[Avodah] onen erev pesach

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Eli Turkel asked:

> His father died the evening before Pesach and the funeral
> was in the afternoon and so sat shiva only for a short time.
>
> He is also a bechor and the question was whether he had to
> fast, with/without a siyum?

(Introductory disclaimer: I will be using the words "mitzvah" and "issur" in this post, but they should be clearly understood in the context of Taanis Bechorim being "only" a minhag.)

My mara d'asra, and our listmember, Rav Elazar Teitz, often explains to the community that Taanis Bechorim is very different than the other fasts. On the other fasts, we have both a mitzvah to fast and an issur to eat, but on Taanis Bechorim we have only the mitzvah of fasting. This is clearly seen from the fact that the Seudas Mitzvah allows us to eat even afterward. If Taanis Bechorim had an issur achila aspect, then one would *not* be able to eat after the seudah, just as how on a regular fast day, if one eats by mistake he still has to abstain from eating the rest of the day. However, on Taanis Bechorim, once one has broken the fast, there's no longer any point in abstaining from eating.

Based on the above, my guess is that a bechor who is an onen can eat on Erev Pesach WITHOUT EVEN attending a siyum. It is like any other positive mitzvah from which he is exempt.

By comparison, my understanding is that an onen who wants to eat bread must wash (without a bracha) because there is both a positive mitzva of washing and also a prohibition against eating bread with unwashed hands -- this is similar to other fasts. In contrast, my recollection is that an onen does *not* wear tzitzis, because there is no issur involved (as long as he's not wearing a four-cornered garment) -- this is similar to Taanis Bechorim.

Akiva Miller

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