[Avodah] Fast days for Gezeiros Tatnu

[David Cohen]

In the Tishah b'Av kinah "Mi yitein roshi mayim," which commemorates the
massacres of the Rhineland communites of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz during the
First Crusade in 1096 ("gezeiros Tatnu"), the section starting with the line
"vechi ein lehosif mo'eid shever vesaveira" states that it would be
inappropriate to establish a separate day of mourning for these tragedies,
and that is why they are being commemorated on Tishah b'Av instead.  I have
heard that RYBS cited this in support of his position that Yom haShoah
should be moved to Tishah b'Av.

However, special fast days *were* observed in the Rhineland communities on
the days of these massacres, and selichos were recited.  In the case of
Worms, they even fasted on Rosh Chodesh Sivan (though they didn't complete
the fast).  See the "shinuyei nuscha'ot" on page 159 of the Mechon
Yerushalayim edition of Sefer Maharil.  The observance of the fast days in
Worms is described in greater detail in the books of "Minhagei Vermaiza" of
R' Yuspa Shamash and R' Yehuda Leib Kirchheim (I looked at it yesterday, but
don't have the exact references handy now).  The week that we are in now,
between the anniversaries of the initial Worms massacre of 23 Iyar and the
killing of the survivors who had fled to the bishop's fortress on Rosh
Chodesh Sivan, was referred to as "bein hagezeiros."

How, then, are we to understand the kinah?  Could it be that R' Kalonimus
bar Yehudah wrote it in the immediate aftermath of the massacres, and the
fast days were only established later, once the communities were repopulated
and reestablished?  If so, the fact that these communities did *not* pasken
like R' Kalonimus bar Yehudah with regard to the establishment of separate
days of mourning would seem to diminish the weight that the statement in the
kinah has as a precedent in halacha.

-- D.C.
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