Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 8, scan section 17

' God saw their works, that they had turned from their evil way ' [Jonah, iii. 10], and the tradition of the prophets is (as it is written) : ' Rend your hearts, and not your garments ' ' [Joel, ii. 13]. After standing up to pray, the people shall place at the praying-desk, to minister, an old experienced person who has children and whose larder is empty, so that his mind may be entirely devoted to his prayer. This person shall say twenty- four benedictions ; namely, the eighteen benedictions of the daily prayer, with the addition of six more, which are as follows: The texts of Zikhronoth (remembrance of His creatures) and of Shophroth (sounding of the cornet) ; the chapters : [Psalms, cxx.) " Unto the Lord, when I was in distress, did I call, and he hath answered me " ; [ibid, cxxi.] " I lift up my eyes unto the mountains," etc. ; [ibid, cxxx.] " Out of the depths have I called to thee, O Lord ; and [ibid, cii.] "A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed." R. Jehudah said : It was not necessary to mention the Zikhronoth and Shophroth, but the following passages are to be read instead, namely : [I Kings, viii. 37] " If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence," etc. ; and [Jeremiah, xiv.] " The word of the Lord 3$ TRACT TAANITH (FASTING). 37 that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought " ; and the con- cluding is then added to each. To the first he (the reader) shall say additionally : " May He who answered Abraham on Mount Moriah answer you, and listen to your (prayer and) cry on this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, Redeemer of Israel ! " To the second he shall say : " May He who answered our ancestors on the Red Sea answer you, and listen favorably unto your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who rememberest all things forgotten (by man) ! " To the third he shall say : " May He who answered Joshua in Gilgal answer you, and listen to your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who deignest to listen to the sound of the cornet ! " To the fourth he shall say : " May He who answered Samuel in Mizpah answer you, and listen this day to your cry. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hearkenest to (our) cry ! " To the fifth he shall say : " May he who answered Elijah on Mount Carmel answer you, and listen favorably to your cry on this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hearkenest to prayer ! " To the sixth he shall say : " May He who answered Jonah in the bowels of the fish answer you, and listen unto your cry this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who answerest in the time of distress ! " To the seventh he says : " May he who answered David and his son Solomon in Jerusalem answer you, and listen unto your cry on this day. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hast compassion on the earth ! " It happened in the days of R. Halaphta and R. Hanina the son of Teradion, that a minister advanced to the praying-desk and completed the entire benediction without any (of the con- gregation) answering thereto "Amen." (The sexton then pro- claimed) : " Sound, priests ! Sound ! " (The minister who said the prayers then continued) : " May He who answered our father Abraham on Mount Moriah answer you, and listen favorably to your prayer this day." (The sexton then called) : " Sound an alarm, sons of Aaron ! Sound an alarm ! " (The previous minister continued) : " May He who answered our ancestors on the Red Sea answer you, and listen favorably to your cry this day." When the sages were informed of this, they said : " This was not our custom, except at the eastern door (of the Temple) and on the Temple mount." On the first three fasts, the priests who had the weekly watch of the Temple fasted, but only part of the day, and the minister- ing priests did not fast at all. On the second three fast-days, the 38 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. priests on the weekly watch fasted the whole day. but the ministering priests only fasted part of the day ; but on the last seven fast-days both classes of priests fasted the whole day. So said R. Jehoshua. But the sages say: "The first three fasts were not kept by either of the two classes ; on the second three fasts the priests on weekly watch would fast part of the day, but the officiating priests would not fast at all. On the last seven, however, the priests on the weekly watch would fast the whole day ; but the officiating priests would fast only part of the day." The priests having the weekly watch may drink wine at night, but not during the day * but the officiating priests may drink it neither by day nor by night. The priests of the weekly watch and the standing men (commoners attending the public sacrifices as the representatives of the congregation at large) are not allowed to shave their beards or to wash their clothes ; but on Thursday they are permitted to do so, in honor of the approach- ing Sabbath. (Moed Katan, p. 25.) Wherever it is mentioned in the " Roll of Fasts " that " no lamentation and mourning is to be made " on certain days, it is also prohibited to do so on the day preceding, but permitted on the day following. R. Jose, however, says : " It is prohibited to do so on both the day preceding and the day following." Where it is said, however, " No fasts are to be kept thereon," it is allowed to fast on the day preceding and following days. R. Jose, however, says : " It is prohibited on the preceding, but allowed on the following day." Public fasts must not be ordered to commence on a Thursday, in order not to raise the price of victuals in the markets ; f but the first three fasts must be kept on Monday, Thursday, and the following Monday. But the second three fasts may follow on Thursday, Monday, and the following Thursday. R. Jose says : " Even as the first fasts are not to be commenced on Thursday, so also are the second and last fasts not to commence on that day." * This regulation is a general one and applies to ordinary days as well as to fast-days. f Precautions were taken in every instance to prevent exorbitant prices being charged for victuals and at times even existing ordinances were abrogated for this purpose. Thus no fast-days were ordered to commence on Thursday in order that the dealers in articles of food might not take advantage of the greater demand pro- duced by the necessity of laying in an extra supply for the day preceding the fast and for Sabbath. TRACT TAANITH (FASTING). 39 Public fasts are not to be ordered to take place on the feast of the New Moon, on that of Dedication (Hanukah), nor on that of Lots (Purim) ; but if the fast had already been commenced on one of those feasts, it need not be broken. Such is the decree of Rabban Gamaliel. R. Meir, however, says, that although Rab- ban Gamaliel said that the fast need not be broken, he admits