by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com The Aviudraham lived in Seville in the part of Spain known as Andalusia in the 1300’s.  What follows is an in-depth view of Asara B’Taives, which is this coming Tuesday. The author of the Shulchan Aruch, Rav Yoseph Karo (in his Bais Yoseph 550), cites the view of the Avudraham that the fast of Asara b’Taives is different than all of the other fasts. How so? If Asarah b’Taives were to fall on Shabbos (which it doesn’t), it would not be pushed off to another day. It would have to be observed on the Shabbos itself! Why would this be the case? The Avudraham explains that it is on account of a verse found in Sefer Yechezkel (24:2), “On that very day..” which equates it to Yom Kippur. Rav Karo states that he does not know from where the Avudraham derived this. Rav Karo further notes that the tenth of Taives will at times fall on a Friday, but none of the other fasts ever do. In Shulchan Aruch itself (550) Rav Karo rules that none of the four fasts set aside Shabbos , but we will deal with the view of the Avudraham in this essay. UNDERSTANDING THE RATIONALE We must also try to understand why it is, according to the Avudraham, that Asrah B’Taives is different than the other fasts, and why the Avudraham chose to state this difference regarding Shabbos when he himself writes that it never actually falls on Shabbos! Also, notwithstanding that the fast appears in Tanach – at the end of the day, it is a Rabbinic enactment. Oneg Shabbos, enjoying ourselves on the Shabbos, is according to most Poskim – a Torah obligation! Why would Asarah b’Taives set Shabbos aside? FOUR POSSIBILITIES A look at the great commentaries reveals that there are four approaches to understanding the Avudraham’s unique perspective on Asarah b’Taives. Not all of the commentaries were addressing the Avudraham himself, but they certainly did address the notion of how Asarah B’Taives may be unique. YAAROS DVASH Asarah B’Taives marks the siege on the holy city of Yerushalayim that ultimately led to its destruction, the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash and the exile of Klal Yisroel. From the Yaaros Dvash (written by Rav Yonasan Eibeschutz in Volume I Drush #2 for Tisha B’Av) we see that the seeds to three tragedies lie within Asarah B’Taives. Each of these different tragedies in and of themselves would be enough to mourn about. Imagine then – all three of them combined! BNAI YISSASCHAR Beginnings are very stringent – even more so than the end-result. Aside from the fact that Asrah B’Taives is the seed to three tragedies, the fact that it is the beginning of the loss of the Bais HaMikdash is a reason to mourn. The Bnai Yissaschar (14:1) proves this point from the fact that we mourn the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash on the ninth of Av – not the tenth of Av – even though the majority of it burned on the tenth. CHSAM SOFER Another explanation to the Avudraham is found in the Chsam Sofer (Toras Moshe on Zayin Adar). He writes that all the other fasts commemorate a terrible tragedy that the nation of Israel incurred. Not so the fast of the […]

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