Siman - Taanis Daf 12
- A fast when one did not accept upon himself to fast the day before
Shmuel said: כל תענית שלא קיבל עליו מבעוד יום לאו שמיה תענית – Any fast where one did not accept upon himself to fast while it is still daytime before the fast, is not called a fast. The Gemara asks what it is considered if one does fast without accepting the fast the previous day. Rabba bar Shila said: דמי למפוחא דמליא זיקא – He is like a bellows filled with air. Rashi explains that he has filled himself up with air from not eating, for no purpose. The Gemara asks when one should do the formal acceptance of a fast? Rav said: At Minchah time. Shmuel said: During the tefillah of Minchah. Rashi explains that Shmuel holds that one should accept the fast after the additional tachanunim are said at the end of Shemona Esrei, when it is closer to the time that he will begin fasting. He says that the person declares: הריני מחר בתענית – Tomorrow I will be fasting.
- לוה אדם תעניתו ופורע
Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: לוה אדם תעניתו ופורע – A person who accepted upon himself to fast, may “borrow” the fast and eat that day, and then repay his chiyuv to fast on another day. When Shmuel heard this ruling from Rav Yehudah, he asked rhetorically: וכי נדר קבל עליה – Did this person accept upon himself a neder that requires him to fulfill it at some point? לצעורי נפשיה קביל עליה – This person only accepted to afflict himself through fasting on that day. If he cannot on that day, he does not have to do it another day. Another version of this exchange is that Shmuel remarked that it is obvious that one can repay a fast on another day, as his acceptance of the fast is only a neder, which can be fulfilled on another day.
- What is done on a public fast day
The next Mishnah teaches that if no rain fell after the first three public fasts passed, then Beis Din is gozeir three additional fasts in which they may not eat and drink once it gets dark, and it is prohibited to engage in work, wash oneself, anoint, wear shoes, and have marital relations. The bathhouses are also locked. The Gemara asks what is done on the day of the fast? Abaye answered: From morning until midday, מעיינין במילי דמתא – we examine the town’s conduct. During the third quarter of the day קרינן בספרא ואפטרתא – we read from the Torah and Haftorah. From there on, from the final quarter of the day, בעינן רחמי – we beg for Hashem’s mercy, as it is stated in the passuk: "ויקומו על עמדם ויקראו בספר תורת ה' אלהיהם רבעית היום" – And they arose in their place and they read from the sefer Torah of Hashem, their G-d, one quarter of the day, "ורבעית מתודים ומשתחוים לה' אלהיהם" – and one quarter of the day they said viduy and prostrated themselves to Hashem, their G-d.
