Today’s daf TB Taanit 26 concludes the third chapter and begins the fourth and very last chapter of our massekhet. If there’s a drought, the fast is declared the night before it begins. What happens if our prayers are answered and rain falls before midday (Hatzot-חָצוֹת)?
“The mishna teaches: An
incident occurred in which the court decreed a fast in Lod,
and when rain fell they ate and drank, and afterward they recited hallel.
The Gemara asks: And let us recite hallel at the outset, without
delay. Why did they first go home and eat? Abaye and Rava both said: Because
one recites hallel only on a satisfied soul and a full stomach.
Consequently, it is preferable to return home to eat and drink so as to recite hallel
in the proper frame of mind. The Gemara asks: Is that so? But Rav Pappa
happened to come to the synagogue of Avi Govar in Meḥoza, and he
decreed a fast, and rain fell for them before midday, and yet he recited
hallel immediately, and only afterward they ate and drank.
The Gemara explains: The inhabitants of the city of Meḥoza are
different, as drunkenness is common among them. Had Rav Pappa told them to
go home to eat and drink, they would have become drunk and been unable to pray.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The hallel under discussion is Psalm 136 which is known as the Great Hallel. Rashi explains that the Great Hallel is recited when one is satiated because of verse 25, “Who gives food to all flesh, His steadfast love is eternal. נֹתֵ֣ן לֶ֭חֶם לְכׇל־בָּשָׂ֑ר כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ” Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we recite this Psalm after we have finished our Passover Seder’s meal. We are definitely full then.
We have to remember that back then
water was very polluted and unfit for drinking. Instead of water at every meal
people drank wine or beer.
Drunkenness effected the people of Meḥoza’s ability to pray properly so they recited the great Hallel before eating, and chapter 4 begins how drunkenness effects when the priests are allowed to lift up their hands and bless the people with the priestly benediction (Numbers 6: 24-26).
“The mishna taught: At three times in the year priests raise their hands to recite the Priestly Benediction four times in a single day: On communal fasts, non-priestly watches, and Yom Kippur. The Gemara asks: How do they recite the Priestly Benediction four times on these days? Do fast days and gatherings of non-priestly watches have an additional prayer? The Gemara explains that the mishna is incomplete and is teaching the following: At three times in the year priests raise their hands each time they pray, and on some of these they bless four times a day, in the morning prayer, in the additional prayer, in the afternoon prayer, and in the closing of the gates, i.e., the ne’ila prayer. And these are the three times: Communal fasts, non-priestly watches, and Yom Kippur.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The Gemara recognizes three
different opinions when the priests bless the people with the priestly
benediction. 1) Rabbi Meir says: “The morning prayer, the additional prayer,
the afternoon prayer, and ne’ila all have the Priestly Benediction
of the raising of the hands.” 2) Rabbi Yehuda says: “The morning
prayer and the additional prayer have the raising of the hands, whereas the
afternoon prayer and ne’ila do not have the raising of the hands.” 3)
Rabbi Yosei says: “Ne’ila has the raising of the hands; the afternoon
prayer does not have the raising of the hands.” The Gemara explains that the
issue of drunkenness plays the decisive role for each sage’s opinion.
“The Gemara asks: With
regard to what principle do they disagree? Rabbi Meir maintains: What is
the reason that priests do not spread their hands to bless the people
every day in the afternoon prayer? It is due to potential drunkenness,
as people occasionally become intoxicated during their lunch, and it is
prohibited for an inebriated priest to bless. However, now, on a fast
day, there is no concern about drunkenness, and therefore the
priests may recite the Priestly Benediction even in the afternoon prayer.
“Conversely, Rabbi Yehuda maintains that with
regard to the morning prayer and the additional prayer, when drunkenness is
not common on every ordinary day (because back then the first meal of the day was at midday for the common
person-gg), the Sages did not issue a decree that the Priestly
Benediction be omitted during them. However, with regard to the
afternoon prayer and ne’ila, when drunkenness is common on every day,
the Sages issued a decree that the Priestly Benediction should not be
recited during them, despite the fact that intoxication is not a concern
on a fast day.
“Finally, Rabbi Yosei maintains that with regard
to the afternoon prayer, which is recited every day, the Sages issued
a decree concerning it, whereas with regard to ne’ila, which is
not recited every day, the Sages did not issue and apply their decree
to it, as there is no concern that people might become confused between ne’ila
and an afternoon prayer of a regular weekday.” (Sefaria.org translation)
Our bottom line: don’t
drink and daven
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