refrain from work on Tisha B’Av; this is not considered arrogance.

It was taught likewise

[we also learned in a beraita, a tannaitic source not included in the Mishna, in accordance with the Mishna]

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A person should always conduct himself as though he were a Torah scholar, so that he will suffer .

That is, a person is permitted, and it is proper for him, to conduct himself as though he were a Torah scholar in matters that bring him neither pleasure nor honor, but suffering.

Refraining from work is suffering, and therefore it is proper for every person to conduct himself in this matter like Torah scholars.

It was taught in another beraita

[we learned in another beraita]:

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Anyone who eats meat and drinks wine on Tisha B’Av,

the matter is as severe

as though he were eating and drinking on Yom Kippur

, since eating and drinking on Yom Kippur are prohibited by Torah law, and one who eats and drinks on that day is liable to receive karet, spiritual excision.

Rabbi Akiva says: Anyone who performs work

on Tisha B’Av—

will never see a sign of blessing

from that work

ever.

And the Sages say: Anyone who performs work on Tisha B’Av and does not mourn over Jerusalem—

will not see its rejoicing

in the future, when the Messiah comes.

As it is stated: “Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult with her, all who love her;

rejoice with her joy, all who mourn for her.”

Thus we learn that only those who mourn over Jerusalem because of their love for her will merit rejoicing with her when she is rebuilt speedily in our days.

From here they said: Anyone who mourns over Jerusalem—

will merit and see its rejoicing.

But one who does not mourn over Jerusalem—

will not see its rejoicing.

It was taught likewise: Anyone who eats meat and drinks wine on the

It was taught likewise: Anyone who eats meat and drinks wine on

the

eve of Tisha B’Av,

at the meal with which he ends his eating ,

the verse says about him: “Their iniquity shall be upon their bones.”

We learned in our Mishna:

Rabbi Yehuda obligates one to overturn

the bed.

But the Sages did not agree with him.

It was taught: The Sages said

to

Rabbi Yehuda: According to your view,

that people do not sleep on beds but on the ground, pregnant

women

[pregnant women]

and nursing women,

who cannot lie on the ground—

what will become of them?

He said to them: I never said

that one is obligated to overturn the bed except

for

one who

can

do so. But women, who cannot do so, are not obligated.

It was taught likewise:

In truth, Rabbi Yehuda and the Sages did not disagree about this matter, whether one is obligated to overturn the bed on which he normally sleeps and lie on the ground.

For

Rabbi Yehuda concedes to the Sages in the case of one who cannot

sleep on the ground, that he need not do so.

And the Sages concede to Rabbi Yehuda in the case of one who can

sleep on the ground, that he must conduct himself in this manner.

Rather,

what difference is there between them,

in what did Rabbi Yehuda and the Sages disagree?

There is a difference between them

: They disagreed about whether one must overturn also

the other

beds

in

the house, on which no one sleeps, or not.

As it was taught: When they said

that one must

overturn the bed, he overturns not only his own bed, but all the beds

—he overturns all of them.

This is Rabbi Yehuda’s view. But the Sages disagree with him in this matter and hold that one overturns only his own bed, and not the other beds in the house.

Rava said: The halakha is in accordance with the tannaitic position in our Mishna

[the halakha follows the tannaitic authority of our Mishna], which taught that Rabbi Yehuda and the Sages disagreed about the basic obligation to overturn the bed. Rabbi Yehuda holds that one must overturn the bed on which he normally sleeps,

but the Sages did not agree with him at all,

and they hold that there is no need to overturn any bed. The halakha follows their view: there is no need to overturn any bed.

We learned in our Mishna:

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as festive for Israel as the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur.

The Gemara asks:

Granted, Yom Kippur,

it is understandable that it is a festival for Israel,

because it contains

[there is in it]

forgiveness and pardon,

for it is

the day on which the second Tablets were given

[the later Tablets] to Israel , and forgiveness and pardon were granted to Israel.

And therefore, because it is a day of forgiveness and pardon, the fast of Yom Kippur was established on that day, the tenth of Tishrei, to publicize that the Holy One, blessed be He, had forgiven and pardoned, and regretted the evil that He had said He would do to His people.

But as for the fifteenth of Av, what is it

[why was this day established as a festival], what is special about this day?

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel:

This was

the day on which the tribes were permitted to marry one another.

For the Torah states: “Any daughter who inherits property from the tribes of the children of Israel shall become a wife to a member of her father’s tribe … and an inheritance shall not pass from one tribe of the children of Israel to another tribe, for the children of Israel shall remain attached, each man, to the inheritance of his fathers …”

That is, daughters who inherited their father’s property [when he had no son] had to marry specifically men from their father’s tribe. They were forbidden to marry men from another tribe, so that the inheritance would not pass from one tribe to another.

The Sages then arose and permitted the matter, saying that daughters who inherited property were permitted to marry men from another tribe. This took place on the fifteenth of Av.

What did they derive

[what did the Sages derive] that enabled them to permit the matter?

This is what they derived: It is written:

“This is the matter that the Lord commanded regarding the daughters of Zelophehad …”

“They shall become wives only to the family of the tribe of their father …” This implies that

this matter,

that daughters who inherit property must marry only men from their own tribe,

shall not apply

except in this generation,

the generation of the wilderness.

The Gemara brings another opinion regarding our subject: What was the special joy of the fifteenth of Av, on account of which that day was established as a festival?

Rav Yosef said in the name of Rav Naḥman:

The day

that is the fifteenth of Av was

the day on which

the

tribe of Benjamin was permitted to enter the congregation.

For in the incident of the concubine at Gibeah [recounted in the Book of Judges, chapter 20], Israel prohibited all the tribes from giving their daughters in marriage to men from the tribe of Benjamin.

As it is stated: “The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpeh, saying: No man among us

[of us]

[из нас]

shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”

What did they derive

[what did the Sages derive] that enabled them to permit marriage to men from Benjamin?

Rav said:

The verse says, “No man

among us

shall give his daughter …” Thus the children of Israel said: None of us will give his daughter to the sons of Benjamin. But the prohibition applied specifically to each of us,

and not

to anyone

among our sons

who would come after us.

The Gemara brings another opinion regarding our subject.

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said

in the name of

Rabbi Yoḥanan:

The fifteenth of Av was

the day on which the people who died in the wilderness came to an end.

That is, on this day the decree that the Holy One, blessed be He, had issued against Israel after the episode of the spies—that they would all die in the wilderness—came to an end.

For we find in the Midrash that during all forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, on every eve of Tisha B’Av a herald would announce: “Go out to dig!” Each Israelite would go out and dig a grave for himself, and sleep in it throughout the night, lest he die before digging one and not be buried.

The following morning the herald would again go out and announce: “Let the living separate from the dead!”

Everyone who still possessed the breath of life would emerge from his grave. The others, who had died, remained buried in their graves.

In the fortieth year they did the same thing again. In the morning, when the herald announced, “Let the living separate from the dead!” everyone emerged alive from the graves.

When Israel saw this, they were astonished and said: Perhaps we had miscalculated the month, and this day is not Tisha B’Av! Therefore, they continued lying in the graves for several more days, until the day on which the moon becomes full, the fifteenth of Av. By then it was clear to them that Tisha B’Av had passed.

Since they saw that the Ninth of Av had certainly passed, and nevertheless none of them had died, they knew that the calculation of the month was accurate, except that those forty years of the decree had already been completed. And they arose and made that day a festival .

For the Master said: Before the wilderness generation had come to an end [

before the death of those upon whom it had been decreed that they would die in the wilderness had ended]—

there was not

speech with Moses uniquely from the Holy One, blessed is He,

with Moses

with affection .

As it is stated: “And it was, when all the men of war had finished

dying—

‘the Lord spoke to me.’”

It follows that only now Moses said:

“The speech was to me”

uniquely and with affection. But until now, before the decree concerning the wilderness generation had been completed, speech was not uniquely directed to Moses.

The Gemara brings another opinion concerning our matter.

Ulla said:

The fifteenth day of Av was the

day on which he annulled

the [barriers]

Hoshea son of Elah

that

the prosdiyot [

guards]

which Jeroboam son of Nebat had placed on the roads,

so that

Israel would not go up for the pilgrimage festival.