Weekly Halacha Yomit: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch

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Daily Kitzur Limud (Week 31)

This week's learning:

6th of Av

27 Jul 09

124:4 -11

7th of Av

28 Jul 09

124:12 -20

8th of Av

29 Jul 09

124:21 - 125:end

9th of Av

30 Jul 09

126:1 -end

10th of Av

31 Jul 09

127:1 -10

11th of Av

1 Aug 09

127:11 -end

12th of Av

2 Aug 09

192:1 -7

"Baruch Hashem Yom Yomi"
Insight on this week's learning
By Daniel Cohen, Programs Director, World Mizrachi

We find in the Kitzur a number of halachot of Tisha B'Av that are surprising at first glance:

The afternoon before Tisha B'Av (123:3)
Concerning the last meal (before the fast) there are several laws. The correct way is to eat before the afternoon service a normal (full) meal, and afterwards to pray Mincha but without saying Tachanun, because the 9th of Av is termed a ''Mo'ed'' as is written: ''He called a mo'ed against me''.

Shacharit on Tisha B'Av (124:3)
After the Amidah he says half kaddish and does not say neither Tachanun nor ''O G-d, slow to anger'' because (the 9th of Av) is termed a ''Mo'ed''… We do not say (Psalm 20) ''For the chief musician. A psalm of David''.

Tisha B'Av on Shabbat or Motzaei Shabbat (125:3)
In the afternoon services we do not say ''Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness''.

In spite of the extremely sad and mournful tone of the day no tachanun is said, no selichot are recited – why is this? The Kitzur explains that this is because Tisha B'Av is referred to in Megillat Eicha as a mo'ed or festive day. Why is the saddest day of the year known as a festival?! You could argue because of the pasuk in Zechariah (8:19) when the prophet describes how all our fast days will become festivals:

Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fact of the tenth, shall become times of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts to the house of Yehuda; therefore, love the truth and peace.

Since they will become days of feasting, we begin to observe some of the laws of festive days in anticipation of that time. However, this does not seem to fully explain, since why do we not have similar laws, then, for all the other fast days?!

It seems to me that in the saddest possible moment, there is room for hope and even, possibly, happiness. When we read the famous story from the end of the Gemara in Makkot (24b), perhaps this concept will be more clear:

[Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar Ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva] were ascending to Jerusalem. When they reached Mount Scopus, they rent their garments. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox leaving the [site of] the kodesh ha-kodashim [the innermost sanctum of the Temple]. They began crying, but Rabbi Akiva laughed.

They said to him, 'Why do you laugh?' He said to them, 'Why do you cry?'

They said to him, 'The site about which it is written: "The foreigner who approaches shall be put to death" - now foxes walk there, and we shall not cry?'

He said to them, 'Therefore I laugh. For it is written, "I called upon reliable witnesses - Uriya the Kohen, and Zekharya ben Yeverekheyahu" (Yeshayahu 8:2). What does Uriya have to do with Zekharya - Uriya [lived] during the First Temple [period], whereas Zekharya [lived] during the Second Temple! Rather, the verse hinges the prophecy of Zekharya on the prophecy of Uriya. In [a prophecy of] Uriya it is written, "Therefore, because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field," and in [a prophecy of] Zekharya it is written, "There shall yet be old men and women in the streets of Jerusalem." So long as Uriya's prophecy was unfulfilled, I feared lest Zekharya's prophecy will not be fulfilled. Now that Uriya's prophecy has been fulfilled, it is certain that Zekharya's prophecy will be fulfilled.'

They said to him: 'Akiva, you have consoled us; Akiva, you have consoled us.'"

Taking the events of Tisha B'Av in a narrow prespective leads us to mourn and cry without any hope or optimism. However, this is not the case at all. We learn that there is always hope – we repeat the penultimate pasuk of Eicha to ensure we end on a positive hopeful note (which we recite as we return the Sefer Torah to the Ark) – "Turn us back, O Lord, to You, and we will return. Renew our days as of old." We even sing the last kinah "Eli Tzion" – why do we sing it? We are only able to sing it due to the hope provided by the promise of Zechariah, exemplified by Rabbi Akiva: Now that Uriya's prophecy has been fulfilled, it is certain that Zekharya's prophecy will be fulfilled. We have the merit of seeing in our generation "old men and women in the streets of Jerusalem" once more – this should give us the strength this Tisha B'Av to feel that "Akiva, you have consoled us".

If you have any comments or feedback, please email daniel@worldmizrachi.org .

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