Study Taanit folio 18A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אלא לאסור יום שלפניו, הכא נמי — לא נצרכה אלא לאסור יום שלאחריו. כמאן, כרבי יוסי דאמר: בין לפניו ובין לאחריו אסור. אי הכי בעשרים ותשעה נמי — מאי איריא דהוי יומא דמקמי יומא דמיתוקם תמידא? תיפוק ליה דהוה ליה יומא דבתר עשרין ותמניא ביה!
only to prohibit eulogizing on the day before. Here too, it is necessary to mention Passover only to prohibit eulogizing on the following day. The Talmud asks: In accordance with whose opinion is this ruling? It is in accordance with the opinion of R' Yosei, who said that eulogizing is prohibited both on the day before the date recorded in Megillat Ta’anit and on the following day. The Talmud asks: If so, with regard to the 29th of Adar too, why state specifically that eulogizing is prohibited then because it is the day before the day on which the daily offering was established? Let him derive this prohibition from the fact that it is the day after the 28th of Adar.
דתניא: בעשרים ותמניא ביה, אתת בשורתא טבתא ליהודאי דלא יעידון מן אורייתא. שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות הרשעה שמד על ישראל שלא יעסקו בתורה, ושלא ימולו את בניהם, ושיחללו שבתות. מה עשה יהודה בן שמוע וחבריו? הלכו ונטלו עצה ממטרוניתא אחת שכל גדולי רומי מצויין אצלה.
As it is taught in Megillat Ta’anit: On the 28th of Adar good tidings came to the Jews, that they would not be restricted from Torah study, and they declared this date a commemorative day. The baraita proceeds to describe the events of this day. As on one occasion the wicked empire, Rome, issued a decree of apostasy against the Jews, that they may not occupy themselves with Torah study, and that they may not circumcise their sons, and that they must desecrate Shabbat. What did Yehuda ben Shammua and his colleagues do? They went and sought the advice of a certain Roman matron [matronita] whose company was kept by all the prominent people of Rome.
אמרה להם: עמדו והפגינו בלילה. הלכו והפגינו בלילה, אמרו: אי שמים! לא אחים אנחנו, לא בני אב אחד אנחנו, לא בני אם אחת אנחנו? מה נשתנינו מכל אומה ולשון שאתם גוזרין עלינו גזירות רעות! ובטלום, ואותו יום עשאוהו יום טוב.
She said to them: Arise and cry out [hafginu] at night. They went and cried out at night, saying: O Heaven! Are we not brothers? Are we not children of one father? Are we not the children of one mother? How are we different from any other nation and tongue that you single us out and issue against us evil decrees? Their cries were effective, and the authorities annulled the decrees, and they made that day a commemorative holiday.