Study Taanit folio 11B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
as though a sacred object is immersed in his bowels, which he may not damage, as it is stated: “The sacred is in your midst; and I will not come into the city” (Hosea 11:9). This statement indicates that it is prohibited to take a fast upon oneself. The Talmud answers: This is not difficult. This f
Reish Lakish said: One who fasts is called pious, as it is stated: “The pious man does good [gomel] to his own soul; but he who troubles his own flesh is cruel” (Proverbs 11:17). The verb gomel can also mean weaning, or abstaining from unnecessary pleasure. Accordingly, Reish Lakish derives from th
Rav Yirmeya bar Abba said: There is no completely stringent communal fast in Babylonia, except for the 9th of Av alone. All other fasts, even those which are fixed and routine for the community, are treated as individual fasts, with regard to both the customs of the fast itself and the halakhot of
§ The Mishnah taught that during the first set of fasts they eat and drink from after dark, and begin fasting in the morning. R' Zeira said that Rav Huna said: With regard to an individual who took a fast upon himself, even if he ate and drank the entire night, on the following day he prays in the
Rav Yosef said: What does Rav Huna maintain in this regard? Does he hold that one does not fast for only a few hours, i.e., that fasts that do not last from daybreak until nightfall are not considered fasts at all, and therefore these extra hours of the night are not part of his fast, or perhaps he