Taanis 16a

תענית ט״ז ע״א

Taanit 16a

Learn Taanis 16a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Taanis 16a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The meaning of each part of the public fast-day ceremony, the elder's call to real תשובה, and who should lead the prayers

Overview

The גמרא explains the public fast-day ceremony for rain. It finishes saying why others put ashes on the leaders. רבי יצחק says the ashes go where the תפילין are worn. Next it gives a memory list (סימן) and explains each practice. The people go out to the town square, either to humble themselves in public or to make a kind of exile that atones. The תיבה is brought out to show that our sins exposed a hidden, holy object. The people wear sackcloth, ashes go on the תיבה and on every head, and the people go to the cemetery, with two reasons and a practical difference given for each. Along the way, רבי לוי בר חמא and רבי חנינא also explain the name הר המוריה. The גמרא then explains who gives the words of rebuke: an elder who is also a חכם. Those words teach that תשובה and good deeds, not sackcloth and fasting, bring atonement, as seen with אנשי נינוה and in רב אדא בר אהבה's parable of the שרץ. Finally, a ברייתא describes the ideal שליח ציבור for the fast day, and the Sages see these qualities in רב יצחק בר אמי.

Opening lines

The steps (44)

1. StatementEnd of the reason others place the ashes on the leaders
2. QuestionWhere on the head are the ashes placed?
3. ResponseThe ashes go where the תפילין are worn
4. StatementA memory list for the coming teachings
5. QuestionWhy do they go out to the town square?
6. Responseרבי חייא בר אבא: We humble ourselves in public
7. Responseריש לקיש: Going out is a kind of exile that atones
8. QuestionWhat difference is there between the two reasons?
9. ResponseMoving from one בית כנסת to another
10. QuestionWhy do they bring the ark out to the square?
11. Responseרבי יהושע בן לוי: Our holy, hidden object was exposed because of our sins
12. QuestionWhy do they wear sackcloth?
13. ResponseSackcloth shows we are like animals
14. QuestionWhy put burnt ashes on the ark?
15. ResponseGod is with us in our trouble
16. ResponseA different verse with the same idea
17. Statementרבי זירא trembled at the sight
18. QuestionWhy put ashes on each person's head?
19. ResponseTwo reasons: humility or remembering יצחק
20. QuestionIs there a practical difference?
21. ResponseThe difference: plain earth
22. QuestionWhy go out to the cemetery?
23. ResponseTwo reasons: we are like the dead, or the dead pray for us
24. QuestionWhat is the practical difference here?
25. ResponseThe difference: graves of non-Jews
26. QuestionWhat does the name הר המוריה mean?
27. ResponseTeaching for Israel or fear for the nations
28. StatementBack to the משנה: the elder gives words of rebuke
29. StatementA ברייתא gives the order of who should speak
30. ChallengeDoes an unlearned elder really come before a Sage?
31. Resolutionאביי: it means an elder who is also a Sage
32. StatementThe words of rebuke: תשובה, not sackcloth, brings atonement
33. QuestionWhat did נינוה do when covering animals in sackcloth?
34. ResponseThey separated mother animals from their young
35. QuestionWhat did נינוה cry out 'with strength'?
36. ResponseTheir bold plea: who should give in to whom?
37. QuestionWhat was the 'violence in their hands' in נינוה?
38. ResponseThey tore down whole buildings to return one stolen beam
39. StatementConfessing without leaving the sin is like immersing while holding a שרץ
40. ProofTwo פסוקים prove that confession must come with leaving the sin
41. StatementOnly someone 'accustomed' leads the prayers on a fast day
42. Statementרבי יהודה describes the right prayer leader: needy and hardworking
43. Statementרבי יהודה finishes listing the leader's qualities
44. StatementThe Sages look at רב יצחק בר אמי