Study Taanit folio 13A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
איפוך אנא! לא סלקא דעתך, דכתיב: ״ואלי יאספו כל חרד בדברי אלהי ישראל על מעל הגולה וגו׳״, וכתיב: ״ובמנחת הערב קמתי מתעניתי ואפרשה כפי אל ה׳״.
The Talmud asks: I can reverse the order of events, so that the first half of the day is spent in prayer while the second half is focused on the concerns of the community. The Talmud answers: It should not enter your mind to say that, as it is written elsewhere: “Then were assembled to me everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel due to the faithlessness of them of the captivity and I sat appalled until the evening offering” (Ezra 9:4). And it is written in the next verse: “And at the meal-offering I arose from my fast, even with my garment and my mantle rent; and I fell on my knees and I spread out my hands to YHWH” (Ezra 9:5). These verses indicate that first one must deal with the issues of the community, and only afterward engage in prayer.
אמר רפרם בר פפא אמר רב חסדא: כל שהוא משום אבל, כגון תשעה באב ואבל — אסור בין בחמין בין בצונן, כל שהוא משום תענוג, כגון תענית צבור — בחמין אסור, בצונן מותר.
§ Rafram bar Pappa said that Rav Ḥisda said: Anything that is prohibited due to mourning, For example: bathing on the 9th of Av, or prohibited for a private mourner, is prohibited both in hot water and in cold water. Anything that is prohibited due to pleasure, For example: bathing on a communal fast, is prohibited in hot water, but is permitted in cold water, provided one washes for the sake of cleanliness.
אמר רב אידי בר אבין: אף אנן נמי תנינא: ונועלין את המרחצאות. אמר ליה אביי: ואי בצונן אסור, סוכרין את הנהרות מבעי ליה למיתני?!
Rav Idi bar Avin said: We, too, learn this in the Mishnah: And they lock the bathhouses. This phrase indicates that only bathing in hot water is prohibited. Abaye said to Rav Idi bar Avin: And if it were also prohibited to wash in cold water, should the Mishnah have taught: They dam the rivers? Since it is impossible to dam the rivers to stop people from bathing altogether, the statement of the Mishnah is insufficient proof that only bathing in hot water is prohibited. Perhaps bathing in cold water is also prohibited but there is no way to prevent it.