DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 698 KB)
Tisha B’Ab – If a Bar Misva Boy Turns Thirteen on Tisha B’Ab That Falls on Sunday

When the 9th of Ab falls on Shabbat, the fast of Tisha B’Ab is delayed until Sunday. We eat our normal meals on Shabbat, and the Gemara establishes that even the final meal eaten before sundown may be large and festive, "like the meal of King Shelomo in his time."

An interesting question arises in the case of a boy who turns thirteen on the 10th of Ab which falls on Sunday. Is he required to fast that day? On the one hand, he is a Halachic adult on the day when the fast is required – the 10th of Ab – and should thus seemingly be required to fast. On the other hand, the fast was to have been observed the previous day, on Shabbat, and it is only because we cannot fast on Shabbat that the observance is delayed until Sunday. Perhaps, then, only those who were theoretically obligated to fast on Shabbat are obligated to fast on Sunday.

The answer to this question depends on how we perceive the observance of the fast on the 10th of Ab when the 9th falls on Shabbat. Do we view the fast on the 10th as a "makeup" for the fast which could not be observed on the 9th? Or, do we say that in such a case, the Tisha B’Ab obligation from the outset applies on the 10th of Ab, and not on the 9th. According to this perspective, we fast on the 10th not to make up the fast which we missed, but rather because in this case the Tisha B’Ab observance is scheduled for the 10th of Ab, and not the 9th.

Some Halachic authorities suggest drawing proof from the fact that some elements of mourning are observed on Shabbat, the 9th of Ab, in such a case. The Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) cites a view that although one may indulge in a large meal before the fast on Shabbat, this should not be done in a joyous, festive manner, but should rather be accompanied by a somber, solemn aura. Others maintain that if one normally conducts a joyous, festive meal with friends late Shabbat afternoon, then he should do so this Shabbat, too, as this would otherwise constitute a public display of mourning on Shabbat. This discussion presumes that some degree of mourning should be observed on this Shabbat – albeit perhaps only in private – which might suggest that even in such a case, the real day of Tisha B’Ab is on Shabbat, even if the actual fast is delayed until Sunday. Accordingly, only those who would have been obligated to fast on Shabbat are obligated to make up the missed fast on Sunday.

Others, however, disagree. Rav Shemuel Wosner (1913-2015), in Shebet Ha’levi (4:72), takes the position that from the outset, the 10th of Ab is considered the date of the Tisha B’Ab observance when the 9th falls on Shabbat, and therefore, one who becomes a Bar Misva on the 10th of Ab in such a case is obligated to fast.

Summary: If Tisha B’Ab falls on Shabbat and is thus observed on Sunday, even a Bar Misva boy who turns thirteen on Sunday, and would not have been obligated to fast if Tisha B’Ab had been observed the previous day, is obligated to fast.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Determining the Yartzeit of Somebody Who Passed Away During Adar Rishon
How to Determine the First Yartzeit During a Leap Year
When Should A Mourner Begin To Sit Shiva If Remaining Out Of Town Away From The Place of The Funeral and Burial
Is It Permissible To Place Memorial Tomb Stones At The Graves of Tzadikim
Visiting A Grave Twice In One Day, and Reciting A Pasuk At A Grave
Yichud- (Series Conclusion) Can A Stranger Be Alone With A Mother And Daughter
Yichud- Is It Permissible For A Man and Lady To Be Alone In The Back of A Limousine or Ambulance
Yichud- How The Laws of Yichud Apply In An Office
Yichud- Can A Young Boy's Presence Protect Against Yichud
Yichud- Can A Young Girl Also Protect Against Yichud As A Wife Does Through The Leniency of ‘Ishto Imo’
Yichud- Some Questions and Exceptions On ‘Ishto Mishamarto’- (The Leniency When A Wife is With Her Husband)
Yichud- Is It Permissible For A Lady To Be Alone With A Male Doctor
Yichud- Is It Permissible for A Man and A Woman To Be Secluded In A Car
Yichud- Is It Permissible To Ride In An Elevator Alone A With A Lady
Yichud- Can An Unmarried Female Baby Sitter Be Alone Watching Young Boys
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found