[Avodah] we live in good times

[Joseph Kaplan]

One of the points of the shiur I heard was answering the question of  
how can the Yerushalmi say the walls were breached on the 17th of  
Tammuz when Tanach says it was the 9th.  The answer, based on Rashi,  
is that the people were so confused that they thought it happened on  
the 9th, and God, as it were, wanted to be with Bnai Yisrael in their  
desolation and confusion and joined with them by having Tanach list  
the 9th even though it was in error.

Joseph Kaplan

On Jul 30, 2009, at 5:08 PM, Ben Waxman wrote:

> I was glancing at the Kaf Hakhayim before Maariv and he brought the  
> sources in a very concise manner. There is a source that indicates  
> that the walls were breached on two different days, but since  
> people couldn't handle two fast so close together, we fast on the  
> second day (i.e. 17th of Tammuz) only. However a ba'al nefesh might  
> feel that it would be proper to fast on both days. However the  
> Yerushalmi indicates that the two breaches were both on the 17th of  
> Tammuz and therefore there is no need for a ba'al nefesh to fast  
> both days. And then the Kaf Hakhayim adds that there is a Gemara in  
> Baba Batra (60:B I think, but don't quote me) that indicates that a  
> ba'al nefesh need not be makhmir in any situation where most people  
> could not be makhmir.
>
> Ben
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Joseph C. Kaplan
> To: Avodah at aishdas.org
> Cc: Ben Waxman
> Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 10:06 PM
> Subject: we live in good times
>
> "There are sources saying that the walls of Jerusalem were
> destroyed on separate days, but we fast only one day because the  
> tzibbur
> can't handle fasting too many days. Granted these two days (9th and  
> 17th of
> Tammuz) are close together, but if we were to fast for every  
> tragedy, then
> the effect would be similar."
>
> I just heard a shiur this past Shabbat in which it was explained  
> that it is a machloket Bavli and Yerusalmi as to whether the walls  
> of Jerusalem were destroyed on the same day of the month for both  
> Temples (17th of Tammuz) or on different days (9th and 17th).
>
> Joseph Kaplan