[Avodah] Tachanun During Nissan

[Kenneth Miller via Avodah]

I wrote:
> There's an error somewhere in that chain of quotes, namely Shabbos
> Chol Hamoed Pesach. The calculation should say "6 days of Pesach", or
> it should say "the 6 Shabbasos in sefira", but you can't have 7 in
> both of those.

R' Zev Sero added:
> Indeed, the Bach notes this and corrects it.

Glad to hear that, thank you. But over Shabbos, I thought of another problem: R' Akiva's talmidim were in Eretz Yisrael. There would never be a year where Pesach contains 7 days of Sefira. Even when including Shabbos Chol Hamoed, that yields only 6 days. Add 6 post- Pesach Shabbosim, and 3 days of Rosh Chodesh, and you have only 15 days of no Tachanun, leaving 34 days of mourning.

Perhaps this is why Mechaber 493:2 says that the mourning continues straight through Lag Baomer, and does not end until the morning of the 34th. Note that Mishne Brurah 493:7 says that although most of the dying stopped on the 33rd, some deaths did occur on the 34th.

I must point out that the above is true only when Pesach begins on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.  In years when it begins on Shabbos, as it did this year, then Eretz Yisrael does have a full seven post-Pesach Sabbaths in Sefira, totalling 16 no-Tachanun days, leaving 33 for mourning. 

BUT - In years when Pesach begins on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (and even nowadays Thursday is a real possibility), one of the Rosh Chodesh days will coincide with Shabbos. This lowers the count to 6 days of Pesach, 6 Shabbasos, and only 2 days of Rosh Chodesh - a total of only 14 no-Tachanun days, leaving 35 for mourning.

I can't help but wonder how the calendar looked that particular year.

Akiva Miller
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