MISHNA: Messengers were sent out 1 for the following six months: for Nissan, on account of
the Passover; for Abh, on account of the fast; for Elul, on account of the New Year; for Tishri,
on account of appointing the order of the (remaining) festivals; 2 for Kislev, on account of the
Feast of Dedication; for Adar, on account of the Feast of Passover; also for Iyar, when the
Temple was in existence, on account of the minor (or second) Passover. 3
GEMARA: Why were they not, also sent out for Tamuz and Tebheth (in which months there are
also fasts)? Did not R. Hana bar Bizna say in the name of R. Sin-peon the pious: What is the
meaning of the passage [Zach. viii. 19]: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; the fast of the fourth, and
the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall become in the
house of Judah joy and gladness," etc., that they are called fasts, and also days of joy and
gladness? Are we not to understand that only in the time of peace (cessation of persecution) they
shall be for joy and gladness, but in the time when there was not peace they shall be fasts? Said
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[paragraph continues] R. Papa: It means this: When there was peace, these days should be for joy and
gladness; in the time of persecution they shall be fasts; in times when there are neither
persecution nor peace people may fast or not, as they see fit. If that is so, why then (should
messengers have been sent out) on account of the fast of Abh? Said R. Papa: The fast (ninth
day) of Abh is different, since many misfortunes occurred on that day, as the master said: "On
the ninth of Abh, the first and second Temples were destroyed, Bether was captured, and the city
of Jerusalem was razed to the ground."
We have learned in a Boraitha: R. Simeon said: There are four matters that R. Aqiba expounded,
but which I interpret differently; "the fast of the fourth" means the ninth of Tamuz, on which the
city was broken in, as it is written [Jer. Iii. 6, 7]: "In the fourth, in the ninth day of the month . . .
the city was broken in." What does he mean by fourth? The fourth of the months. "The fast of
the fifth," means the ninth of Abh, on which the Temple of our Lord was burnt; and what does
he mean by calling it fifth? The fifth of the months. "The fast of the seventh" means the third of
Tishri, the day on which Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, was slain (and we fast), because the death
of the righteous is equal to the loss of the house of our Lord. And what does he mean by calling
it the seventh? The seventh of the months. "The fast of the tenth," means the tenth of Tebheth,
the day on which the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem, as it is written [Ezek. xxiv.
1, 2]: "Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month the word of the
Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day;
the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem." And what does he mean by calling it the
tenth? The tenth of the months, and actually this last event should have been placed first (since it
occurred first). And why is it placed here last in order? To mention the months in their regular
order. Said R. Simeon: I, however, do not think so, but thus: "The fast of the tenth" means the
fifth of Tebheth, on which day the news came to the exiles that the city was smitten, as it is
written [Ezek. xxxiii. 21]: "And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth
(month), in the fifth day of the month, that one that bad escaped out of Jerusalem came to me,
saying, The city is smitten," and they held the day on which they received the news equal to the
day (on which the Temple) was burnt. And it seems to me that my opinion is more satisfactory, for I speak of the first, first, and of the last, last; while he speaks of the last, first, and of the first, last; he mentions
them in the order of the months, while I mention them in the order in which the calamities
occurred.