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...
If the Hazan Forgot to Recite Ya’aleh Ve’yabo During the Repetition of the Amida on Rosh Hodesh
Should Two Kaddishim be Recited if a Shiur is Given Immediately Before Arbit?
Reciting “Yiheyu Le’rason Imreh Fi” at the End of the Amida
The Kaddish Before Baruch She’amar
The Value of Praying “Vatikin” and Studying Torah Before Prayer
The Importance and Significance of Birkat Ha’lebana
The Custom Among Syrian Jews Regarding the Text of “Ve’la’minim” and Other Portions of the Amida
Adding Prayers for Forgiveness and for One’s Livelihood in “Shema Kolenu”
If One Mistakenly Recited “Morid Ha’tal” Instead of “Mashib Ha’ru’ah U’morid Ha’geshem”
Should a Mourner be Called for an Aliya if He is the Only Kohen in Attendance?
May Birkat Kohanim be Recited if a Non-Jew is Present
If a Kohen Was Mistakenly Called for the Second Aliya; Calling Kohanim for Later Aliyot
How Should the Aliyot be Arranged in a Minyan of Only Kohanim, or if There is Only One Yisrael?
Birkat Kohanim – The Hazan’s Announcement of “Kohanim”; If There is One Kohen or No Kohanim Present
Birkat Kohanim in a Place Without a Sefer Torah; One Who Enters the Synagogue During Birkat Kohanim; Reciting Birkat Kohanim Several Times in One Day
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found