The fifteenth of Av
[1] (Halacha 628)
Question: What are the minhogim of the Fifteenth of Av?
Answer: It is stated in Megillas Taanis: 'On the fifteenth of Av is the time of the wood of the priests [=the priests' wood], and one is not to eulogize'. And it is explained there: 'And what is the time of the wood of the priests? This is what you say, on the fifteenth of it1 the sons of Zattua ben Yehudah .. And what did the sons of Zattua ben Yehudah see to take for themselves a good name and a good remembrance for the generations? Only that whoever wishes to take the name may take it and when the exiles came up and did not find wood in the chamber, these stood and donated wood of their own and handed them over to the community, and communal offerings were brought from them, and thus the prophets among them stipulated with them that even if the chamber were full of wood, and even communal wood, these would donate wood at this time and bring it whenever they wished and no offering would be brought except from theirs first, as it is said, and we cast lots for the wood offering, the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring it to the House of our God, to the house of our fathers, at appointed times year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Torah. Another interpretation, that the multitudes were appointed for them and they made it a Yom Tov. And it says, for Ezra had set his heart to seek the Torah of the Lord our God and to do and to teach in Israel statute and ordinance and those days are forbidden for eulogy and for fasting, whether from the time the Temple was destroyed or whether it was not destroyed, Rabbi Yosi says: from the time the Temple was destroyed they protest, because it is mourning for them'.
If so, we have seen that they differed in the explanation of the Megillah2 as to whether this day is considered a day of joy (on account of the wood offering) which is forbidden for eulogy even after the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed.
However, on the Mishnah at the conclusion of Tractate Taanis3 which states: 'Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: there were no days as festive for Israel as the fifteenth of Av and Yom HaKippurim', additional reasons are brought in the Gemara4 as to why this day is a day of joy. ['The day on which the tribes were permitted to intermarry with one another .. the day on which the tribe of Binyamin was permitted to enter the congregation .. the day on which those who were to die in the wilderness ceased dying .. the day on which Hoshea ben Elah abolished the guard-posts that Yeravam had set up .. the day on which those slain at Beitar were given burial .. the day on which they cease cutting wood for the arrangement [of the altar]'.]
And based on this the poskim wrote several halachos regarding this day, as follows:
a. Reciting Tachanun:
The Rokeach5 wrote: 'On the 15th6 of Av we fall in supplications, and so is the custom, since Megillas Taanis has been nullified'. And the Beis Yosef OC siman 131 wrote: 'And now the world has the custom not to fall on their faces on it ..'.
And so the Mechaber7 wrote as halacha: 'The custom is not to fall on their faces on the fifteenth of Av'. And so wrote the Alter Rebbe in the Siddur before Lamnatzeach Yaancha.
b. Joy:
Among the reasons the Gemara mentions there: 'Rabbah and Rav Yosef, who both said: the day on which they ceased cutting wood for the arrangement. For it was taught, Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: from the fifteenth of Av onward the strength of the sun weakens, and they would not cut wood for the arrangement, because they were not dry. Rav Menashia said: and they called it the day of the breaking of the axe'.
And Rabbeinu Gershom8 explained: 'the day on which they ceased cutting wood for the arrangement. And because during the period they were occupied with cutting the wood of the arrangement they would be idle from Torah study, but that day they ceased and made it a Yom Tov, since from then onward they would engage in Torah'.
But some explained that the joy is not because there is more time for Torah study but rather on account of the completion of the mitzvah, as the Rashbam9 wrote 'and that day on which they ceased they would rejoice, because on that day they would complete such a great mitzvah'. And the Nimukei Yosef10 wrote: 'I wrote this for the two benefits that emerge, to be zealous to begin and to establish one's study on these nights, to bring upon oneself blessing and not curse and also that it is a custom to rejoice in a matter of a mitzvah such that when one completes it one makes a celebration and a feast and a Yom Tov'.
And in the Seder HaYom11 he wrote: 'On the day of the 15th of Av it is fitting to conduct oneself with joy and gladness, as they said in the Mishnah there were no Yom Tov for Israel like the 15th of Av and like Yom HaKippurim etc. .. all these matters that occurred on this day, one must give praise and thanks to the Omnipresent that He gladdened us, and we too shall rejoice in it a little, and one must distance grief and sighing from it'.
And the Chida in Moreh BeEtzba12 wrote: 'On the day of the 15th of Av one should increase somewhat in joy for there is an elevation for the Shechinah as it is written in the Zohar13'.
The Rebbe in the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Devarim, Chazon, Tisha B'Av that was postponed, 575114 aroused: in connection with the fifteenth of Av .. it is worthwhile that in each and every place they make a great gathering with great joy, to gather Jews, men, women, and children, and to speak words of Torah, and even better - to make a 'siyum' of a tractate15, and to give a donation to tzedakah, and to accept good resolutions to increase in all matters of Torah and mitzvos and in all good matters .. and with emphasis, gather with joy and gladness of heart, in accordance with the fact that 'there were no days as festive for Israel as the fifteenth of Av', to the very greatest joy, similar to the joy of a wedding, to which the joy and great Yom Tov of the 15th of Av is connected'.
If so, we have seen that the day of the 15th of Av is a day of joy, and Tachanun is not recited on it, [and also from it the commentators brought that there is a custom to rejoice when one completes the performance of a mitzvah], in the next halacha we will see further details regarding this day.
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Notes:
1 ראה גם משנה תענית פ"ד מ"ה ↩
2 וראה גם בגמ' מסכת ר"ה יח, ב - יט, ב ↩
3 פ"ד מ"ח ↩
4 בסוף מס' תענית לא,א וכן בב"ב קכא,ב ↩
5 סי' שיב ↩
6 להעיר שמשפט זה נכתב באמצע דיני ת"ב, ובספר ליקוטי הפרדס מרש"י לג, ב כתוב: 'ובט"ו אין נופלין בתחנונים וכן נוהגין לפי שבטלה מגילת תענית' ולא נכתב 'טו באב'. והט"ז כתב בסימן תקנט סק"א: 'ועוד כתב בס' אגודה בשם רוקח שי"ל אפי' תחנון בט"ב משום דבטלה מגלת תענית', אך ראה יד אפרים, ושו"ת שואל ומשיב מהדורה חמישאה סי' לט שהעירו על הט"ז ↩
7 שו"ע או"ח סי' קלא ס"ו ↩
8 ב"ב קכא, ב ↩
9 ב"ב קכא,ב ד"ה מניסן. וראה גם מהרש"א ח"א ↩
10 ב"ב נג, ב מדפי הרי"ף ↩
11 סדר חמשה עשר באב ↩
12 סי' ח אות רמב. קלה, א ↩
13 ובזהר שם: 'טו באב איהו *קיימא בחדוה* על בנות ישראל' ↩
14 תו"מ ח"ד ע' 96 ↩
15 והדברים משתלבים עם דברי הנמקו"י דלעיל ↩
[2] (Halacha 629)
Question: In addition to not reciting Tachanun and increasing joy, what other matters are connected to this day?
Answer: c. A day auspicious for shidduchim:
In the previous halacha we saw briefly the reasons brought in the Gemara for why the 15th of Av is a Yom Tov, and among the reasons the Gemara writes there are several connected to shidduchim, and likewise the Mishnah there in Tractate Taanis1 relates: 'Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said, there were no days as festive for Israel as the fifteenth of Av and Yom HaKippurim, for on them the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white garments so as not to embarrass one who had none, all the garments requiring immersion, and the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards, and what would they say? Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself, do not set your eyes on beauty, set your eyes on family, "grace is deceptive and beauty is vain, a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised," and it says, "give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her deeds praise her in the gates," and likewise it says, "go forth and gaze, O daughters of Zion, upon King Shlomo, with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding and on the day of the gladness of his heart" — "on the day of his wedding" this is the Giving of the Torah, and "on the day of the gladness of his heart" this is the building of the Beis HaMikdash, may it be built speedily in our days'.
And the Bnei Yissachar2 wrote: 'The matter of that Yom Tov, behold, according to all the reasons stated in the Gemara it is difficult for us why precisely then the daughters of Israel go out to dance in the vineyards and say, young man, lift up your eyes etc., a Tanna taught that whoever has no wife turns aside there, and it is difficult for us why they instituted on this very day to occupy oneself and to endeavor in weddings and not on the appointed times and festivals set forth in the Torah for joy .. And behold Chazal said, forty days before the formation of the fetus a proclamation is made in heaven, the daughter of so-and-so to so-and-so3 and like this example forty days before the 25th of Elul is the time before us of the 15th of Av, Israel arose in [Divine] thought to be wed to the King of Glory, therefore the day on which the tribes were permitted to intermarry with one another and also the day on which the tribe of Binyamin was permitted to marry was specifically on this day .. and likewise they instituted every year the daughters of Israel go out in a dance of merriment and whoever has no wife turns aside there, and the marriage came about to arouse the holy union in which Israel arose in [Divine] thought, and through the ascent of their thought, as it were, the creation of the world came about'.
The Rebbe in the sichah of the 20th of Menachem Av 57114 said: 'And from this it is understood that the reason the 15th of Av and Yom HaKippurim are a time of shidduchim below is that they are a time of shidduchim above, by the Holy One blessed be He and Knesses Yisrael, and from this it devolved also below that these times are auspicious for shidduchim'.
And to note also from the words of the Rebbe in the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Devarim, Chazon, 57515: 'And in particular according to the minhag of Israel that in these days (after Tisha B'Av), they increase in shidduchim and weddings among Israel (and in particular that this is after the interruption in this during the 'Three Weeks''.
d. Preparation for Rosh Hashanah - wishes for a good and sweet year:
The Bnei Yissachar6 wrote: 'And now, understand that which is before you if you are a person of soul, the day of the 15th of Av is the beginning of an illumination from the days of judgment which occur every year at the time of the creation of the world, namely from Rosh Hashanah until Yom HaKippurim, and behold the day of the 15th of Av is the beginning of the thought from Israel who arose in [Divine] thought to be wed to the King of Glory, which is the day designated forty days before the formation of the fetus, as written above in letter b that they proclaim the daughter of so-and-so to so-and-so, and behold that day is the beginning wherein the Blessed One wishes and desires to justify this people I formed for Myself .. behold, immediately at the beginning on this day the 15th of Av the daughters of Israel go out in a dance (and it is literal, and it is also a term of forgiveness [mechilah]) in borrowed white garments, and the reason is so as not to embarrass one who has none, behold this reason is regarding the white garments and the borrowed ones, to indicate concerning Knesses Yisrael on the days of judgment even when they have no merit in their hands and they have no white garments made from the mitzvos, they go out acquitted in borrowed white garments, that the Blessed One clothes them in white garments of His own to clothe them like Himself in the holy judgment according to the law of the Torah'.
And the Minchas Elazar of Munkatch7 wrote: 'Chazal said that they called the day of the 15th of Av the day of the breaking of the axe, and one may hint at the intent of the matter based on what is written in the seforim that on that day is the beginning of the sparkling of Rosh Hashanah, as the Bnei Yissachar wrote concerning the matter of forty days before the formation of the fetus which is 40 days before the creation of the world which was on the 25th of Elul, from then onward the mercies and repentance are aroused, see there in the Bnei Yissachar and understand .. And this one may say is the reason for the minhag of Israel that from the fifteenth of Av onward they bless one another with kesivah vachasimah tovah [a good inscription and sealing] for [the letters of] "fifteenth of Av" [chamishah asar b'Av] add up in gematria to "inscription and sealing" for then is the preparation for the inscription and sealing on Rosh Hashanah as above'8.
And in the anthology 'HaBe'er'9 it is brought: 'From the holy tzaddik Rabbi Yaakov Moshe of Komarna zt"l who received from the holy Maggid of Trisk zy"a who received from his grandfather of Chernobyl zy"a, who received from the holy Baal Shem Tov zy"a, who received from his teacher Achiyah HaShiloni, that from the 15th of Av until Rosh Hashanah, each time one blesses his fellow with kesivah vachasimah tovah, corresponding to this number he will have good advocates in heaven who will speak in his defense when the days of Rosh Hashanah arrive ..'.
The Rebbe mentioned this minhag many times10, and in the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Re'eh 575111 it is brought: 'As is known, the minhag of Israel that from the fifteenth of Av onward, they bless one another with the blessing of kesivah vachasimah (vegmar chasimah) tovah, as is hinted in the mazal of the month of Menachem Av, the mazal of Aryeh ... the initial letters of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, Yom HaKippurim, Hoshana Rabbah, namely, that in the month of Menachem Av is hinted the completion and perfection of the good sealing in the 'good note' of Hoshana Rabbah'.
--
Notes:
1 פ"ד מ"ח ↩
2 מאמרי חודש תמוז אב, מ"ד בתולה במחול אות ב ↩
3 סוטה ב, א ↩
4 תו"מ ח"ג ע' 245 ↩
5 תו"מ ח"ד ע' 96 ↩
6 שם אות ד ↩
7 שער יששכר מאמרי חדש אב, מאמר יום תבר מגל אותיות א-ב, וראה גם דרכי חיים ושלום אות תרפג ↩
8 ולהעיר מ'בית חיינו' גיליון 99 עמ' 14 שהרה"ח זלמן לייב אסטולין אמר לרבי ששמע מזקני החסידים בברדיטשוב שמט"ו באב הי' רבי לוי"צ מברדיטשוב מאחל לכאו"א כתיבה וחתימה טובה. הרבי ענה לו: שכך מובא ומודפס בשם המונקאטשער שהוא הי' אחרי רבי לוי"צ מבארדיטשוב, ואני לא יודע מי לקח ממי, אבל בכל אופן זה דבר נכון מאוד ↩
9 שנה טו דף מז ↩
10 ראה לדוגמא שיחת כ' מנ"א התשי"א תו"מ ע' 256. שיחת כ' מנ"א התשי"ד סט"ו. (ולהעיר שבשיחת יג מנ"א תשל"ט בשיחה לילדי מחנות הקיץ הרבי בירך אותם בכתיבה וחתימה טובה) ↩
11 תו"מ ח"ד ע' 179. ולהעיר גם משיחת ש"פ דברים שם ע' 88 הערה 64 ↩
[3] (Halacha 630)
Question: Why must one increase in Torah study from the night of the 15th of Av?
Answer: e. Torah study:
The Gemara at the conclusion of Tractate Taanis1, and in Bava Basra2 says: 'For it was taught, Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: from the fifteenth of Av onward the strength of the sun weakens .. from here onward, one who adds - shall add [life], and one who does not add shall be gathered. What is "shall be gathered"? Rav Yosef said: may his mother bury him'.
And Rashi explained3: 'from here onward - from the fifteenth of Av onward, one who adds nights to the days4 to engage in Torah - shall add life to his life. One who does not add - to engage in Torah at night. May his mother bury him - meaning: he will die before his time'.
And indeed the Gemara in Tractate Eruvin5 says: 'Rav Yehudah said: the night was created only for sleep'. But the Tosafos explained6: 'only for sleep - such as the nights of the summer season (tekufas Tammuz)'. But when the nights lengthen one should study also at night.
The Nimukei Yosef7 brought the explanation of the Rashbam, and wrote: 'I wrote this for the two benefits that emerge to be zealous to begin and to establish one's study on these nights, to bring upon oneself blessing and not curse ..'.
And the Meiri on Taanis there wrote: 'And there is another virtue to this day, that it too is a day set for the measure of the students to begin studying at night, and concerning it they said, one who does not add shall be gathered'.
And as halacha the Rema8 wrote: 'And a person should begin to study at night from the 15th of Av onward, and one who does not add, shall be gathered'.
And the Bach9 wrote: 'The later authorities received [the tradition] to say "from when you lie down until when you rise, lie down. And from when you rise until when you lie down, rise." That is, from Chag HaShavuos when they read Megillas Rus in which it is written10 "lie down until morning" until Tisha B'Av when they read Megillas Eichah in which it is written11 "arise, cry out in the night at the beginning of the watches," lie down, that one need not rise before the light of morning in order to study Torah since the nights are short. But from Tisha B'Av12 when they say "arise" until Chag HaShavuos when they say "lie down," arise, one is obligated to rise before the light of morning at the beginning of the watch to study since the nights are long'.
The Magen Avraham also13 brought this law: 'We say in Perek HaDar the night was created only for sleep, and Tosafos explained such as on the nights of the summer season (tekufas Tammuz), and the Bach wrote that the later authorities received [the tradition] "from when you lie down until when you rise" meaning from Shavuos until Tisha B'Av, lie down, and "from when you rise until when you lie down" meaning from Tisha B'Av until Shavuos, arise, meaning to study at night, and in the Levush he wrote from the 15th of Av until the 15th of Iyar'.
And so it is brought in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe14: 'Even though it is a mitzvah to study by day and by night, a person does not learn most of his wisdom except at night, therefore one who wishes to merit the crown of Torah should be careful with all his nights and not lose even one of them to sleep, eating, drinking, conversation, and the like, but rather in Torah study, and even on the nights of the summer season (tekufas Tammuz) one should study a little and from the 15th of Av onward one should add little by little and one who does not add shall be gathered before his time as it is written in OC siman 238'.
And it is brought regarding the conduct of the holy Rabbi, the author of the Minchas Elazar of Munkatch15: 'On the night of the 15th of Av he was careful immediately after Maariv to begin studying, and the night from then was for him several hours holy to the Lord not to be idle from study'.
The Rebbe in the sichah of the eve of the 15th of Av 574816 aroused: 'And the deed is the main thing: each and every person must accept good resolutions and begin to fulfill them in actual practice, immediately and at once when one is at the beginning of the fifteenth of Av, that is, not to wait until the morning of the fifteenth of Av, but rather to begin this while still at night, and at night itself at the beginning of the night, this time, and especially since from the very beginning of the night several moments and minutes and even hours have already passed ..'.
If so, we have seen that by the law of the Gemara, from the 15th of Av one must increase Torah study at night. In the next halacha we will see in which details the increase in study should be expressed.
Notes:
1 לא, א ↩
2 קכא, ב ↩
3 אמנם יש שהעירו (מהר"ץ חיות סוף מסכת תענית. שם הגדולים ערך רש"י קרוב לסופו. שד"ח ח"ט ע' א'תתיד) שיתכן שפירוש זה לתענית איננו מרש"י, 'ובכל אופן ה"ז פירוש של גדול בישראל שנתקבל ונתפשט בכל תפוצות ישראל, פירוש שנאמר ברוח הקודש', (תו"מ תשמ"ח ח"ד ע' 149 הערה 41) ↩
4 ורשב"ם בב"ב שם כתב: 'שמתוך שהלילות מאריכין והימים מתקצרין צריך לעסוק בלימודו גם בלילה' ↩
5 סה, א ↩
6 וראה גם רשב"א שם 'כלומר לילי תקופת תמוז, אבל משם ואילך אדרבה אמרינן אין רינה של תורה אלא בלילה, ואמרינן מכאן ואילך דמוסיף יוסיף'. וראה ריטב"א שם, ומהרש"א ח"א ב"ב קכא, ב ↩
7 ב"ב נג, ב ↩
8 שו"ע יו"ד סי' רמו סכ"ג. וראה בשיחת ט"ו באב התש"מ (שיחו"ק ע' 816) מה שהעיר הרבי שדבר פלא שדין זה לא הובא ברמב"ם טור והמחבר ↩
9 או"ח סי' רלח א ↩
10 ג, יג ↩
11 ב, יט ↩
12 מטה משה עמוד העבודה ימי תעניות סי' תשעו: 'ועדיין אנו צריכין למודעי מאי טעמא אמר תלמודא מט"ז, והלא הלילות מאריכין מת"ב. ונ"ל דכמו שלא נתיחד הדיבור לישראל עד ט"ו באב, כדאיתא בסוף תענית וביש נוחלין (שם). אע"ג דנתבטלה הגזרה מת"ב, דליכא ספיקא קמיה שמיא אלא שהיו ישראל עצבים. ואין השכינה שורה אלא מתוך שמחה (ברכות לא, א). כך אפשר שלא היו עוסקים בתורה, כדאיתא במסכת שבת (ל, ב) אין השכינה שורה אלא מתוך דבר שמחה, אמר רב יהודה, וכן לדבר הלכה. ואמרינן נמי שמעתתא בעי צלותא, ומט"ו ואילך היו עוסקים בשמחה ובטוב לב בתורת ה' המשמחת לב'. וראה לקו"ש חי"ט ע' 447 הערה ד"ה בנתנם סימן. חכ"ד ע' 273 הערה 25. תו"מ תש"ן ח"ד ע' 123 הערה 67 ↩
13 או"ח סי' רלח בהקדמה ↩
14 הל' ת"ת פ"ד ס"ח ↩
15 דרכי חיים ושלום אות תרפג ↩
16 תו"מ ח"ד ע' 140 ↩
[4] (Halacha 631)
Question: What is the increase required on the 15th of Av?
Answer: Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin wrote1: 'And it speaks of one who is always engaged in Torah all day and from the 15th of Av one must add also at night .. alluding to the Torah SheBaal Peh .. and likewise we find, how did Moshe know when it was day etc. and when He was teaching him via Mishnah and Talmud he knew that it was night etc. .. And this is what is stated in Eichah, "arise, cry out in the night," which refers to the study of the Torah SheBaal Peh, for this will be the rectification in exile, for the essence of the exile is in order to bring forth from there all the Torah SheBaal Peh .. and likewise the 15th of Av is a fitting time to add in the Torah SheBaal Peh as above'.
And in the teachings of the Rebbe2 we find several references to the definition and meaning of the increase, as follows:
a) In the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Va'eschanan 57483 the Rebbe said: 'And in plain terms: first of all each and every person must make a righteous accounting in his soul regarding Torah study .. whether his service was as required, according to the obligation by law, without deficiency. And even after he completes what is lacking and in a manner of perfection .. he must add even more, both in quantity and in quality'. And in note 71: and for example: in Torah study to add both in the quantity of study time, and in the quality of study, in length, breadth, and depth etc. ..'.
b) And on Shabbos Parshas Va'eschanan, the 13th of Menachem Av 57504 the Rebbe said: 'It is worthwhile and proper to publicize and to proclaim in each and every place the teaching of Chazal that 'from the fifteenth of Av onward, one who adds nights to the days to engage in Torah shall add life to his life'. Beginning with the 'proclamation and publicizing' itself, which will arouse in each one an increase in Torah study in quantity and quality, and likewise to publicize and arouse the members of one's household, and every Jew whom one can influence and arouse.
The increase in Torah study itself has an additional virtue when joining a Torah shiur in a group (and not 'alone'), 'two who sit and engage in Torah', up to 'ten who sit and engage in Torah', and therefore it is worthwhile to utilize the teaching from the fifteenth of Av - to increase especially in public Torah shiurim, by establishing new shiurim in places where a shiur does not yet exist, and to strengthen and expand the shiurim that already exist .. and as stated, the proclamation and publicizing regarding the increase in Torah study should be with emphasis on the increase whereby 'one shall add life to his life', that is, that there is the assurance of our holy Torah, the Torah of truth, that through this length of days will be added in a plain sense for the one who increases in Torah study'!
c) And in the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Va'eschanan, Nachamu, the 16th of Menachem Av5: 'And more specifically an increase in Torah study .. both the revealed part of Torah and the innermost part of Torah, including the study of Ein Yaakov, the Aggadah of the Torah, in which 'most of the secrets of the Torah are hidden', and additionally and primarily, the study of the innermost part of the Torah, as the words of the Arizal that 'in these final generations it is permitted and a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom', and especially after it has been explained in the teachings of Chassidus in a manner accessible to the understanding and comprehension of each and every Jew, and a special emphasis on the increase in Torah study in matters of the Geulah - both in the revealed part of Torah, and in particular the sefer of the Rambam which includes also the halachos pertaining to the time of the Geulah, such as the laws of the Beis HaBechirah .. and likewise the laws of kings and their wars and the King Mashiach, and in the innermost part of the Torah, that in addition to the fact that the entire study of the innermost part of the Torah brings the Geulah closer, 'through this composition of yours (the Torah of Rashbi) .. they will go out from it from exile with mercy', there is a special elevation in the study of the parts of the innermost Torah that explain the matters of the Geulah. And even better - that this study be in the manner of 'ten (a community) who sit (in settledness and permanence) and engage (in a manner of 'toil') in Torah ..'.
d) In Likkutei Sichos volume 34 the Rebbe asked6: 'And it requires examination what is the definition of this increase in Torah study .. for seemingly: if the discussion is about one who dwells in the tent [of Torah] (a talmid chacham) who 'is obligated to engage in Torah day and night literally', as it is written 'and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way etc.' and it is stated 'this Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth and you shall meditate on it day and night', behold in this study of his there is no increase over his obligation in the mitzvah of Torah study? And if the discussion is about a businessman who fulfills his obligation with fixed times by day and by night, and to the extent that some fulfill their obligation with one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening, and he comes to beautify and increase in Torah study (more than his obligation), it is not understood, why we do not find this matter when the days lengthen and the nights shorten .. what is the difference whether this increase is at night (from the 15th of Av onward 'when the nights lengthen and the days shorten') or by day (when the days lengthen and the nights shorten)?
And on the contrary: if a special reward is given when one adds to his study at night (which is not a time of preoccupation with business), all the more so and with greater reason does he deserve a special reward when he adds to his study by day, when according to Torah he is exempt from Torah study on account of his preoccupation with business, and he 'steals' from the time in which he engages in his livelihood and dedicates it to Torah study .. And furthermore: from the plain language of the Gemara it implies that 'from here onward etc. one who adds' is a general instruction, for all of Israel, whether those who dwell in the tent or a businessman (of all kinds)'.
And therefore the Rebbe explains there that the intent is that besides the increase in quantity there should also be an increase in quality, namely a study that effects attachment to the Holy One blessed be He, which is the Pardes of the Torah - the secrets of the Torah, and as is explained in the writings of the Arizal that the essence of Torah study at night is in Aggadah and the wisdom of truth, and in this study there is a special virtue that the study will be in a manner that connects to His Shechinah, study from a place of lowliness and self-nullification, which is easier to arouse at night, which is why this is the time when one makes an accounting of the soul in Kriyas Shema al HaMittah, Tikkun Chatzos.
--
Notes:
1 פרי צדיק דברים לחמישה עשר באב ↩
2 ההדגשות דלקמן אינם במקור ↩
3 תו"מ שם ע' 152 הערה 71 ↩
4 תו"מ תש"נ ח"ד עמ' 124 ↩
5 תו"מ תשנ"א ח"ד ע' 137 ↩
6 שיחת חמשה עשר באב ע' 41 ↩
[5] (Halacha 632)
Torah study at night (1)
Question: What is the obligation of study at night - is the night a time for Torah study or a time for sleep?
Answer: It is stated in the Book of Yehoshua1: 'לֹא יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכָל הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ כִּי אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת דְּרָכֶךָ וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל' ('This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your ways prosperous, and then you shall have success').
And in the Gemara in Tractate Menachos2: 'Rabbi Ami said: from the words of Rabbi Yosi we may learn, even if a person studied only one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening, he has fulfilled the mitzvah of "this Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth." Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rashbi: even if a person read only Kriyas Shema morning and evening - he has fulfilled "shall not depart," and this matter is forbidden to say in the presence of the ignorant. And Rava said: it is a mitzvah to say it in the presence of the ignorant. Ben Dama, the son of Rabbi Yishmael's sister, asked Rabbi Yishmael: one such as I who have studied the entire Torah, what is [the ruling] regarding studying Greek wisdom? He read to him this verse: "this Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth and you shall meditate on it day and night," go out and find an hour that is neither of the day nor of the night and study Greek wisdom in it. And this differs3 from Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani, for Rashb"n said in the name of Rabbi Yonasan: this verse is neither an obligation nor a mitzvah but a blessing, the Holy One blessed be He saw that Yehoshua held words of Torah exceedingly dear, as it is said: "and his attendant Yehoshua ben Nun, a youth, would not depart from within the tent," the Holy One blessed be He said to him: Yehoshua, are words of Torah so dear to you? "This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth"'.
If so, we have seen that the plain intent of the verse 'and you shall meditate on it day and night' is that there is an obligation to study during all the hours of the day and night, [and as the Alter Rebbe wrote4: 'if his work is done by others and likewise one who is supported by charity from the community or from individuals is obligated to engage in Torah literally day and night in every matter, and he does not fulfill his obligation at all by Torah law with fixed times'], but despite this Chazal explained that a person who does not have the possibility to study all the time, must arrange a certain time for study by day, and a time for study at night5.
And in Tractate Eruvin6 we find several statements regarding study at night: 'Rav Yehudah said: the night was created only for sleep [the night was not created except for sleep]. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: the moon was created only for study [the moon was not created except for Torah study]. They said to Rabbi Zeira: your teachings are sharp! He said to them: they are of the daytime [this is from the study of the day]. The daughter of Rav Chisda said to Rav Chisda: does the master not wish to sleep a little? [do you not wish to sleep a bit] - he said to her: soon there will come long and short days, and we shall sleep much [soon when we are in the grave, which is days long in sleep and short of Torah study, then we shall sleep much]. Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: we are workers of the day. [the main part of our study is by day, and a small fixed time at night suffices] Rav Acha bar Yaakov would borrow and repay'. [he had a fixed time for study by day, but sometimes he would lend the hours of the day to matters of livelihood, and would repay the time he was lacking from study, at night].
And we saw in halacha 630 the words of the Tosafos and other Rishonim who explained that the words of Rav Yehudah that the night was created for sleep, this is specifically regarding the nights on which the night is short. And as the Tosafos wrote there: 'only for sleep - such as the nights of the summer season (tekufas Tammuz)', (and on the long nights certainly one is obligated to study at night).
But the commentators wrote on the words of the Tosafos that even on the short nights that are designated for sleep, nevertheless one must study Torah on them as well, as the Shach wrote7: 'The Prishah wrote, it seems to me that "all his nights" is as its plain meaning that even on the short nights of the summer season (tekufas Tammuz) one should also study, whether one who does much or one who does little, nevertheless one should study a little and that which it says the night was created only for sleep and it is established (Tosafos there) as regarding the nights of the summer season (tekufas Tammuz), it seems to me that it means that then he shall have the essence of the night for sleep, and in the manner that they said the moon was created only for study and it is established as regarding the long nights of the winter season (tekufas Teves), and certainly then too one needs to sleep and shall not study the entire night but rather it means that the essence shall then be for him to study on account of the length of the nights, and see OC siman 238'.
And as halacha the Rambam wrote8: 'One is obligated to set for himself a time for Torah study by day and by night, as it is said, and you shall meditate on it day and night'.
If so, we have seen that even a person who does not have the possibility to study literally day and night, is obligated to set a time to study Torah also at night.
Only that in a pressing circumstance one may rely also on the recitation of Shema as the study of the night. And the Amoraim differed as to whether it is proper to reveal this to the ignorant or not.
The Smag9 brought the opinion that it is forbidden to say this to the ignorant: '.. and this matter is forbidden to say in the presence of the ignorant'.
And in the Hagahos Maimoniyos10 in the version before us this conclusion is also brought, but as it appears not in all versions is this found, and some learned from these words that they hold it is a mitzvah to say this.
In the next halacha we will see the words of the Shulchan Aruch and the Alter Rebbe on this.
---
Notes:
1 פ"א פ"ח ↩
2 צט, ב ↩
3 ביאור על ספה"מ לרס"ג (להר"י פערלא) עשה יד ט: 'לא עליה דרבי ישמעאל בלחוד קאי. אלא גם על רבי אמי ורבי יוחנן קאי. דס"ל דקרא דלא ימוש וגו' הוא למצוה. ורשב"נ קאמר דאינו אלא לברכה. אבל בעיקר מילתא ודאי לא פליג' ↩
4 הל' ת"ת פ"ג ה"ה, וראה גם שם ה"ז, ובאו"ח סי' קנו א ↩
5 וראה גם דברי השאגת אריה שו"ת (ישנות) סי' א: 'דהא דמוקמינן אליבא דשמואל האי קרא דובשכבך ובקומך בד"ת לאו לממר' דחייב אדם לעסוק בד"ת יומם ולילה לשמואל אלא שצריך לעסוק באיזה ד"ת בזמן שכיבה וקימה ובפרק אחד יצא ידי חובת מצוה זו וכדפירשתי' ↩
6 סה, א ↩
7 יו"ד סי' רמו ס"ק כה ↩
8 הל' ת"ת פ"א ה"ח ↩
9 עשין יב ↩
10 הל' ת"ת פ"א ↩
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