Study Taanit folio 16A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
למתבייש מאחרים. והיכא מנח להו? אמר רבי יצחק: במקום תפילין. שנאמר: ״לשום לאבלי ציון לתת להם פאר תחת אפר״.
one who is humiliated by others. Accordingly, ashes are placed on the heads of the leaders of the community by others, to increase the appearance of their suffering. The Talmud asks: And where exactly are the ashes placed upon their heads? R' Yitzḥak said: On the place of the tefillin of the head, as it is stated: “To appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them an ornament [pe’er] instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:3). This verse likens the placement of ashes on one’s head to an ornament, and the term pe’er is traditionally interpreted as a reference to tefillin.
רחוב, תיבה, ושקים, אפר, אפר, קבורה, ומוריה סימן. למה יוצאין לרחוב? רבי חייא בר אבא אמר: לומר — זעקנו בצנעא ולא נענינו, נבזה עצמנו בפרהסיא.
§ The Talmud provides a mnemonic device for the forthcoming statements. Square; ark; and sackcloth; ashes; ashes; cemetery; and Moriah. The Talmud asks: Why do they go out to the square? R' Ḥiyya bar Abba said: This is a symbolic action, as though to say: We cried out in private inside the synagogue and we were not answered. We will therefore disgrace ourselves in public, so that our prayers will be heard.
Reish Lakish said that the move into the square symbolizes exile, as though they are saying: We have been exiled; may our exile atone for us. The Talmud asks: What is the practical difference between these two explanations? The Talmud answers that the practical difference between them is in a case where they are exiled, i.e., they move, from one synagogue to another synagogue. According to the opinion of Reish Lakish, they have exiled themselves, and therefore this ceremony is adequate. Conversely, R' Ḥiyya bar Abba maintains that as the ritual is performed in private, it is insufficient.