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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
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DECEMBER 16, 2021
Delving into the Daf
The Simcha of a Siyum
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow
The author with Reb Joey Newcomb. “Everyone agrees that the completion of a masechta is a cause for celebration”
B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M
T
he Mishna at the end of Taanis (26b) quotes Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel who declares that the most joyous holidays on the Jewish calendar are Yom Kippur and Tu B’Av. The Gemara states that Yom Kippur was joyous because the nation was forgiven for its sins. However, the Gemara wonders what was so special about Tu B’Av. A variety of reasons are offered by various Amoraim. The Rashbam (Bava Basra 121a) says that the Amoraim are not arguing with each other. Rather, each one is simply declaring the reason that he heard from his Rebbe. Rabba and Rav Yosef (Taanis 31a) explain that on Tu B’Av they stopped cutting wood for the altar. From Tu B’Av and onward, the summer heat is less intense. Hence, any wood gathered from then on would be more moist and not optimal for burning. Furthermore, moist wood may become wormy. Wormy wood may not be placed on the mizbeach. It is similar to offering a blemished sacrifice. Some suggest burning
wormy wood on the altar is akin to offering a non-kosher creature as a sacrifice. It is not immediately clear what Rabba and Rav Yosef’s intent was. Why is the fact that they could no longer cut wood a reason for celebration? Just the opposite! There is a mitzvah that they are no longer able to perform. They should be sad! Rabbeinu Gershom explains that those that were previously occupied in the mitzvah of gathering wood are now able to learn Torah. Embarking on an intense period of Torah study is cause for celebration. In fact, the Gemara continues that the nights start becoming longer from Tu B’Av and on. In an agricultural society, most work was limited to the daytime. Once the nights start becoming longer, everyone is expected to learn more Torah at night. The Shulchan Aruch rules that a rebbe should learn with his talmidim during the day but also learn some at night. The Vilna Gaon says that his source is from this very Gemara. Children should not be trained
that the mitzvah of learning Torah is a daytime pursuit. Just the opposite – when they enter the workforce, perhaps their only free time to learn may be at night. Incidentally, my Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Henoch Leibowitz, zt”l, remarked that as a youngster in Europe he used go the local shul to learn Torah at night. However, there were generally no seats available. Everyone from the town came to learn Torah at night. He was forced to sit on the leg supports of his father’s shtender! Rabbeinu Gershom’s position is that the cause for a celebration was the beginning a new mitzvah. The Rashbam disagrees. He says the celebration was because they just completed a mitzvah. For many months, they were gathering wood for the altar, from Nissan until Tu B’Av. To finally bring this great mitzvah to its conclusion is cause for celebration. Our Sages teach us that the credit for a mitzvah goes to the one who completes it. Although all the participants in a mitzvah get reward, there is something unique about
being the one who completes the mitzvah. Similarly here, although gathering wood was a mitzvah that lasted for months, bringing it to its completion is cause for celebration. In fact, this idea is codified by the Misha Berura in midst of a discussion about Simchas Torah (669:6). He writes that indeed completing a mitzvah is cause for celebration, although he does not specifically state what mitzvos he is referring to. The most famous application of this Gemara was stated by the Nimukei Yosef. He writes that this passage is the source that one should make a seudah when he completes learning a masechta, The Rema states in Yoeh Deah (246:26) that it is a mitzvah to rejoice and make a seudah upon completion of a masechta. In fact, the poskim write that one can likewise make a siyum on the completion of Tanach. Rav Vozner, zt”l, writes that if one studied a sefer of Navi and completed it on Erev Pesach, he can make a siyum and that will exempt the firstborns from the need to fast. Rav
