Study Bava Batra folio 121B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
לא היה דיבור עם משה – שנאמר: ״ויהי כאשר תמו כל אנשי המלחמה למות מקרב העם״, וסמיך ליה: ״וידבר ה׳ אלי לאמר״ – אלי היה הדיבור.
God did not speak with Moses, as it is stated: “So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people” (Deuteronomy 2:16), and juxtaposed to that verse it is written: “That YHWH spoke to me, saying” (Deuteronomy 2:17). Moses indicates: Only after the last of that generation had died, was the speech of God directed to me. When the Jewish people realized that the decree had been lifted, the day was established as a permanent day of rejoicing.
עולא אמר: יום שביטל בו הושע בן אלה פרדסאות שהושיב ירבעם על הדרכים, שלא יעלו ישראל לרגל.
The Talmud continues to cite explanations for the significance of the 15th of Av. Ulla says: The 15th of Av was the day when King Hoshea, son of Ela, removed the guards [pardesaot] that Jeroboam, son of Nevat, placed on the roads so that Israel would not ascend to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage Festival. By doing so, King Hoshea renewed the access to Jerusalem for pilgrims.
רב מתנה אמר: יום שנתנו הרוגי ביתר לקבורה. דאמר רב מתנה: אותו היום שנתנו הרוגי ביתר לקבורה – תקנו ביבנה ״הטוב והמטיב״; ״הטוב״ – שלא הסריחו, ״והמטיב״ – שנתנו לקבורה.
Rav Mattana says: The 15th of Av was the day when the slain victims of Beitar were afforded burial, several years after they were killed and the Roman emperor Hadrian decreed that they were not to be buried (see Gittin 57a). As Rav Mattana says: On the day that the slain of Beitar were afforded burial, the rabbis in Yavne instituted the blessing: Blessed is He Who is good and Who does good. The term: Who is good, is to give thanks that the corpses did not decompose despite the long delay; and the term: And Who does good, is to give thanks that the slain ones were ultimately afforded burial.