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Bava Basra, 121
BAVA BASRA 121 (10 Av) - dedicated by Mrs. G. Kornfeld (Rabbi Kornfeld's
mother) to the memory of her father, Reb Yisrael Shimon ben Shlomo ha'Levi
Turkel. Reb Yisrael Turkel loved Torah and supported it with his last
breath. He passed away on 10 Av, 5740.
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1) THE "YOM TOV" OF THE FIFTEENTH OF AV
QUESTION: The Gemara cites the Mishnah in Ta'anis (26b) which states that
"there were never such good days for Yisrael as the fifteenth of Av and Yom
Kipur, for on those days the daughters of Yerushalayim would go out with
borrowed white clothing in order not to embarrass those who did not have
their own." The Gemara discusses why the fifteenth of Av is such a special
day. One of the reasons that the Gemara gives is that on that day, it became
permitted for members of different Shevatim to marry each other. The RASHBAM
(DH la'Vo) explains that marrying out of one's Shevet was prohibited for the
generation that entered Eretz Yisrael. The reason for that prohibition to
prevent the land that was given to each Shevet from being transferred,
through inheritance, to a different Shevet; if a woman, with no brothers,
would marry a man from a different Shevet, then the land that she inherited
from her father would pass to her husband upon her death.
According to this reason, what was so special about the fifteenth of Av? Why
was the annulment of this prohibition cause for festivity?
ANSWER: The MAHARSHA (Chidushei Agados) answers that, as the Gemara implies,
the fifteenth of Av was a joyous day primarily for the women of Yisrael.
Until that time, a *man* was permitted to marry a woman from a different
Shevet, because his family inheritance would not go out of his Shevet as a
result of his marriage to a woman from another Shevet. A woman, on the other
hand, who had a family inheritance was *not* permitted to marry a man from
another Shevet, because doing so would cause her family inheritance to go
out of her Shevet. The fifteenth of Av, therefore, was a joyous day for
women in general because they were now permitted to marry without this
restriction.
The PNEI SHLOMO adds to the Maharsha's explanation. He says that this
explanation can be used to explain the words of TOSFOS in Ta'anis (30b, DH
Yom) who states that the day on which the Shevatim were permitted to marry
into one another was a "Y'T" (sic). It is not clear what Tosfos is saying by
adding this comment, as the Mishnah itself says that this day was a Yom Tov.
The Pnei Shlomo suggests that "Y'T" is not the abbreviation for "Yom Tov,"
but rather for "Yom Tovasan" -- *their Yom Tov*, referring to the day that
was good for the daughters of Yisrael, since they were not permitted to
marry men from any tribe.
The Maharsha continues and says that according to the following reason that
the Gemara gives for the festive nature of the fifteenth of Av -- that it
was then, in the period of the Shoftim, that the other Shevatim were
permitted once again to marry with the Shevet of Binyamin, this was also a
cause for celebration specifically for the women, because the ban was only
on women from other Shevatim marrying men from Binyamin. Men had always been
permitted to marry women from Binyamin. (Y. Marcus)
121b
2) THE MOTHER'S ROLE IN HER SON'S TORAH STUDY
QUESTION: Rabah and Rav Yosef state that the reason why the fifteenth of Av
is a "Yom Tov" is because on this day each year the cutting of the wood for
the Mizbe'ach in the Beis ha'Mikdash was completed. RABEINU GERSHOM explains
that this was a joyous occasion because during the season of cutting the
wood, the people had less time to learn Torah. From the fifteenth of Av,
when the season of cutting the wood ended, they had more time for learning
Torah. Therefore, this day was celebrated as a festive day.
The Gemara continues and says that from the fifteenth of Av onward, when the
summer nights are long, someone who is "Mosif" -- who adds to the time that
he learns Torah at night -- will be rewarded by "Yosif" -- by Hashem adding
more time to his life. Someone, though, who is not "Mosif," who does not add
to the time that he learns Torah at night, will be punished by "Yasif," by
being destroyed. Rav Yosef explains that this means that his mother will
bury him, meaning that he will die prematurely. The RASHBAM (DH Mai Yasif)
explains that as a punishment for not learning Torah, he will reach only
half of his full life-span.
What is the significance of Rav Yosef's statement that specifically this
person's mother will bury him? Why does he not state simply that the person
will die young?
ANSWERS:
(a) The MAHARSHA explains that a mother has a special role in ensuring that
her son learns Torah. He cites the Gemara in Sanhedrin (70b) which explains
the verse in Mishlei (31:1), "... the words with which his mother rebuked
him." Shlomo ha'Melech's mother exhorted him not to be like other kings who
drink wine and become intoxicated. The Gemara there explains that when
Shlomo ha'Melech married the daughter of Pharaoh, she draped over the window
a sheet with images of stars on it in order to make him think that it was
night, even though it was already morning. As a result, Shlomo ha'Melech
slept four hours into the day (which is the daily practice of other kings).
Since he did not make up for those four hours by learning Torah during the
four extra hours of the winter night, his mother reprimanded him.
We see from there that a person's mother is responsible to oversee that he
learns Torah. If a person does not learn more Torah each night after the
fifteenth of Av passes, his mother is considered responsible for this. As a
punishment to *her*, her son will die before she dies and she will have to
bury him.
(b) The VILNA GA'ON (to Yoreh De'ah 245:20) gives a different reason for Rav
Yosef mentions the person's mother. He cites our Gemara as the source for
the ruling of the RAMBAM (Hilchos Talmud Torah 2:2) and the SHULCHAN ARUCH
(YD 245:11), who rule that one is obligated to teach Torah to children not
only during the day, but also during part of the night, in order to educate
the children about the importance of learning Torah at night.
The Rambam understood from our Gemara that even young children must increase
their nighttime Torah study after the fifteenth of Av. He inferred this from
the fact that Rav Yosef says that "his mother will bury him." The Vilna
Ga'on asserts that because the mother is mentioned, this proves that the
Gemara is referring even to young children, presumable because the mother
has a special responsibility to care for young children. (Y. Marcus)
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