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''Ta'anit'' or ''Taynis'' () is a volume (or "tractate") of the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
,
Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
, and both
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
s. In
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
these are the basic works of
rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...
. The tractate of Ta'anit is devoted chiefly to the fast-days, their practices and prayers. In most editions of the
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
this treatise is the ninth in the mishnaic order of Seder Mo'ed, and is divided into four chapters containing thirty-four folio in all.


Summary

The main contents of the Ta'anit are as follows: * Chapter 1: Concerning the date on which one begin to mention rain in the second blessing of the
Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...
and to pray for rain in the eighth blessing (1:1-3); the time during which one fasts on account of scarcity of rain—two successive periods of three days each, and a final one of seven days—and the distinctions between these various days concerning strictness in fasting (1:4-6); nature of the national mourning in case no rain falls despite many fast-days (1:7). * Chapter 2: The ceremonies which must be observed in fasting (2:1); the prayers and the blowing of the trumpet in this connection (2:2-5); the participation of the priests both in the fasts of three days and in that of seven days (2:6-7); days on which public fasts are prohibited according to ''
Megillat Taanit ''Megillat Taanit'' (), lit. ''"the Scroll of Fasting,"'' is an ancient text, in the form of a chronicle, which enumerates 35 eventful days on which Jews either performed glorious deeds or witnessed joyful events. Despite the scroll's name, thes ...
'' (2:8-10). * Chapter 3: Cases in which the order of fasting may be changed, and the trumpet may be blown at the very beginning of the fast (3:1-3); other occasions on which a fast is held and the trumpet blown, as when a plague breaks out in a city or when an army marches against it (3:4-7); concerning
Honi HaMe'agel Honi HaMe'agel () was a 1st-century BCE Jewish scholar prior to the age of the '' tannaim'', the scholars from whose teachings the Mishnah was derived. During this period, a variety of religious movements and splinter groups developed amongst the ...
, who prayed for rain (3:8); cases in which fasting ceases when rain begins to fall (3:9). * Chapter 4: Days on which the priests raise their hands four times to bless the people (4:1); the institution of lay assistants ("ma'amadot") for the sacrifice, the time when they assembled, the days on which they fasted, and the sections of Scripture which they read on each day (4:2-4); the day of the month appointed for the bringing of the wood-offering ( Nehemiah 10:34) during the period of the Temple (4:5); the Seventeenth of Tammuz and
Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...
, and the five sad events which befell the Jewish people on each of these days (4:6-7); the festivities which marked
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
and
Tu B'Av Tu B'Av () is a minor Jewish holiday. In modern-day Israel, it is celebrated as a holiday of love ( ), akin to Valentine's Day. It has been said to be an auspicious day for weddings. Etymology Called Tu B'Av because of the sound of the two Heb ...
(the most important day of the wood-offering) in ancient times in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, when the maidens, dressed in white, danced in the vineyards and called on the young men to seek worthy brides for themselves (4:8).


Other Talmudic literature

The
Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
to this treatise contains much that elucidates and supplements the Mishnah. Especially noteworthy are the account of the origin of the priestly classes (4:2), the changes which affected them after the return from exile, and how they were again subdivided (2:1). The two Gemaras contain, in addition to the explanations of individual mishnayot, many aggadic sayings, as well as many narratives and legends. The following sayings from the Babylonian Gemara may be cited here: * Why is learning compared to a fire? Because, as many chips burn better together than singly, so learning is promoted when it is pursued by many scholars studying in company. * A sage who holds himself aloof from other scholars deteriorates learning. * Hanina said he had learned much from his teachers, but more from his colleagues, and most of all from his pupils. * Learning is like water; for as water can not remain in a high place, so learning can not be the possession of a proud and haughty man (7a). * If a pupil finds study difficult, it is only because he has not systematically arranged the material to be learned (8a). * If when Israel is visited with affliction a man severs fellowship with his brethren, the two angels who accompany each one come to him, lay their hands upon his head, and say: "This man would not suffer with his people; therefore he shall not behold them when they are comforted and see days of happiness" (11a). Among the narratives particular attention should be given to the story of Nicodemus b. Gorion (19b-20a) and to the legend of Honi the Circledrawer, who slept for seventy years (23a). Noteworthy in
Talmud Yerushalmi The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
is the account of the three scrolls of the Law which were in the
Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
and which differed from one another in various passages. Where two of these scrolls agreed as regards a reading, it was accepted as the correct text (4:2, 20b or 68a). This Gemara contains also a remarkable saying of Abbahu, which is evidently directed against Christianity: "If a man says, 'I am God,' he lies; and if he says, 'I am the son of man,' he will have to repent; and if he says, 'I shall go up to heaven,' he will not do it, nor achieve what he promises" (2:1, 9a or 65b). It likewise relates how
Simon bar Kokhba Simon bar Kokhba ( ) or Simon bar Koseba ( ), commonly referred to simply as Bar Kokhba, was a Jewish military leader in Judea. He lent his name to the Bar Kokhba revolt, which he initiated against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Though they were u ...
killed
Eleazar of Modi'im Eleazar of Modi'im () was a Jewish scholar of the second tannaitic generation (1st and 2nd centuries), disciple of Johanan ben Zakkai, and contemporary of Joshua ben Hananiah and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. Rabbinic career Eleazar of Modi'im was an ...
, whom a Samaritan had falsely accused of treason.


References

{{Mishnah Tractates of the Talmud