fasts

Neither was it lawful for a man to keep sabbath days or ancient fasts, or to profess himself at all to be a Jew.

But as for your fasts, let them not be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week, but do ye fast on the fourth and sixth days. Neither pray ye as the hypocrites, but as the Lord hath commanded in his Gospel so pray ye: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil: for thine is the power, and the glory, for ever. Thrice a day pray ye in this fashion.

And every man who does any work thereon, or goes a journey, or tills (his) farm, whether in his house or any other place, and whoever lights a fire, or rides on any beast, or travels by ship on the sea, and whoever strikes or kills anything, or slaughters a beast or a bird, or whoever catches an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever fasts or makes war on the Sabbaths:

At the time when Paul was sojourning in Rome and confirming many in the faith, it came also to pass that one by name Candida, the wife of Quartus that was over the prisons, heard Paul and paid heed to his words and believed. And when she had instructed her husband also and he believed, Quartus suffered Paul to go whither he would away from the city: to whom Paul said: If it be the will of God, he will reveal it unto me. And after Paul had fasted three days and asked of the Lord that which should be profitable for him, he saw a vision, even the Lord saying unto him: Arise, Paul, and become a physician in thy body (i.e. by going thither in person) to them that are in Spain. He therefore, having related to the brethren what God had commanded, nothing doubting, prepared himself to set forth from the city. But when Paul was about to depart, there was great weeping throughout all the brotherhood, because they thought that they should see Paul no more, so that they even rent their clothes. For they had in mind also how that Paul had oftentimes contended with the doctors of the Jews and confuted them, saying: Christ, upon whom your fathers laid hands, abolished their sabbaths and fasts and holy-days and circumcision, and the doctrines of men and the rest of the traditions he did abolish. But the brethren lamented (and adjured) Paul by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he should not be absent above a year, saying: We know thy love for thy brethren; forget not us when thou art come thither, neither begin to forsake us, as little children without a mother. And when they besought him long with tears, there came a sound from heaven, and a great voice saying: Paul the servant of God is chosen to minister all the days of his life: by the hands of Nero the ungodly and wicked man shall he be perfected before your eyes. And a very great fear fell upon the brethren because of the voice which came from heaven: and they were confirmed yet more in the faith.

OF THE RIGHT FAITH AND THE HOLY TRINITY WHICH THE APOSTLES PREACHED TO US IN TRUTH. [vi., 11.] But we, (being) children of God and sons of peace, preach this holy word to those who are obedient in uprightness. We believe in One God, the Maker of the whole creation, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, whose existence is without cause (), even as we said before, but He is existent at all times without beginning or end. and in Him is light unquenchable, and to Him none can approach. He is not two, nor three, nor is He capable of increase, but He is One alone who abideth for ever. Yet He is not a hidden (Being) who cannot be known, but we have known surely by the Law and the prophets that He is Almighty and the Ruler of the whole creation. He is the One God, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who was begotten before the world was created, the only-begotten Son, who is equal with Him, the maker of all hosts and powers and dominions; who was pleased to become man in the latter days, and took flesh of the holy Virgin Mary, without seed of man, and grew up” amongst men, without sin, or trespass, nor was there guile in His mouth; and afterwards He suffered and died without sin in the flesh, and rose from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven to the Father, who had sent Him, and sat down on the right hand of power; and He sent to us the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father, and hath saved the world; who is co-existent with the Father and the Son. We say then that every creature of God is good and there is nothing (to be) rejected, but that the spirit, the life of the flesh, is pure and holy in all things. We say that marriage is pure, and the begetting of children not unclean, for God made Adam and Eve that man might be multiplied. We understand then that there is in our body a soul which doth not die, nor perish with the body; but we abhor every deed of apostates from the faith, and all divisions, and transgression of the law, for unto us such are unclean. Again, we believe in the. resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and sinful in the day of judgment, when every man shall be requited according to his works. Moreover, we believe that Christ was in nothing subjected to loss by His incarnation, but that He is God the Word, who became man in truth, and reconciled the race of man with God, and (that He is) the High-priest of the Father. We do not practise circumcision then like the Jews; we know that He hath come who fulfilled the Law and the prophets, for whose coming all the nations hoped, Jesus Christ who sprang from Judah and from the root of Jesse, and whose government is on His shoulder. [vi., 12.] For in those days ungodliness grew strong, and led many astray, whereby the Church was disturbed. Then we gathered together in Jerusalem, we the twelve apostles, and appointed Matthias in the place of Judas Iscariot, even as it is written, “And his office let another take "; and we were assembled together with James our Lord’s brother, the bishop of Jerusalem, and we took counsel with the presbyters to speak to the people words of admonition. For there were some who set forth from Judaea, and went to Antioch to teach the brethren who were in that place, saying, Unless ye be circumcised according to the law of Moses, and walk according to his ordinance, ye shall not be saved; and there arose enmity and strife. Then the brethren who were in Antioch knew that we were gathered together and had enquired concerning this matter, and they sent unto us faithful men, who had knowledge of the holy Scriptures, to search out this thing. And they came to us in Jerusalem to declare unto us all that had happened in Antioch; and there were some who said unto them, Ye must needs be circumcised, and do what is in the ordinances of the Law. But I Peter rose up and said unto the people, Brethren, ye know that God chose the Gentiles who took heed unto the preaching of the Gospel, and believed, to whom God who knoweth the hearts bare witness. And to Cornelius the centurion an angel of the Lord appeared, and bade him send to me that he might hear from my mouth the word of life. And he sent to me to the city of Joppa, and brought me to Caesarea. And before I came unto him, I stood on a lofty place and prayed; and behold I saw the heaven opened, and a great sheet descend to the earth, held by its corners; and‘in it were creeping things and beasts and birds of the heaven. And heard a voice which said, Arise, Peter, kill and eat; and I said, Never hath there entered into my mouth anything defiled, which was not clean. And again a voice came which said, What God hath cleansed, count thou not unclean, and the whole (sheet) was drawn up again into heaven. And while I thought thus, What thing is this that hath appeared unto me the Holy Spirit said unto me, Behold (certain) men are seeking thee; arise and go with them without doubting, for I have sent (them) to thee. These were they whom the centurion had sent. Then I thought in my heart, and believed what the Scripture saith, Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved"; and again it is said, “Let all the ends of the earth remember and turn unto the Lord, and let all the lands of the nations worship before him; for the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he shall judge the nations.”" Moreover, I remembered that which is written concerning the calling of the Gentiles, and [went with them, and entered into the man’s house, and preached the word. And forthwith the Holy Spirit descended upon him and upon all who were with him, even as He had descended upon us; and there was no distinction between us in faith, and in the purification of our hearts. And I perceived that God respecteth not persons, but that all nations that fear God and do righteousness are well-pleasing before Him. Then the faithful rose up and said, How long tempt ye God, and lay on the shoulders of the Gentiles a heavy burden which they cannot bear? But we believe that we shall be saved by grace even as (they). The Lord hath loosed us from the bond of sin, and lightened (and removed) from off us the heavy burden. And when I had said this, all the people kept silence. Then James the brother of our Lord answered and said unto them, Hearken unto what I say unto you: behold Simeon hath before declared how God chose the Gentiles for His inheritance as it is written, “I will come and build the house of David which is in ruins, and I will raise up those that have fallen, that all the Gentiles on whom my name is named may turn to the Lord, saith the Lord.” Wherefore I say unto you, Lay no burden on the Gentiles who have turned to God, but command them to abstain from all (that is) unclean, and not to eat that which dieth of itself, or which hath been sacrificed to (false) gods, and (to abstain from) fornication, (and from) what is not commanded in the law, and is not written in the book of the fathers, Enosh, Enoch and Noah and Melchizedek and Job and others such as they. Then the apostles, and James, the bishop of Jerusalem, and the presbyters of the Church agreed, and chose from amongst us men whom they should send with Barnabas and Paul the tent-maker, both Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were chosen from the brethren. Then we wrote and sent (a letter) to the brethren in the churches of Antioch and Syria, saying, Peace be unto you. Because we have heard (that there arc) some who have troubled your souls with words, to whom we gave no (such) commandment, now also we having agreed together have chosen men to send unto you with our brethren Barnabas and Paul, men who have surrendered their lives for Jesus Christ’s sake. And we have sent Judas and Silas that they may inform you (of these things). For the Holy Spirit agreed with us that we should lay no burden (upon you) nor add any other (charge) save this only, that men should abstain from anything sacrificed to (false) gods, and from that which dieth of itself, and from blood, and from fornication; and that what they hate for themselves they should not do to their neighbours. Take heed to these things and peace be to you. (vi., 13.] This letter we sent, (but) we laboured in Jerusalem for many days, desiring to do what was good for us and you (? ). And after a few days we visited the brethren and confirmed them with the word of admonition, and commanded them to keep far from those who blasphemed against the name of the Lord and against Moses. For these are ravening (wolves), and make themselves like unto sheep, and strive against the Lord and Moses and the prophets, (being) false Christs and false prophets and lying apostles who destroy the nations, and bow down themselves to the earth, and think all (manner of) evil, and spoil the holy vineyard. And by reason of these the love of many shall wax cold; but he who patiently endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And concerning these our Lord commanded us, saying, “ Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves, and from their fruit ye shall know them.” [vi., 14.] And because of this we all have assembled in one place—we are the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter and Andrew; James and John, the sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Cananean; Thaddaeus and Matthias who was numbered with us and appointed in place of Judas Iscariot; and James the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the bishop of Jerusalem and Paul the chosen (vessel) and teacher of the Gentiles—and being gathered together in one place we have sent unto you this holy message.” Ye also, faithful brethren, have believed in Christ, by whom were all things: and now also we say unto you that there is One God Almighty, and there is no other god besides Him; (and) we teach you to worship Him, and adore Him, and to serve Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and to read the Holy Scriptures of the Law and the prophets. Honour your parents, and abstain from all that contendeth against the law; and believe in the resurrection and the day of judgment; and wait in hope for that time. when He shall render to every man according to his works. For the whole creation is from God, and not from Satan; but all evil is from Satan. And in lawful marriage there is no defilement nor loss, but rather it is from God, for in the beginning He created (them) male and female; and for this cause it is said “Let a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife, and let them two be one flesh.”! And after a man is married, let him not put away his wife, but for fornication only, for “she is thy spirit and thy flesh, for I created them and not another.” Again, it is said, “What God hath joined together let not man separate.” For he that separateth himself from his wife, dividing the one flesh, hath transgressed the commandment of God. le also that hath married one that is divorced hath defiled his flesh; and he that hath cleaved to an adulteress hath quite transgressed the law. Cut off the adulteress from thy flesh, for she is not thine. Defile ye not then your flesh, for circumcision of the heart in a pure spirit is sufficient for the faithful. ([vi., 15.] Make no repetition of baptism: the first baptism which you have received sufficeth for you, for ye were buried into the death of Christ; (a baptism) which hath not been given to the ungodly and unbelieving, but to holy priests who have bestowed it upon you into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the. Holy Spirit. Receive not baptism at the hands of apostates from the faith. For there is one baptism, and one God, the Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit: one is the death of Jesus in the flesh; and in like manner let your baptism which ye have received into His death be one. And he that believeth not, and doeth not thus, his portion shall be with the ungodly in their evil doctrine. To those who do thus, God saith, “ Because ye have rejected my doctrine, also will reject you and forsake you, and not make you priests unto me. - And those who are baptized by them are not cleansed, but are unclean, and have no remission of sin. So are they who receive a second baptism, and make the work of Christ a mockery, and despise holy things, and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and count unclean His precious blood, and set at naught His sufferings and His testimony. But those who believe not, and are not baptized into the right faith, are transgressors of the law and condemned, for they reproach Him, and give Him not thanks. Our Lord saith, “He that is not born again of water and the Holy Spirit cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven,” but he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be condemned.” And he who saith, Afterwards I will be baptized, and maketh light of baptism, the same shall be condemned and be far from God. Delay not to turn to the Lord for man knoweth not that which shall come upon him. And baptize your children, while they are babes, and feed them with spiritual food, and bring them up with admonition and wisdom, for it is said, “ Suffer the little children (and) forbid them not to come unto me.” [vi., 16.) Behold we have written all this unto you, beloved brethren, that ye may understand wisdom and knowledge, and not receive idle words which the ungodly put forth in our name. Say not, then, We have apostles who will pray for us, but rather see whether their deeds are right. For there are some that do many mighty works, which are full of the poison of death, in the name of Christ, like Simon the Sorcerer and Cleobius, and those with them in every place, who lead men astray. [Ye also are they that have loved Christ (and) we are His servants.] And others also of the ancients have written apocryphal books of Moses, and Enoch, and Adam, and Seth, and Isaiah, and David, and Elijah, and the three patriarchs, who strove against those that were transgressors of the law. Moreover (certain) have written books that are vain; who account themselves elect and pure, and say, Our Scriptures are sure, though they are unclean. From those who do thus keep far away, lest ye be condemned with those that have written to lead astray the faithful—who are blameless, the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. [vi., 17-] We said, then, concerning bishops and presbyters that they should live with one wife before ordination, but that after ordination it is net right that they should marry. And again we give commandment concerning the servants who are obedient to the Church, sub-deacons, and readers, and doorkeepers that they should live with one wife, and (in one) marriage. But after they have received baptism and ordination, let them not commit sin, lest they fall into condemnation. Behold we give commandment that they marry not a harlot, nor a servant, nor a woman that is divorced, nor a widow, even as it is written in the law. Moreover let the deaconess be a pure virgin, or a faithful widow who hath been married to one man. (Such) women ought to be appointed. (vi., 18.] Those women also who turn from sin, receive. This is the will of God in Jesus Christ. And as touching the catechumens when they understand the teaching, baptize them into the name to the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and command the faithful to separate themselves from those that serve not God, (and not to have fellowship with them) in anything, whether counsel or word or prayer. And put them forth from the Church of God, for they are strangers, and evil, and corrupt, who destroy the sheep of Christ's flock; concerning whom the wise Solomon saith, Woe to the unbelieving who account themselves wise, and their latter end (cometh) unto the condemnation of Sheol." These are they that teach false doctrine, and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, from whom hath been taken the portion of the inheritance which they received from Him, and who have forgiveness neither in this world, nor in that which is to come. For they have transgressed more grievously than the Jews and the heathen, who have blasphemed against God (who is) the Creator of all things and is above all; and they have risen up against His Son, and denied the Holy Spirit, and made void the holy Scriptures, and made blasphemy their portion,“ and spoiled the Church of Christ. These are the foxes that spoil the vineyard. From such we bid you keep far away. For he that followeth a wise man shall be wise like unto him; but he that followeth a fool shall be a fool like unto him. Ye ought not to dwell with robbers, nor be partakers with adulterers. Hear what the holy David saith, “I have hated, O Lord, them that hate thee, and have been troubled because of thine enemies. I have hated them with a perfect hatred and they are become mine enemies. or God cursed Jehoshaphat because of the love and help of King Ahab; and to King [Uzziah] he said by [Joel] the prophet, “Thou hast been a help to a sinner; wilt thou then save him whom the Lord hath hated?’ “ Wherefore there came on him speedily the anger of the Lord; because his heart was not right with Him, his works were diminished in “ Ps,. the earth. Keep, then, far from them, and receive not their salutation. Concerning them saith the prophet, “The wicked have no rejoicing before God.” These are ravening wolves and dogs that have no mercy And when the day hath drawn nigh and the hour is come, they will be evil, even as our Lord saith in the Gospel, “In the latter days faith and love shall grow less, and sin shall be multiplied, and there shall come false Christs and false prophets, and they shall do signs in heaven and seduce many of the elect. Behold then let us pray to God to save us from their error by Jesus Christ, and to deliver us from the ungodly people, that we may confirm the Church and save many, and heal them by much admonition, and by the word of grace. But those who received not our preaching could not be healed, and have gone forth from the flock, lest they should corrupt other undefiled sheep in whom was no blemish. Thus, then, we have ordained in all lands, and have set forth for you this right doctrine of the Didascalia in truth and in purity as a memorial for those who believed in our Lord Jesus Christ; and we have sent (it) with Clement the beloved and the elect Barnabas, and our beloved son Timothy and the blessed Mark, and with these Titus and Luke, and Jason and Lucius, and Sosipater. [vi., 19.] We beseech you therefore: imitate these and hear their words, and shun your former manner of life, for the former things have passed away; and become new yourselves, for ye have known our Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things; and (who) hath given unto us a pure law (for) the salvation of our souls, wherein He put His own perfect name, which is without division or defect, or change, unspotted and converting souls, When the Hebrews forgot this, He gave them a memorial by Malachi the prophet, who saith, “ Remember the law of Moses the man of God who enjoined on you these commandments of righteousness and holiness.” But our Lord Jesus Christ did not abolish the ordinances of the Law, nor diminish (them), but rather said, “ One word shall not pass from the Law, till all this be fulfilled.” Again, He saith, “I have not come to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to fulfil them.” or Moses the legislator, prophet and king, and Elijah the prophet, who appeared with our Lord when He was transfigured before them, bare testimony concerning His passion and His death and His incarnation as friends, and men of His household, and not as strangers. [vi., 20.] The Lord gave the ordinance, the ten words which are in the Law and the holy prophets, and they heard His voice continuously, before they made for themselves the calf which the Egyptians called Apis. For the ordinance is righteous, and therefore was it called the law; and He judgeth in uprightness. Simon and those with him hate this ordinance, and praise themselves, but they shall go down to Gehenna. But the law is good and holy, for He saith, “If thou wilt make for me an altar, build it for me in the land,” and He saith not, “Build for me,” except (it be) thy pleasure, for God needeth not sacrifices and offerings from us. But Abel, and Noah, and Abraham, the friends of God, offered up sacrifices of incense unto Him according to their pleasure. And in like manner the Hebrews did thus according to their pleasure. And it was not He who commanded them, but they themselves did His good pleasure, and He received their sacrifices which they offered up unto Him with a pure heart. Wherefore He saith, ‘I desire not your incense, nor do I need aught, for the world is mine and all that is therein.” In days of old the people forgat God, and made for themselves a calf as a god instead of the true God. And when they came out of Egypt it is said, “Is this thy god, O Israel, that brought thee forth from the land of Egypt?” They worshipped a calf in (their) ungodliness, and forsook God who had sent Moses, and brought them out of sore affliction. And behold God wrought signs by the hand of Moses his servant, and with the rod which destroyed the Egyptians with the ten plagues, and wherewith he smote the Red Sea, and made them pass through it on dry ground as it were a course for horses; but he overwhelmed his enemies therein; and he made sweet the fountain of bitter water; and he clave the rock and made water to pour forth for them; he overshadowed them by day with a cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire; and he enlightened them and led them—but they knew not whither they were going; he brought down from heaven manna for them to eat and (sent them) flesh as the dust; and he gave them the law in the desert, and made them ready to hear His voice. They forsook him who had done all this, and said to Aaron, “Make us gods who shall go with us.” And (Aaron) made a calf for them, and they bowed down before it. And God knew that they felt no gratitude for all that, He had done for them, so they were bound with bonds that could not be loosed, and were cast into a net, whence was no escape. (And God said unto them), “When ye make an altar, offer up thereon sacrifices at all times.” For He saith, Thou didst forget God who saved thee, and gavest no. thanks to my name. Offer then your offerings that there ye may remember to give thanks to my name. And substitute not an unclean beast for a clean, for if ye do thus, I will bring upon you sore punishment as (on) an evil and slothful and foolish servant, and ye shall [not] be bound with the bonds of the commandment. Take heed then and fall not into the error of (having) many gods, lest there come upon you the word which saith “Where is thy God, O Israel?”' And remember what is written, saying, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is One.” And abide ye in this ordinance, and know that there is no other god besides Him in heaven or in earth; love Him with all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and fear Him alone, and set not in thy heart the name of strange gods, nor make mention of them with thy mouth, for because of the guile of their hearts God bound them. [vi., 21.] But as for you, since ye have known the One God with a pure heart, and a good understanding, and have heard the voice of the Saviour, blessed are your eyes, for they have seen, and your ears for they have heard. Behold ye are loosed from the bonds and are freed from the servitude. Moreover He saith, “I will not call you my servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth unto him; but ye are my friends. Behold I have taught you all that I have heard from my Father.” But as for those who desire not to see nor to hear, their heart hath been hardened, and they are far from Him. (vi., 22.) But blessed are ye from whom God hath taken away His curse. For Christ the Son of God came, (and) established and fulfilled the law; and He removed the heavy burden that was therein, (and) saved us, and freed us from the service of sin, and had mercy on us, and gave us life eternal. And again He saith, “He that will come after me, let him await my second coming.” But He received not the sacrifices and offerings which the nations offered, for oftentimes they offered unto Him; and they thought that it was by multiplying sacrifices that they would be saved, without repentance, from the scourge of God’s anger. Moreover it is said, “ Wherefore bring ye to me incense from Saba, and cinnamon from a far country? I have no pleasure in your sacrifices, and will not receive your incense.” And again Isaiah saith, Wherefore offer ye to me your sacrifices; I am sated with the sacrifices of rams and oxen and with the fat of sheep. I desire not the blood of oxen and goats. If ye bring (them), will ye not show me who hath required this at your hands? Ye shall not again tread the courts of my house. And if ye bring fine flour, it is in vain; your incense, and your feasts, and your sabbaths, and your great day I desire not; your fasts also and your prayers I desire not; my soul hath hated (them) and ye are an abomination unto me.” Moreover the prophet saith, “Remove from me the sound of thine anger.” Again Samuel the prophet said to Saul, when he desired to sacrifice, ‘‘To hearken is better than to sacrifice and knowledge than the fat of sheep, for the Lord desireth not that thou shouldst sacrifice to him, but rather that thou shouldst hearken to his word.” And David also saith, “I will take no oxen from thy house, nor rams from thy flock, for all the beasts of the field are mine; the cattle of the field also, and the oxen; and I know all the birds of the heaven; and the beauty of field also is with me. If I be hungry I will not ask of thee, for the whole world is mine, with the fulness thereof. I will not eat the flesh of oxen, nor drink the blood of goats. Sacrifice to God the sacrifice of praise and send up thy prayer to the Most High.” Moreover it is written in the Scripture that He desireth not the incense of those that have sinned against Him, for unclean before Him is the sacrifice of the ungodly who offer contrary to the law: everyone who eateth of it is unclean. But He desireth above all a meek heart and a humble spirit which are better than sacrifice. Behold, then, He came to bring to an end the sacrifices of blood which they offered. [vi., 23-] For He said in the Law, “The Lord thy God is One”; again He said in the Gospel, ‘This is life eternal that they should know the One true God." Moreover He said, ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself”; (and) repeated (it in the Gospel) and said, “I have given you a commandment that ye love one another, as I have loved you.” For thus He said (in the law) Thou shalt not kill, but He hath commanded us never to hate anyone. He who said Thou shalt not commit adultery nor desire thy neighbour’s wife, behold He hath commanded (us not even to look upon a woman to lust after her). He said (then), Thou shalt not steal, but He hath commanded us to abstain from every evil deed, and to love our enemies. For He who said, Ye shall not render evil to him that doeth you injury, hath commanded us to be at peace with all men; for mercy is better than those who desire vengeance unrighteously (?). He said (then), “Honour your parents; but He hath commanded us to humble ourselves unto all men. He put an end to circumcision, and He Himself fulfilled circumcision: and He fulfilled the hope for which the whole world was hoping. He who said, “Perform unto the Lord thine oath,” hath commanded us not to swear by anything. Instead of sacrifices of blood He hath given us a rational bloodless offering; and instead of sacrifices in one place, He hath commanded us that our offering should be made in all the earth from the rising of the sun even to its setting.”... Moses saith in the law, Read thou the words which I have commanded thee while thou workest, or while thou sittest, or while thou standest, or while thou walkest in the way.” ” And David also saith, “ But the law of the Lord is his delight, and in his law he will meditate day and night.” And everywhere He hath commanded that they should do that which (is written) in the law, and not transgress the ordinance. And again it is said, “Blessed are they that are pure in their way, and that walk in his ways, and seek him with all their heart.” Moreover it is said in the Gospel, “ Blessed are ye, if ye do this.” (vi., 24.] For on account of this is the law manifest in righteousness, and illumineth all the world, (even) those who believe in our Lord, and have forsaken the worship of idols, and kept far from wickedness and received all that is good. And the Jews also, who have rejected the covenants, whose hearts were blinded, and (who) followed the way of those who said, ‘We have no king but Caesar,” and said again, “If we let this man alone, the Romans will come, (and) will take away our nation and our land,” prophesied against Him and said, ‘It is better for us to put one man to death, than that the nation perish.” (Yet) all nations have believed in Him, and the Romans have taken away their authority and all their ordinances; and therefore are they accursed because they have not been able to do His commandment. Moreover it is said, “Cursed is he that doeth not all the commandments which are written in the book of the law.” [vi., 25.] But we follow the way of Christ, that we may receive a blessing: and let us receive the law, and the prophets, and the holy Gospel; and turn aside from those that worship many gods, and let us keep far from the murderers of Christ, and from them that slew the prophets. These are the unbelieving Jews. And let us be humble and firm in faith in Christ the King who hath authority over all things, and is the teacher of the law, and the guardian of the ordinances. ([vi., 26.] Keep far, then, bishops and priests and people, from (those that cause) division (even) from those that account unclean the Law and the prophets, being the enemies of God Almighty; and who believe not in Christ the Son of God, and separate (?) His birth in the flesh, and blaspheme against His sufferings in the flesh, and revile His cross, and mock at His death, and believe not in His resurrection, and make void His generation from the Father before the whole creation, [and say (that in Him) are flesh and soul and not the Godhead]. And there are others who say that Jesus Christ is above the whole creation, and glorify Him and say that He alone is the Father; and again they say that He is the Son and the Paraclete. Are not these then more impious than all? And there are others who say that the resurrection of the dead (is of) souls without bodies. To these He saith, Depart into fire eternal. Keep far (from such men), beloved brethren, lest ye be condemned together with them. [vi., 27.] [And those that watch the stars, and worship the host of heaven, and observe days and hours —as for such, will He accept their prayers, and be pleased with their offerings and will they read the holy Scriptures? These then are void () of the Holy Spirit, which abideth in the heart of the faithful. Solomon saith concerning the saints, “Let them be prepared, if they sleep, to watch; if they sleep and awake, to be wise in truth and love.”] For the Holy Spirit is not far from faithful Christian people from the day of their birth, until they die. Let a woman after her child-bearing remain in her separation seven days. But if she think in her heart, and say, How shall the Holy Spirit abide upon me, while am unclean and if (her) faith grow weak, and she be without good works, the Holy Spirit will not abide upon her. For this matter is not a transgression of the law, but marriage, and the customary separation of women, and nocturnal pollutions hinder not the Holy Spirit. But with the ungodly and unbelieving who have transgressed the law and the ordinances, the Holy Spirit will not abide. And those that have not the Holy Spirit are the habitation of unclean (spirits): but upon those that have believed and (that) hope in His second coming the Holy Spirit abideth. [For the Paraclete hateth lies and every (evil) work; and the devil hateth works of righteousness and goodness. And whosoever is baptized in faith is separated from the spirit of Satan, and is the habitation of the Holy Spirit: and he that doeth His will is filled with wisdom and knowledge, and the unclean spirit cannot come nigh to him. The unclean spirit loveth such as are ungrateful, slothful, and sinners and sorcerers, for the devil by his want of gratitude fell from his throne, and was deprived of the glory of God. And he himself chose to be Satan rather than to be an archangel. Wherefore women ought to beware of every evil and vain thing, and be mindful of God, who created all things, and to follow His law, (and) not work the pleasure of the flesh, except only in lawful wedlock. Beware then of the counsel of evil men, and of union with them. [vi., 28.] Wherefore separate yourselves, beloved brethren, from all the heathen who practise evil, and keep far from them; and count not as an abomination the flesh of men’s dead bodies. We believe that the dead shall live and rise again. And in like manner lawful marriage is not an abomination, for the union of man and woman is righteous (before God) who created man and woman, and blessed them, and said unto them, “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth.” Behold we understand that from God are all these things; without Him was not anything. Howbeit the men of Sodom sinned; they perverted nature and wrought abomination; and in like manner (sin) those who practise bestiality, which is unclean and is a transgression of the law. They that do such things shall not escape from punishment, for they defile pure marriage, and do what is unseemly and what is not commanded in the law; (but as) it is said, ‘They are joined one to another, man with man. But they work their own shame, and their iniquity shall return on their own heads.” For the Scripture saith, “If any man lieth with a man as with a woman; they have wrought uncleanness, let both of them die the death ”’; and, ‘He that lieth with a beast, let him die the death ’’; and, ‘He that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, let him die the death,” for it is a shame to Israel. ‘The hire of a harlot, and the price of a dog they shall not offer in the house of the Lord.” This is what is forbidden in the law, but marriage is pure. And God blessed the union of man and woman. And Solomon also saith, ‘The union of man and man is abominable before the Lord.” David saith, “Let thy wife be as a pleasant vine in the chamber of thy house, and thy children also as young olive plants at thy table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.” For a man that is a lover of God ought not to be subject to lust. [vi., 29.] And let the women also be obedient to their own husbands in love and fear, even as the blessed Sarah was obedient to her husband Abraham, and said to him, My lord. She did not name his name, but said of him, My lord is old. And in like manner, ye men, love your wives, for they are your members and sharers with you in the begetting of children. It is said, “ Love the wife of thy youth, as the hart loveth the fountains of waters; for she is thine and is with thee at all times, and is a member of thine.” For it is said, “Take heed to yourselves and forsake not your wives.” And as touching the lawful union of man and wife, when they rise from sleep let them not give heed to ceremonial washings, but rather take thought for prayer and supplication to God. But if a man lie with the wife of his neighbour, or defile himself with a harlot, and, when he riseth, wash himself in the sea, and in all the waters of the rivers, he shall not be able to cleanse himself; but his portion shall be rather in eternal condemnation. [vi., 30.] Take no heed then of laws relating to the flesh, for lawful marriage is not unclean; nor seek after the way of the Jews, nor use at all times (such ceremonial) washings, nor practise their customary purifications.

If a bishop or an elder or a deacon or any of the clergy fasts with the Jews or celebrates the Passah with them or accepts from them the gifts of their festival, leaven or whatever is like it, let him be deposed ; and in the case of a layman, let him be expelled. And if a layman brings oil or lamps into the temple of the gentiles or the synagogue of the Jews, let him be expelled.

Let a widow be appointed, being chosen, if for a long time past she have abided without a husband; if though often pressed by men to be married because of the faith she have not been married. But if not, it is not yet right that she should be chosen; but let her be proved for a time, if she be pious, if having children she have brought them up in holiness, if she have not taught them worldly wisdom, if she have made them examples of the holy law and of the Church, if she have loved and honoured strangers, if she have been constant in prayers if she have lived meekly, if she have cheerfully aided those who are afflicted if it have been revealed to the saints about her, if she have not neglected the saints, if she have ministered with all her power, if she be fit to bear and endure the burden, being one who prayeth without ceasing, being perfect in all things, being fervent in spirit, having the eyes of her heart opened in everything, being alway kind, loving innocency, not possessing anything in this world, but alway taking and bearing about the cross, crucifying all evil, by night and by day abiding by the altar, working cheerfully and secretly. If she have one or two or three likeminded in my Name, I am among them. But let her be perfect in the Lord, as one who is visited by the Spirit. Let her do the things which are made known to her with fear and earnestness. Let her instruct those women who do not obey; let her teach those [women] who have not learnt; let her convert those who are foolish; let her instruct them to be grave; Jet her prove the deaconesses; let her make those who enter to know of what sort and who they are; also let her instruct them that they abide. To those who hear let her patiently counsel those things which are proper. To those who are disobedient after three instructions let her not speak. Let her love those who desire to be in virginity or in purity; those who oppose themselves let her correct modestly and quietly. With every one let her be peaceful. Let her privately shut the mouth of those who talk much and idly; but if they do not hear, let her take with her an aged woman, or let her take [it] up to the hearing of the bishop. But in the church let her be silent. In prayer let her be persistent. Let her visit those [women] who are sick; on each first day of the week let her take with her one deacon or two and help them? If she have any possession let her give it for the poor and the faithful. But if she have nothing, let her be helped by thé Church. Let her do no secular work, as it were for a trial. But let her have these works of the Spirit; let her continue in prayers and fasts; let her ask for nothing deep; let her receive those things which the Lord giveth; let her not be anxious for [her] children; let her deliver them to the Church, so that they living in the house of God may be fit for the service of the priesthood Her requests to God will be acceptable; they are the sacrifice and altar of God. For those who have ministered well shall be praised by the archangels. But as for them who are dissolute and raging and drunken, and babblers and curious and evil, that is, those who love pleasures much, the figures of their souls, which stand before the Father of light, perish and are carried to darkness to dwell. or their deeds which are visible, going up before the most High, drag them easily to the pit, so that after this world is changed and passeth away the figures of their souls may stand against them as witnesses, not allowing them to look up. For the figure and type of every soul standeth before God from the foundation of the world. Therefore let her be chosen who can go to meet the holy phials. Of them are the twelve presbyters who praise My Father who is in heaven. These who receive the prayers of every holy soul, offer [them] to the most High [as] a sweet savour.

Similarly let a subdeacon be appointed who is chaste, the bishop praying over him. Let the bishop say over him on the first day of the week, in the hearing of all the people, thus: Thou, O N., minister and hear the Gospel in the fear of God. Cultivate holily the knowledge of thy soul; keep pureness; discipline thyself; observe and obey and hear meekly; neglect not prayers and fasts, so that the Lord may give thee rest and make thee worthy of a higher degree. And let all the priests say: So be it, so be it, so be it.

A male or female virgin is not instituted or appointed by man, but is voluntarily separated and named [a virgin]. But a hand is not laid on him, as for virginity. For this division is of [their] own free will. But it is right for virgins that they be fixed and bound in the suffering of a sound body, that they be constant in fasts and in prayers, in weeping and in mourning daily; but that they alway expect a departure from the flesh, and strive as at the departure. Let them not serve raging or debauchery or drunkenness or vain talking, or [be engaged] in worldly work or in distraction, but they are as one who is on the cross; let their hearts be [lifted] up, with all meekness of thought and comeliness, with meditation on the Holy Scriptures, with faithful thoughts with kind consolations, so that when they pray they may be answered concerning those things which they ask for the faithful who wish to provide for them. Let them not despise [these things], so that through them also a portion of life may be divided to those Let them be confirmed in love and kindness and in true and perfect grace. Let them be constant in consolation, consoling their neighbours, catechising and teaching those who have lately been made faithful, in understanding and in knowledge and in kindness, inciting those who are very young, being examples of holiness among them in all good things. Similarly also let the females do. But in order and in grace and in knowledge let them speak and work, that they may truly be the salt of the earth as it is called. But let females who are virgins have their heads covered in the church, and let them hide only their hair; but let them be counted worthy of honour from every one, in order that the rest [of the women] who desire, may emulate them.

Concerning that it is not fitting for any man to eat during the fasts of the Pascha (Fasika), except at the time in which it is proper to eat. For the following persons the fast shall not be reckoned, either the pregnant or the sick. They who cannot fast the two days shall fast on the sabbath, for it is necessary then that they should fast with bread and water. And if there is one on board ship or one who by some mischance mistook the day; being aware of it, after Pentakoste he shall fast in compensation. It is not the Pascha which he keeps, but a likeness of it after it has passed by: therefore in the second month he shall not omit (to fast), and having returned from his journey he shall do it knowing the certainty.

For even now, on the tenth day of the month Gorpiæus, when they assemble together, they read the Lamentations of Jeremiah, in which it is said, The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord was taken in their destructions; and Baruch, in whom it is written, This is our God; no other shall be esteemed with Him. He found out every way of knowledge, and showed it to Jacob His son, and Israel His beloved. Afterwards He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men. And when they read them, they lament and bewail, as themselves suppose, that desolation which happened by Nebuchadnezzar; but, as the truth shows, they unwillingly make a prelude to that lamentation which will overtake them. But after ten days from the ascension, which from the first Lord's day is the fiftieth day, keep a great festival: for on that day, at the third hour, the Lord Jesus sent on us the gift of the Holy Ghost, and we were filled with His energy, and we spoke with new tongues, as that Spirit did suggest to us; and we preached both to Jews and Gentiles, that He is the Christ of God, who is determined by Him to be the Judge of quick and dead. To Him did Moses bear witness, and said: The Lord received fire from the Lord, and rained it down. Him did Jacob see as a man, and said: I have seen God face to face, and my soul is preserved. Him did Abraham entertain, and acknowledge to be the Judge, and his Lord. Him did Moses see in the bush; concerning Him did he speak in Deuteronomy: A Prophet will the Lord your God raise up unto you out of your brethren, like me; Him shall you hear in all things, whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall be, that every soul that will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among his people. Him did Joshua the Son of Nun see, as the captain of the Lord's host, in armour, for their assistance against Jericho; to whom he fell down, and worshipped, as a servant does to his master. Him Samuel knew as the Anointed of God, and thence named the priests and the kings the anointed. Him David knew, and sung an hymn concerning Him, A song concerning the Beloved; and adds in his person, and says, Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O You who are mighty in Your beauty and renown: go on, and prosper, and reign, for the sake of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and Your right hand shall guide You after a wonderful manner. Your darts are sharpened, O You that are mighty; the people shall fall under You in the heart of the king's enemies. Wherefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows. Concerning Him also spoke Solomon, as in His person: The Lord created me the beginning of His ways, for His works: before the world He founded me, in the beginning before He made the earth, before the fountains of waters came, before the mountains were fastened; He begot me before all the hills. And again: Wisdom built herself a house. Concerning Him also Isaiah said: A Branch shall come out of the root of Jesse, and a Flower shall spring out of his root. And, There shall be a root of Jesse; and He that is to rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles trust. And Zechariah says: Behold, your King comes unto you, just, and having salvation; meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Him Daniel describes as the Son of man coming to the Father, and receiving all judgment and honour from Him; and as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and becoming a great mountain, and filling the whole earth, dashing to pieces the many governments of the smaller countries, and the polytheism of gods, but preaching the one God, and ordaining the monarchy of the Romans. Concerning Him also did Jeremiah prophesy, saying: The Spirit before His face, Christ the Lord, was taken in their snares: of whom we said, Under His shadow we shall live among the Gentiles. Ezekiel also, and the following prophets, affirm everywhere that He is the Christ, the Lord, the King, the Judge, the Lawgiver, the Angel of the Father, the only-begotten God. Him therefore do we also preach to you, and declare Him to be God the Word, who ministered to His God and Father for the creation of the universe. By believing in Him you shall live, but by disbelieving you shall be punished. For he that is disobedient to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Therefore, after you have kept the festival of Pentecost, keep one week more festival, and after that fast; for it is reasonable to rejoice for the gift of God, and to fast after that relaxation: for both Moses and Elijah fasted forty days, and Daniel for three weeks of days did not eat desirable bread, and flesh and wine did not enter into his mouth. And blessed Hannah, when she asked for Samuel, said: I have not drunk wine nor strong drink, and I pour out my soul before the Lord. And the Ninevites, when they fasted three days and three nights, escaped the execution of wrath. And Esther, and Mordecai, and Judith, by fasting, escaped the insurrection of the ungodly Holofernes and Haman. And David says: My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh fails for want of oil. You should therefore fast, and ask your petitions of God. We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week, and every day of the preparation, and the surplusage of your fast bestow upon the needy; every Sabbath day excepting one, and every Lord's day, hold your solemn assemblies, and rejoice: for he will be guilty of sin who fasts on the Lord's day, being the day of the resurrection, or during the time of Pentecost, or, in general, who is sad on a festival day to the Lord. For on them we ought to rejoice, and not to mourn.

You therefore are blessed who are delivered from the curse, For Christ, the Son of God, by His coming has confirmed and completed the law, but has taken away the additional precepts, although not all of them, yet at least the more grievous ones; having confirmed the former, and abolished the latter, and has again set the free-will of man at liberty, not subjecting him to the penalty of a temporal death, but giving laws to him according to another constitution. Wherefore He says: If any man will come after me, let him come. And again: Will you also go away? And besides, before His coming He refused the sacrifices of the people, while they frequently offered them, when they sinned against Him, and thought He was to be appeased by sacrifices, but not by repentance. For thus He speaks: Why do you bring to me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a remote land? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not sweet to me. And afterwards: Gather your burnt-offerings, together with your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I did not command you, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And He says by Isaiah: To what purpose do you bring me a multitude of sacrifices? Says the Lord. I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and I will not accept the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and of goats. Nor do you come and appear before me; for who has required these things at your hands? Do not go on to tread my courts any more. If you bring me fine flour, it is vain: incense is an abomination unto me: your new moons, and your Sabbaths, and your great day, I cannot bear them: your fasts, and your rests, and your feasts, my soul hates them; I am over-full of them. And He says by another: Depart from me; the sound of your hymns, and the psalms of your musical instruments, I will not hear. And Samuel says to Saul, when he thought to sacrifice: Obedience is better than sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams. For, behold, the Lord does not so much delight in sacrifice, as in obeying Him. And He says by David: I will take no calves out of your house, nor he-goats out of your flock. If I should be hungry, I would not tell you; for the whole world is mine, and the fullness thereof. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. And in all the Scriptures in like manner He refuses their sacrifices on account of their sinning against Him. For the sacrifices of the impious are an abomination with the Lord, since they offer them in an unlawful manner. And again: Their sacrifices are to them as bread of lamentation; all that eat of them shall be defiled. If, therefore, before His coining He sought for a clean heart and a contrite spirit more than sacrifices, much rather would He abrogate those sacrifices, I mean those by blood, when He came. Yet He so abrogated them as that He first fulfilled them. For He was both circumcised, and sprinkled, and offered sacrifices and whole burnt-offerings, and made use of the rest of their customs. And He that was the Lawgiver became Himself the fulfilling of the law; not taking away the law of nature, but abrogating those additional laws that were afterwards introduced, although not all of them neither.

But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week. But do you either fast the entire five days, or on the fourth day of the week, and on the day of the Preparation, because on the fourth day the condemnation went out against the Lord, Judas then promising to betray Him for money; and you must fast on the day of the Preparation, because on that day the Lord suffered the death of the cross under Pontius Pilate. But keep the Sabbath, and the Lord's day festival; because the former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter of the resurrection. But there is one only Sabbath to be observed by you in the whole year, which is that of our Lord's burial, on which men ought to keep a fast, but not a festival. For inasmuch as the Creator was then under the earth, the sorrow for Him is more forcible than the joy for the creation; for the Creator is more honourable by nature and dignity than His own creatures.

If any bishop, or any other of the clergy, fasts with the Jews, or keeps the festivals with them, or accepts of the presents from their festivals, as unleavened bread or some such thing, let him be deprived; but if he be one of the laity, let him be suspended.

We have already demonstrated that our laws have been such as have always inspired admiration and imitation into all other men; nay, the earliest Grecian philosophers, though in appearance they observed the laws of their own countries, yet did they, in their actions, and their philosophic doctrines, follow our legislator, and instructed men to live sparingly, and to have friendly communication one with another. Nay, further, the multitude of mankind itself have had a great inclination of a long time to follow our religious observances; for there is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the barbarians, nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on the seventh day hath not come, and by which our fasts and lighting up lamps, and many of our prohibitions as to our food, are not observed; they also endeavor to imitate our mutual concord with one another, and the charitable distribution of our goods, and our diligence in our trades, and our fortitude in undergoing the distresses we are in, on account of our laws; and, what is here matter of the greatest admiration, our law hath no bait of pleasure to allure men to it, but it prevails by its own force; and as God himself pervades all the world, so hath our law passed through all the world also. So that if any one will but reflect on his own country, and his own family, he will have reason to give credit to what I say. It is therefore but just, either to condemn all mankind of indulging a wicked disposition, when they have been so desirous of imitating laws that are to them foreign and evil in themselves, rather than following laws of their own that are of a better character, or else our accusers must leave off their spite against us. Nor are we guilty of any envious behavior towards them, when we honor our own legislator, and believe what he, by his prophetic authority, hath taught us concerning God. For though we should not be able ourselves to understand the excellency of our own laws, yet would the great multitude of those that desire to imitate them, justify us, in greatly valuing ourselves upon them.

The order of our arrangement now requires us, after the discussion of the preceding subjects, to institute a general inquiry regarding the soul; and, beginning with points of inferior importance, to ascend to those that are of greater. Now, that there are souls in all living things, even in those which live in the waters, is, I suppose, doubted by no one. For the general opinion of all men maintains this; and confirmation from the authority of holy Scripture is added, when it is said that “God made great whales, and every living creature that moveth which the waters brought forth after their kind.” It is confirmed also from the common intelligence of reason, by those who lay down in certain words a definition of soul. For soul is defined as follows: a substance φανταστικὴ and ὁρμητικὴ, which may be rendered into Latin, although not so appropriately, sensibilis et mobilis. This certainly may be said appropriately of all living beings, even of those which abide in the waters; and of winged creatures too, this same definition of anima may be shown to hold good. Scripture also has added its authority to a second opinion, when it says, “Ye shall not eat the blood, because the life of all flesh is its blood; and ye shall not eat the life with the flesh;” in which it intimates most clearly that the blood of every animal is its life. And if any one now were to ask how it can be said with respect to bees, wasps, and ants, and those other things which are in the waters, oysters and cockles, and all others which are without blood, and are most clearly shown to be living things, that the “life of all flesh is the blood,” we must answer, that in living things of that sort the force which is exerted in other animals by the power of red blood is exerted in them by that liquid which is within them, although it be of a different colour; for colour is a thing of no importance, provided the substance be endowed with life. That beasts of burden or cattle of smaller size are endowed with souls, there is, by general assent, no doubt whatever. The opinion of holy Scripture, however, is manifest, when God says, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, four-footed beasts, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind.” And now with respect to man, although no one entertains any doubt, or needs to inquire, yet holy Scripture declares that “God breathed into his countenance the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” It remains that we inquire respecting the angelic order whether they also have souls, or are souls; and also respecting the other divine and celestial powers, as well as those of an opposite kind. We nowhere, indeed, find any authority in holy Scripture for asserting that either the angels, or any other divine spirits that are ministers of God, either possess souls or are called souls, and yet they are felt by very many persons to be endowed with life. But with regard to God, we find it written as follows: “And I will put my soul upon that soul which has eaten blood, and I will root him out from among his people;” and also in another passage, “Your new moons, and sabbaths, and great days, I will not accept; your fasts, and holidays, and festal days, my soul hateth.” And in the twenty-second Psalm, regarding Christ—for it is certain, as the Gospel bears witness, that this Psalm is spoken of Him—the following words occur: “O Lord, be not far from helping me; look to my defence: O God, deliver my soul from the sword, and my beloved one from the hand of the dog;” although there are also many other testimonies respecting the soul of Christ when He tabernacled in the flesh.

If the seventeenth of Marheshvan came and no rain fell, individuals begin to fast three fasts. They eat and drink after it gets dark and they are permitted to do work, to bathe, to anoint themselves with oil, to wear shoes, and to have marital relations.

If Rosh Hodesh Kislev came and no rain fell the court ordains upon the community three fasts; they may eat and drink while it is still dark and it is permissible to do work, to bathe, to anoint oneself with oil, to wear shoes, and to have marital relations.

If these passed and there was no answer, the court decrees three more fasts on the community. They may eat and drink [only] while it is still day; they may not work, bathe, anoint themselves with oil, wear shoes, or have marital, relations. And the bathhouses are closed. If these passed and there was no answer the court decrees upon the community a further seven, making a total of thirteen. These are greater than the first, for on these they blast the shofar and they lock the shops. On Mondays the shutters [of the shops] are opened a little when it gets dark, but on Thursdays they are permitted [the whole day] because of the Shabbat.

On the first three fasts the men of the guard fast but do not complete their fast, and the men of the father’s house do not fast at all. On the second three fasts the men of the guard fast and complete their fast and the men of the father’s house fast but do not complete their fast. On the last seven both fast and complete their fast, the words of Rabbi Joshua. The sages say: on the first three fasts neither fast at all. On the second three, the men of the guard fast but do not complete their fast, and the men of the father’s house do not fast at all. On the last seven, the men of the guard fast and complete their fast and the men of the father’s house fast but do not complete their fast.

On the first three fasts the men of the guard fast but do not complete their fast, and the men of the father’s house do not fast at all. On the second three fasts the men of the guard fast and complete their fast and the men of the father’s house fast but do not complete their fast. On the last seven both fast and complete their fast, the words of Rabbi Joshua. The sages say: on the first three fasts neither fast at all. On the second three, the men of the guard fast but do not complete their fast, and the men of the father’s house do not fast at all. On the last seven, the men of the guard fast and complete their fast and the men of the father’s house fast but do not complete their fast.

On the first three fasts the men of the guard fast but do not complete their fast, and the men of the father’s house do not fast at all. On the second three fasts the men of the guard fast and complete their fast and the men of the father’s house fast but do not complete their fast. On the last seven both fast and complete their fast, the words of Rabbi Joshua. The sages say: on the first three fasts neither fast at all. On the second three, the men of the guard fast but do not complete their fast, and the men of the father’s house do not fast at all. On the last seven, the men of the guard fast and complete their fast and the men of the father’s house fast but do not complete their fast.

[With regard to every day] about which it is written in the Scroll of Fasts (Megillat Taanit) “One may not eulogize” on the preceding day it is prohibited but on the following day it is permitted. Rabbi Yose says: it is forbidden [to mourn] both on the preceding day and on the following day. [On days about which it is written], “One may not fast” on the preceding day and on the following day it is permitted. Rabbi Yose says: on the preceding day it is forbidden but on the following day it is permitted.

They do not decree upon the community a fast to begin on a Thursday in order not to cause a rise in the market prices. Rather the first three fasts are held [in this order], Monday, Thursday, and Monday; the second three, Thursday, Monday, and Thursday. Rabbi Yose says: just as the first three [fasts] should not begin on a Thursday so too neither the second [three] nor the last [seven].

They do not decree upon the community a fast to begin on a Thursday in order not to cause a rise in the market prices. Rather the first three fasts are held [in this order], Monday, Thursday, and Monday; the second three, Thursday, Monday, and Thursday. Rabbi Yose says: just as the first three [fasts] should not begin on a Thursday so too neither the second [three] nor the last [seven].

They do not ordain upon the community a fast on Rosh Hodesh, on Hanukkah, or on Purim, but if they had already begun [a series of fasts and one of these days intervened] they do not interrupt [their fasts], the words of Rabban Gamaliel. Rabbi Meir said: even though Rabban Gamaliel said that the [fasts] should not be interrupted he agrees that they should not complete their fasts. And the same applies to the Ninth of Av should it fall on Friday.

They do not ordain upon the community a fast on Rosh Hodesh, on Hanukkah, or on Purim, but if they had already begun [a series of fasts and one of these days intervened] they do not interrupt [their fasts], the words of Rabban Gamaliel. Rabbi Meir said: even though Rabban Gamaliel said that the [fasts] should not be interrupted he agrees that they should not complete their fasts. And the same applies to the Ninth of Av should it fall on Friday.

They do not ordain upon the community a fast on Rosh Hodesh, on Hanukkah, or on Purim, but if they had already begun [a series of fasts and one of these days intervened] they do not interrupt [their fasts], the words of Rabban Gamaliel. Rabbi Meir said: even though Rabban Gamaliel said that the [fasts] should not be interrupted he agrees that they should not complete their fasts. And the same applies to the Ninth of Av should it fall on Friday.

They do not ordain upon the community a fast on Rosh Hodesh, on Hanukkah, or on Purim, but if they had already begun [a series of fasts and one of these days intervened] they do not interrupt [their fasts], the words of Rabban Gamaliel. Rabbi Meir said: even though Rabban Gamaliel said that the [fasts] should not be interrupted he agrees that they should not complete their fasts. And the same applies to the Ninth of Av should it fall on Friday.

The order of public fasts mentioned above is enacted because of [lack of] the first rain, but if the crops have undergone [an unusual] change they sound a blast immediately. Similarly, if the rain has stopped for forty days between one rainfall and the next, they sound a blast immediately, because it is a plague of drought.

And so too a city, upon which no rain has fallen as it is written, “And I caused it to rain upon one city, and I caused it not to rain upon another city; one piece was rained upon…” (Amos 4:7) that city fasts and they sound a blast, but those [in the places] around it fast but do not sound the alarm. Rabbi Akiva says: they sound the alarm but do not fast.

And so too a city which has a plague or [its buildings] collapse that city fasts and they sound a blast, but those [in the places] around it fast but do not sound the alarm. Rabbi Akiva says: they sound the alarm but do not fast. What constitutes a plague? If in a city that can supply five hundred foot-soldiers and three deaths occurred on three consecutive days, behold this constitutes a plague, less than this is not a plague.

If Rosh Hodesh Adar falls on Shabbat the portion of shekalim is read [on that day]. If it falls in the middle of the week, it is read on the Shabbat before, and on the next Shabbat there is a break. On the second [of the special Shabbatot] they read “Zakhor;” On the third the portion of the red heifer; On the fourth “This month shall be for you;” On the fifth the regular order is resumed. They interrupt [the regular order] for anything: for Rosh Hodesh, for Hanukkah, for Purim, for fasts, for Ma’amadot, and for Yom HaKippurim.

It has been stated: “A mourner and one banned on a trip are permitted to wear sandals. When they come to town they should remove them. The same holds for the Ninth of Av and public fasts.”

Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rav: Even an individual who decreed a fast day on himself has to mention the occasion. Where does he say it? Rebbi Zeïra in the name of Rav Ḥuna: Similar to Friday night and Sabbath day. Rebbi Mani said: I, who did not check whether one follows Rav Jeremiah or Rebbi Yannai the son of Rebbi Ismael, went to the study hall and I heard: “Rav Ḥuna in the name of Rav: Even an individual who decreed a fast day on himself has to mention the occasion. Rebbi Yose objected that a baraitha disagrees: Every day one prays eighteen benedictions, including the night after Sabbath and the nights after Yom Kippur and after Public Fasts.” Since Rebbi Yose said, this baraita disagrees, it contradicts the statement: between “Redeemer of Israel” and “Healer of the sick.”

Rebbi Assi fasted eighty days to see the old Rebbi Ḥiyya. In the end, he saw him, his hands trembled and his eyes were dimmed. If you say that Rebbi Assi was an insignificant person, one weaver came to Rebbi Joḥanan and said, I saw the sky falling but one of your students supported it. He asked him, could you recognize him? He said, if I would see him, I would recognize him. He made all his students pass before him [the weaver], and he recognized Rebbi Assi. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish fasted three hundred fasts to see the old Rebbi Ḥiyya but did not see him. In the end, he stopped feeling bad and said, maybe he did study Torah more than I did. They said to him, he spread Torah more than you did and in addition he went into exile. He said to them, did I not also go into exile? They said to him, you went into exile to study, he went into exile to teach.

It was stated: “A group of people on the road were met by Gentiles who said to them, give us one of you that we may kill him, otherwise we shall kill all of you; even if all of them are killed they should not hand over a Jewish person. If they designated one, like Sheba ben Bikhri, they should hand him over so as not to be killed.” Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, on condition that he be guilty of a capital crime like Sheba ben Bikhri; but Rebbi Joḥanan said, even if he is not guilty of a capital crime like Sheba ben Bikhri. Ulla bar Qoshav was proscribed by the government. He fled and went to Lydda to Rebbi Joshua ben Levi. They came and surrounded the city. They said to them, if you do not hand him over to us, we shall destroy the city. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi went to him and talked him into being handed over to them. Elijah, may be be remembered for good things, used to appear to him; he stopped appearing. He fasted many fasts; he appeared to him and said, do I appear to informers? He said to him, did I not act according to a baraita? He said to him, is that a statement for the pious?

Some want to understand it from this (Deut. 12:17): “You may not eat in your gates the tithe of your grain, your cider, and your shining oil.” ‘Your cider’, that is the wine. ‘And your shining oil’ refers to anointing and the Torah called it ‘eating’. But this is not clear. If it were clear one should be whipped because of it outside the walls! Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, one is whipped outside the walls only for pure Second Tithe which entered Jerusalem and left. From where that it is not clear? From what was stated: “On the Sabbath, both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are permitted. On the Day of Atonement, both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are forbidden. On the Ninth of Ab and public fasts anointing for pleasure is forbidden but anointing not for pleasure is permitted.” Did we not state: “Anointing is equal to drinking for prohibition and replacement but not for punishment, on the Day of Atonement for prohibition but not for punishment”? Did we not state (Lev. 22:15): “They should not desecrate,” to include him who anoints and him who drinks. Rebbi Joḥanan said, there is no ‘anoints’ here. Rebbi Abba Mari said, if there is no ‘anoints’ here then there is no ‘drinks’ for otherwise something that comes from two different prohibitions would be added together!

Ganiva said, he was continuing teaching as ruling. [Rebbi Jonah from Bostra asked, if he was continuing teaching as ruling,] is that what we were stating: “against the will of the Sages”? Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi (Rav) [following Bar] Delaya stated, they told him, either remove yourself from between us or remove the strip from between its horns. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, he was shielding himself against them. Rebbi Ḥananiah said, it went out once and his teeth became black from the fasts [and mortification]. Rebbi Idi from (his staff) [Ḥotra] said, it was his wife. And from where that his wife is called “calf”? “Had you not ploughed with my calf you would not have solved my riddle.” There, they are saying, it was his neighbor. Is anybody punished for his neighbor’s behavior? Rebbi Qiris from (Didyma) [Irma]: To teach you that if anybody has the possibility to protest and he does not protest, the damage is attached to him.

HALAKHAH: 4. “From where that anointing,” etc. As we have stated: On the Sabbath both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are permitted. On the Day of Atonement, both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are forbidden. On the Ninth of Av and public fasts, anointing for pleasure is forbidden but anointing not for pleasure are permitted.

“Anointing.” As it was stated: On the Sabbath both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are permitted. On the Day of Atonement, both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are forbidden. On the Ninth of Av and public fasts, anointing for pleasure is forbidden but anointing not for pleasure is permitted. But it was stated: Anointing is equal to drinking regarding prohibition and reparation but not punishment. On the Day of Atonement regarding prohibition but not punishment But was it not stated, they shall not desecrate, to include him who anoints or drinks? Rebbi Joḥanan said, there is no “anoints” there. Rebbi Abba Mari said, if there is no “anoints” there is no “drinks”. For if it were not so, do matters combine which come from two different prohibitions?

Ganiva said, he was continuing teaching as ruling. Rebbi Jonah from Bostra asked, if he was continuing teaching as ruling, is that what we were stating: “against the will of the Sages”? Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi: Bar Delaya stated, they told him, either remove yourself from between us or remove the strip from between its horns. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, he was shielding himself against them. Rebbi Ḥananiah said, it went out once and his teeth became black from the fasts and mortification. Rebbi Idi from Ḥotra said, it was his wife. And from where that his wife is called “calf”? “Had you not ploughed with my calf you would not have solved my riddle” There, they are saying, it was his neighbor. Is anybody punished for his neighbor’s behavior? Rebbi Qiris from Irma: To teach you that if anybody has the possibility to protest and he does not protest, the damage is attached to him.

“Anointing.” As it was stated: On the Sabbath both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are permitted. On the Day of Atonement, both anointing for pleasure and anointing not for pleasure are forbidden. On the Ninth of Av and public fasts, anointing for pleasure is forbidden but anointing not for pleasure is permitted. But it was stated: Anointing is equal to drinking regarding prohibition and reparation but not punishment. On the Day of Atonement regarding prohibition but not punishment But was it not stated, they shall not desecrate, to include him who anoints or drinks? Rebbi Joḥanan said, there is no “anoints” there. Rebbi Abba Mari said, if there is no “anoints” there is no “drinks”. For if it were not so, do matters combine which come from two different prohibitions?

It is written: May the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her bridal chamber. May the bridegroom leave his room, that is the Ark, and the bride her bridal chamber, that is the Torah. Another word: May the bridegroom leave his room, that is the Patriarch, and the bride her bridal chamber, that is the presiding judge. Rebbi Ḥelbo said to Rebbi Yudan the Patriarch, come with us and your pain will be gone. Rebbi Yose said, this implies that our fasts are no real fasts. Why? since the Patriarch is not with us.

It is written: May the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her bridal chamber. May the bridegroom leave his room, that is the Ark, and the bride her bridal chamber, that is the Torah. Another word: May the bridegroom leave his room, that is the Patriarch, and the bride her bridal chamber, that is the presiding judge. Rebbi Ḥelbo said to Rebbi Yudan the Patriarch, come with us and your pain will be gone. Rebbi Yose said, this implies that our fasts are no real fasts. Why? since the Patriarch is not with us.

Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of (Rebbi) <rav> Jeremiah, a private person has to mention the occasion on a public fast day. Where does he say it? Between “Redeemer of Israel” and “Healer of the sick.” What does he say? “Answer us, Eternal, answer us in this time and season because we are in great trouble, do not hide Your presence from us, do not be oblivious to our supplications, because You, Eternal, will answer in time of trouble, redeem and save in any time of distress. They cried to the Eternal in their trouble, He led them out from their distress. Praise to You, Eternal, Answering in times of trouble.” Rebbi Yannai ben Rebbi Ismael in the name <of the house of rebbi yannai says: in “he who hears prayer.”The Fifteenth benediction, place of all personal additions to the weekday prayers. <Rebbi Jonah> in the name of (Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish) <rav>: Even an individual who decreed a fast day on himself has to mention the occasion. Where does he say it? Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥuna: Similar to Friday night and Sabbath day. Rebbi Mana said: I, who did not check whether one follows Rav Jeremiah or Rebbi Yannai the son of Rebbi Ismael, went to the study hall and I heard: “Rav Ḥuna in the name of Rav: Even an individual who decreed a fast day on himself has to mention the occasion.” Rebbi Yose objected that a baraita disagrees: Every day one prays eighteen benedictions, including the night after Sabbath and the nights after Yom Kippur and after Public Fasts. Since Rebbi Yose said, this baraita disagrees, it contradicts the statement: between “Redeemer of Israel” and “Healer of the sick.”

“On the seventeenth of it Gentiles attacked the remainder of the Sopherim at the city of Khalkis and Bet-Zabdin and there was relief.” In Rebbi Meïr’s opinion it is understandable, it comes to forbid the {day} itself. What does it come to forbid for Rebbi Yose? [The day before? Is not the day itself forbidden for him?] Rebbi Yose said, all these matters neither support nor contradict either Rebbi Meïr or Rebbi Yose; they only come to report the days on which miracles were done for Israel. You have to understand that this is so since we have stated: “On the New Moon of Nisan the Daily Offering was settled, one may not eulogize.” Without this is he not already forbidden because of the New Moon? “But on Sabbath and holidays one fasts before and after them. What is your reason to be lenient with these and restrictive with those? For these are words of the Torah, and words of the Torah do not need reinforcement. But those are words of the Sopherim, and words of the Sopherim need reinforcement.” That is what you were saying, as long as Megillat Ta`anit was not abolished. But since Megillat Ta`anit was abolished, all these were abolished. Rebbi Ḥanina and Rebbi Jonathan both said, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Abba and Rebbi Simon both said, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was repeating, “it happened that in Lydda they decided on a fast-day on Ḥanukkah. They said about Rebbi Eliezer that he got a haircut, and about Rebbi Joshua that he took a {thermal} bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast because you fasted.” And you are saying, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even if you are saying that Megillat Ta`anit was abolished, Ḥanukkah and Purim were not abolished.

The actions of the rabbis imply that Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Jonathan fasted every New Year’s Day’s eve. Rebbi Abun fasted every Sabbath eve. Rebbi Ze`ira fasted 300 fasts, and some say 900, and disregarded Megillat Ta`anit. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa commanded the schoolteachers, if a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any time except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, intermediate days of holidays, Ḥanukkah and Purim.

It was stated: “On a Ninth of Av which falls on a Friday he eats even an egg and drinks even a cup full, in order not to enter the Sabbath being deprived, the words of Rebbi Jehudah. Rebbi Yose says, he fasts and finishes.” Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Jehudah, Rebbi Immi bar Ezechiel in the name of Rav: Practice follows him who says, he fasts and finishes. Why does he not say, practice follows Rebbi Yose? There are Tannaim who switch the names of the sages. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥuna: Even an individual who decided for himself to fast on a Friday fasts and finishes. As the following: Rebbi Bevai was sitting before Rebbi Yasa; he wanted to learn from him this matter. He said, let me go home a little bit. He said to him, it is afternoon. He answered, I am fasting. He said to him, I have lupines with me. He answered, and one finishes following Rebbi Yose.

It was stated: “On a Ninth of Av which falls on a Friday he eats even an egg and drinks even a cup full, in order not to enter the Sabbath being deprived, the words of Rebbi Jehudah. Rebbi Yose says, he fasts and finishes.” Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Jehudah, Rebbi Immi bar Ezechiel in the name of Rav: Practice follows him who says, he fasts and finishes. Why does he not say, practice follows Rebbi Yose? There are Tannaim who switch the names of the sages. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥuna: Even an individual who decided for himself to fast on a Friday fasts and finishes. As the following: Rebbi Bevai was sitting before Rebbi Yasa; he wanted to learn from him this matter. He said, let me go home a little bit. He said to him, it is afternoon. He answered, I am fasting. He said to him, I have lupines with me. He answered, and one finishes following Rebbi Yose.

It was stated: “On a Ninth of Av which falls on a Friday he eats even an egg and drinks even a cup full, in order not to enter the Sabbath being deprived, the words of Rebbi Jehudah. Rebbi Yose says, he fasts and finishes.” Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Jehudah, Rebbi Immi bar Ezechiel in the name of Rav: Practice follows him who says, he fasts and finishes. Why does he not say, practice follows Rebbi Yose? There are Tannaim who switch the names of the sages. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥuna: Even an individual who decided for himself to fast on a Friday fasts and finishes. As the following: Rebbi Bevai was sitting before Rebbi Yasa; he wanted to learn from him this matter. He said, let me go home a little bit. He said to him, it is afternoon. He answered, I am fasting. He said to him, I have lupines with me. He answered, and one finishes following Rebbi Yose.

MISHNAH: And also a town on which no rain fell, as it is written: I shall give rain on one town and on another town I shall not give rain; one parcel will receive rain but the leaves of a parcel which does not receive rain will wilt. This town fasts and blows the shofar and all its surroundings fast but do not blow the shofar; Rebbi Aqiba says they blow the shofar but do not fast.

“All its surroundings fast but do not blow the shofar;” since we find that on the Day of Atonement one fasts but does not blow the shofar. “Rebbi Aqiba says they blow the shofar but do not fast,” since we find that on New Year’s Day one blows the shofar but does not fast.

MISHNAH: Similarly, a town in which there is an epidemic or a building collapse, this town fasts and blows the shofar, and all its surroundings fast but do not blow the shofar; Rebbi Aqiba says they blow the shofar but do not fast.

“All its surroundings fast but do not blow the shofar;” since we find that on the Day of Atonement one fasts but does not blow the shofar. “Rebbi Aqiba says they blow the shofar but do not fast,” since we find that on New Year’s Day one blows the shofar but does not fast.

Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai stated: So was my teacher Aqiba explaining. So says the Eternal of Hosts, the fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will be for the House of Israel enjoyment and joy. The fast of the fourth is the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the day when the tablets were broken, the daily sacrifice ceased, the city was breached, Apostomos burned the Torah, and put an idol in the Temple. The fast of the fifth is the Ninth of Av, when the Temple was destroyed the first and the second times. The fast of the seventh is the third of Tishre, when Gedalya ben Aḥiqam was murdered. The fast of the tenth is the Tenth of Tevet, the day when the King of Babylonia closed in on Jerusalem. That is what is written, the Eternal’s word came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying: Son of man, write down the name of this day. On this very day the king of Babylonia closed in on Jerusalem. But I am saying that the fast of the tenth is the Fifth of Tevet, the day when the news came to the diaspora. That is what is written, it was in the eleventh year of our exile, in the fifth, on the fifth of the month, the fugitive came to me from Jerusalem, saying, the city was breached. Only that in Judea one fasts on the act, and in the exile on the news. Rebbi Aqiba explains the first last and the last first; but I am explaining the first first and the last last; and I hold my words more intelligible than Rebbi Aqiba’s words.

“On the seventeenth of it Gentiles attacked the remainder of the Sopherim at the city of Khalkis and Bet-Zabdin and there was relief.” In Rebbi Meïr’s opinion it is understandable, it comes to forbid the {day} itself. What does it come to forbid for Rebbi Yose? Rebbi Yose said, all these matters neither support nor contradict either Rebbi Meïr or Rebbi Yose; they only come to report the days on which miracles were done for Israel. You have to understand that this is so since we have stated: “On the New Moon of Nisan the Daily Offering was settled, one may not eulogize.” Without this is it not already forbidden to him because of the New Moon? “But on Sabbath and holidays one fasts before and after them. What do you understand to be lenient with these and restrictive with those? For these are words of the Torah, and words of the Torah do not need reinforcement. But those are words of the Sopherim, and words of the Sopherim need reinforcement.” That is what you were saying, as long as Megillat Ta`anit was not abolished. But since Megillat Ta`anit was abolished, all these were abolished. Rebbi Ḥanina and Rebbi Joshua ben Levi both said, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Abba and Rebbi Simon both said, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Jonathan said, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was repeating, “it happened that in Lydda they decided on a fast-day on Ḥanukkah. They said about Rebbi Eliezer that he got a haircut, and about Rebbi Joshua that he took a {thermal} bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast because you fasted.” And you are saying, Megillat Ta`anit was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even if you are saying that Megillat Ta`anit was abolished, Ḥanukkah and Purim were not abolished.

The actions of the rabbis imply that Megillat Ta`anit was abolished. Rebbi Jonathan fasted every New Year’s Day’s eve. Rebbi Abun fasted every Sabbath eve. Rebbi Ze`ira fasted 300 fasts, and some say 900, and disregarded Megillat Ta`anit. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa commanded the schoolteachers, if a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any time except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, intermediate days of holidays, Ḥanukkah and Purim.

One verse says, the harvest festival, the first fruits of your work. Another verse says, any productive work you shall not do. Rebbi Ḥanania said, how could both verses be sustained? If it falls on a weekday you bring the festival offering and refrain from work. If it falls on the Sabbath, the following day you bring the festival offering and harvest. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Bun said, only ears for her dough. As what was stated, “therefore anybody who has an obligation for wood and first fruits. He who says, I am taking upon me {to bring} wood for the altar and logs for the arrangement on that day is forbidden funeral orations, and fasts, and working.”

Rebbi Aḥa instructed about him who comes from the road and his feet ache that he is permitted to wash them with water. It has been stated: “A mourner and one excommunicated are permitted to wear sandals on a trip. When they come to town they should remove them. The same holds for the Ninth of Av and public fasts.” It is stated: “At a place where one is used to greet mourners on the Sabbath one may do so. In the South one does greet.” The great Rebbi Hoshaya went to some place, saw there mourners on the Sabbath and greeted them. He said to them: “I do not know the custom of your place, but be greeted according the custom of our place.” Rebbi Yose, son of Rebbi Ḥalaphta, praised Rebbi Meïr before the people of Sepphoris: A great, holy, and meek man. At some time, he saw mourners on the Sabbath and greeted them. They said to him: Is that the one whose praise you proclaim? He said to them, what did he do? They said to him, he saw mourners on the Sabbath and greeted them. He said to them: you have to recognize his strength; he comes to make you aware that there is no mourning on the Sabbath. That is what is written: The Eternal’s blessing makes rich, that is the blessing of Sabbath, He will not add grief to it, that is mourning, as it is said: The king is grieving about his son.

Rebbi Yasa fasted eighty days to see the old Rebbi Ḥiyya. In the end, he saw his bier and him sleeping on it. If you say that Rebbi Assi was an insignificant person, one tanner came to Rebbi Joḥanan and said, I saw the sky falling but one of your students supported it. He asked him, could you recognize him? He said, if I would see him, I would recognize him. He made all his students pass before him [the tanner], and he recognized Rebbi Assi. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish fasted three hundred fasts to see the old Rebbi Ḥiyya but did not see him. In the end, he started to feel badly and said, did he study Torah more than I did? They said to him, he spread Torah more than you did and in addition he went into exile. He said to them, did I not also go into exile? They said to him, you went into exile to study, he went into exile to teach.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

A private person who committed himself for a fast day, eats and drinks after nightfall. But if he said a public fast day, he eats and drinks only during daytime. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on Sabbath days or holidays, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. If he made a vow to fast and it turned out to fall on days written in the Scroll of Fasts, Rebbi Ḥizqia and Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: One said, he fasts but does not finish, but the other one said, he is whipped but does not need permission from a Sage. That is, you say that before the scroll of fasts was abolished. But when the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, all this was abolished. Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Joḥanan both say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished. Rebbi Joḥanan said, yesterday I was sitting and stating: “It happened that they decreed a fast day at Lod during Ḥanukka. Rebbi Eliezer went and had a haircut, Rebbi Joshua went and took a hot bath. Rebbi Joshua said to them, go and fast for what you fasted.” And you say, the Scroll of Fasts was abolished? Rebbi Abba said, even though you say that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished, Ḥanukka and Purim were not abolished. The acts of the rabbis imply that the Scroll of Fasts was abolished: Rebbi Jonathan fasted on the day before New Year’s Day. Rebbi Abin fasted on the day before Tabernacles. Rebbi Ze‘ira fasted 300 fast days, and some say 900 fast days and did not care about the Scroll of Fasts. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa told the scribes: If a woman comes to ask you, tell her that one may fast any day except Sabbaths, holidays, New Moons, the intermediary days of holidays, Ḥanukka, and Purim.

4. If the seventeenth of Marḥeshwan has come and there has been no rainfall, distinguished individuals begin to fast. On the nights preceding the fasts they may eat and drink, and on the fast days proper they may engage in work, may bathe, anoint themselves, wear shoes, and cohabit with their wives.

5. If the first day of the month of Kislew has come and no rain has yet fallen, the court orders three fasts for the community. On the nights preceding the fasts the people may eat and drink, and on the fast days they may engage in work, bathe, anoint themselves, wear shoes, and cohabit with their wives.

5. If the first day of the month of Kislew has come and no rain has yet fallen, the court orders three fasts for the community. On the nights preceding the fasts the people may eat and drink, and on the fast days they may engage in work, bathe, anoint themselves, wear shoes, and cohabit with their wives.

6. If these fast days are over and the community's prayer has not been answered, the court orders three more fasts for the community. On the days preceding these fasts one may eat and drink until sunset only, and on the fast days proper, work, bathing, anointing oneself, wearing shoes, and cohabitation are forbidden. The bath-houses must be closed. If these fast days, too, are over and the community has not been answered, the court orders seven additional fasts for the community, making in all thirteen fasts. In what respect are these (seven) fasts more rigorous than the (three) immediately preceding ones? In that on these the alarm must be sounded and the shops must be closed. On the fasts falling on a Monday, the doors of the shops may be slightly opened toward nightfall, while on Thursdays they may be kept open all day for the sake of the approaching Sabbath.

6. If these fast days are over and the community's prayer has not been answered, the court orders three more fasts for the community. On the days preceding these fasts one may eat and drink until sunset only, and on the fast days proper, work, bathing, anointing oneself, wearing shoes, and cohabitation are forbidden. The bath-houses must be closed. If these fast days, too, are over and the community has not been answered, the court orders seven additional fasts for the community, making in all thirteen fasts. In what respect are these (seven) fasts more rigorous than the (three) immediately preceding ones? In that on these the alarm must be sounded and the shops must be closed. On the fasts falling on a Monday, the doors of the shops may be slightly opened toward nightfall, while on Thursdays they may be kept open all day for the sake of the approaching Sabbath.

6. If these fast days are over and the community's prayer has not been answered, the court orders three more fasts for the community. On the days preceding these fasts one may eat and drink until sunset only, and on the fast days proper, work, bathing, anointing oneself, wearing shoes, and cohabitation are forbidden. The bath-houses must be closed. If these fast days, too, are over and the community has not been answered, the court orders seven additional fasts for the community, making in all thirteen fasts. In what respect are these (seven) fasts more rigorous than the (three) immediately preceding ones? In that on these the alarm must be sounded and the shops must be closed. On the fasts falling on a Monday, the doors of the shops may be slightly opened toward nightfall, while on Thursdays they may be kept open all day for the sake of the approaching Sabbath.

6. If these fast days are over and the community's prayer has not been answered, the court orders three more fasts for the community. On the days preceding these fasts one may eat and drink until sunset only, and on the fast days proper, work, bathing, anointing oneself, wearing shoes, and cohabitation are forbidden. The bath-houses must be closed. If these fast days, too, are over and the community has not been answered, the court orders seven additional fasts for the community, making in all thirteen fasts. In what respect are these (seven) fasts more rigorous than the (three) immediately preceding ones? In that on these the alarm must be sounded and the shops must be closed. On the fasts falling on a Monday, the doors of the shops may be slightly opened toward nightfall, while on Thursdays they may be kept open all day for the sake of the approaching Sabbath.

6. If these fast days are over and the community's prayer has not been answered, the court orders three more fasts for the community. On the days preceding these fasts one may eat and drink until sunset only, and on the fast days proper, work, bathing, anointing oneself, wearing shoes, and cohabitation are forbidden. The bath-houses must be closed. If these fast days, too, are over and the community has not been answered, the court orders seven additional fasts for the community, making in all thirteen fasts. In what respect are these (seven) fasts more rigorous than the (three) immediately preceding ones? In that on these the alarm must be sounded and the shops must be closed. On the fasts falling on a Monday, the doors of the shops may be slightly opened toward nightfall, while on Thursdays they may be kept open all day for the sake of the approaching Sabbath.

6. If these fast days are over and the community's prayer has not been answered, the court orders three more fasts for the community. On the days preceding these fasts one may eat and drink until sunset only, and on the fast days proper, work, bathing, anointing oneself, wearing shoes, and cohabitation are forbidden. The bath-houses must be closed. If these fast days, too, are over and the community has not been answered, the court orders seven additional fasts for the community, making in all thirteen fasts. In what respect are these (seven) fasts more rigorous than the (three) immediately preceding ones? In that on these the alarm must be sounded and the shops must be closed. On the fasts falling on a Monday, the doors of the shops may be slightly opened toward nightfall, while on Thursdays they may be kept open all day for the sake of the approaching Sabbath.

Who is meant by "individuals"? Said R. Huna, Scholars. R. Huna further said, the individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday. What does he teach us? Do we not read: Public fasts should not be decreed to begin on Thursday in order not to cause a sudden rise in market prices, but the first three fast-days should be in the order of Monday, Thursday, and Monday? Answer. You might think that this refers only to congregational fasts but not to the fasts of individuals, therefore he teaches us (that it applies also to fasts of individuals). The same is taught in a Baraita: Individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday, but must refrain from fasting if these days coincide with the New moon

Who is meant by "individuals"? Said R. Huna, Scholars. R. Huna further said, the individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday. What does he teach us? Do we not read: Public fasts should not be decreed to begin on Thursday in order not to cause a sudden rise in market prices, but the first three fast-days should be in the order of Monday, Thursday, and Monday? Answer. You might think that this refers only to congregational fasts but not to the fasts of individuals, therefore he teaches us (that it applies also to fasts of individuals). The same is taught in a Baraita: Individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday, but must refrain from fasting if these days coincide with the New moon

Who is meant by "individuals"? Said R. Huna, Scholars. R. Huna further said, the individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday. What does he teach us? Do we not read: Public fasts should not be decreed to begin on Thursday in order not to cause a sudden rise in market prices, but the first three fast-days should be in the order of Monday, Thursday, and Monday? Answer. You might think that this refers only to congregational fasts but not to the fasts of individuals, therefore he teaches us (that it applies also to fasts of individuals). The same is taught in a Baraita: Individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday, but must refrain from fasting if these days coincide with the New moon

Who is meant by "individuals"? Said R. Huna, Scholars. R. Huna further said, the individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday. What does he teach us? Do we not read: Public fasts should not be decreed to begin on Thursday in order not to cause a sudden rise in market prices, but the first three fast-days should be in the order of Monday, Thursday, and Monday? Answer. You might think that this refers only to congregational fasts but not to the fasts of individuals, therefore he teaches us (that it applies also to fasts of individuals). The same is taught in a Baraita: Individuals fast three days, Monday, Thursday and Monday, but must refrain from fasting if these days coincide with the New moon

or any of the holidays recorded in the Scroll of Fasts.

Said Samuel: He that fasts (for self-affliction) is called a sinner, wherein Samuel agrees with this Baraita: R. Eleazar ha-Kappar Berebi said: Why is it said (Numbers, 6. 11): "And make atonement of him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead"? Against what soul did he sin? It can only mean that he denied himself the enjoyment of wine. Now, if a person who denies himself only the enjoyment of wine is called a sinner, all the more so one who denies himself all the enjoyments of life.

R. Eleazar says: He that fasts is called holy, for it is said (ib., 6. 5): "He shall be holy." Now, if this man (the Nazirite) who denied himself only the enjoyment of wine is called holy, all the more so one who denies himself all the enjoyments of life.

Resh Laḳish said: He is called pious, for it is said (Prov., 11. 17): "The merciful man doeth good to his own soul." R. Jeremiah b. 'Abba said in the name of Resh Laḳish, a scholar is not allowed to impose fasts upon himself, because it makes him lessen his heavenly work. R. Sheshet said, if a student takes upon himself such a fast, his meal should be given to the dogs.

If the first day of Kislew has come, etc. Said R. Jeremiah b. 'Abba: There are no communal fasts in Babylonia except on the Ninth of Ab.

R. Ze'ira said in the name of R. Huna: If an individual takes upon himself a fast for the next day, he may pray on the following morning the prayer provided for fast days, although he ate and drank during the whole intervening night. If, however, he continued fasting also during the following night, he is not to say on the next morning the prayer provided for fasts. Said R. Joseph: What is the reason of R. Huna? Does he hold that fasting by hours does not count, or does he hold that fasting by hours does count, but that he who fasts by hours is not supposed to say the prayer provided for fasts? Said Abbayi to R. Joseph: He certainly holds that fasting by hours counts and that he who fasts by hours may also say the prayer provided for fasts; in the case under consideration, however, the matter is different, inasmuch as he had not taken upon himself at all the fasting of that intervening night.

R. Ze'ira said in the name of R. Huna: If an individual takes upon himself a fast for the next day, he may pray on the following morning the prayer provided for fast days, although he ate and drank during the whole intervening night. If, however, he continued fasting also during the following night, he is not to say on the next morning the prayer provided for fasts. Said R. Joseph: What is the reason of R. Huna? Does he hold that fasting by hours does not count, or does he hold that fasting by hours does count, but that he who fasts by hours is not supposed to say the prayer provided for fasts? Said Abbayi to R. Joseph: He certainly holds that fasting by hours counts and that he who fasts by hours may also say the prayer provided for fasts; in the case under consideration, however, the matter is different, inasmuch as he had not taken upon himself at all the fasting of that intervening night.

R. Ze'ira said in the name of R. Huna: If an individual takes upon himself a fast for the next day, he may pray on the following morning the prayer provided for fast days, although he ate and drank during the whole intervening night. If, however, he continued fasting also during the following night, he is not to say on the next morning the prayer provided for fasts. Said R. Joseph: What is the reason of R. Huna? Does he hold that fasting by hours does not count, or does he hold that fasting by hours does count, but that he who fasts by hours is not supposed to say the prayer provided for fasts? Said Abbayi to R. Joseph: He certainly holds that fasting by hours counts and that he who fasts by hours may also say the prayer provided for fasts; in the case under consideration, however, the matter is different, inasmuch as he had not taken upon himself at all the fasting of that intervening night.

R. Ze'ira said in the name of R. Huna: If an individual takes upon himself a fast for the next day, he may pray on the following morning the prayer provided for fast days, although he ate and drank during the whole intervening night. If, however, he continued fasting also during the following night, he is not to say on the next morning the prayer provided for fasts. Said R. Joseph: What is the reason of R. Huna? Does he hold that fasting by hours does not count, or does he hold that fasting by hours does count, but that he who fasts by hours is not supposed to say the prayer provided for fasts? Said Abbayi to R. Joseph: He certainly holds that fasting by hours counts and that he who fasts by hours may also say the prayer provided for fasts; in the case under consideration, however, the matter is different, inasmuch as he had not taken upon himself at all the fasting of that intervening night.

R. Ze'ira said in the name of R. Huna: If an individual takes upon himself a fast for the next day, he may pray on the following morning the prayer provided for fast days, although he ate and drank during the whole intervening night. If, however, he continued fasting also during the following night, he is not to say on the next morning the prayer provided for fasts. Said R. Joseph: What is the reason of R. Huna? Does he hold that fasting by hours does not count, or does he hold that fasting by hours does count, but that he who fasts by hours is not supposed to say the prayer provided for fasts? Said Abbayi to R. Joseph: He certainly holds that fasting by hours counts and that he who fasts by hours may also say the prayer provided for fasts; in the case under consideration, however, the matter is different, inasmuch as he had not taken upon himself at all the fasting of that intervening night.

Samuel said: A fast which one did not take upon oneself before sunset of the preceding day has not the validity of a fast. But what if one did fast? Said Rabbah b. R. Shila: Such a one is comparable to a bellows full of wind. What is the exact time for one to take a fast upon himself? Rab says, during the hours of Minḥah (afternoon); Samuel says, he must insert the vow in the Minḥah prayer itself. Said R. Joseph; Samuel's view is reasonable, because it is written in the Scroll of Fasts—"People for whom the time of fasting has arrived because of previous resolutions are required to fast only in case they bound themselves by a vow during prayer." Now, does that not mean that they have bound themselves to fast while praying? No, it means only they have bound themselves.

R. Ḥiyya and R. Simeon b. Rabbi disagree with regard to this matter. One reads yēsar (he bound himself by a vow), the other reads yĕ'ĕsar (is forbidden). If we read yēsar we must understand it in the way we explained it above, but if we read yĕ'ĕsar, we must understand it in accordance with the following Baraita: "'People for whom the time of fasting has arrived because of previous resolutions are required to fast only in case they bound themselves by a vow during prayer.' This means that if an individual has taken upon himself to fast on Mondays and Thursdays of the whole year, and it happens that those days conflict with some of the holidays recorded in the Scroll of Fasts, the following rule is to be observed. If his vow preceded our proclamation of the holidays, our proclamation must be disregarded on account of his vow, but if our proclamation preceded his vow, his vow must be disregarded on account of our proclamation."

(On the nights preceding the fasts) they may eat and drink, etc. The Rabbis have taught: Until what time in the night (preceding a fast) may one eat and drink? Until the morning dawn; this is the opinion of Rabbi. R. Eleazar b. Simeon says, until one hears the crowing of the cock. Said Raba, this applies only to one who has not finished his meal, but if one has finished his meal, he should not start eating again. 'Abbayi objects hereto from the following Baraita: If one has eaten and gotten up, he may eat again! Answer: This refers to one who has not yet put away the table. Some give to the foregoing passage the following wording: Said Raba, this applies only to one who has not yet slept, but if he has slept, he should not start eating again. In objection hereto 'Abbayi quoted: If he slept and then got up, he may eat again! Answer: This refers only to one who merely dozed. What is meant by dozing? Said R. 'Ashi:

'Abbayi and Raba used to wear shoes without soles. Maremar and Mar Zuṭra used to transfer the right shoe to the left foot and the left shoe to the right foot. The scholars of the school of R. 'Ashi, however, wore their shoes in the usual way, agreeing with Samuel, who said, there are no public fasts in Babylonia except the Ninth of Ab.

Said Rafrem b. Papa in the name of R. Ḥisda: On every fast which was decreed for the sake of mourning, like the Ninth of Ab and the fast of a mourner, both warm and cold baths are forbidden; but on fasts which were decreed merely to prevent indulgence in pleasure, like the communal fast, warm, but not cold, baths are forbidden. Said R. 'Idi b. 'Abin, we indeed, read in the Mishnah: "the bath-houses must be closed." Said 'Abbayi to him: Suppose the Mishnah had meant to forbid also cold baths, how should it then have expressed itself? Should it have read: "the rivers must be stopped"? Said R. Shisha, son of R. 'Idi, my father (in making his statement) felt this difficulty: Inasmuch as the Mishnah had said that bathing is forbidden, what was the idea of adding that the bath-houses must be closed? Does this not indicate that only warm baths are forbidden, while cold baths are allowed? It stands proved.

R. Isaac, with the permission of his father R. Judah, delivered the following discourse: An individual who has taken upon himself a fast must recite the prayer provided for fasts. Where does he insert it? Between the benediction ending with "Redeemer" and that ending with "Healer" (of Israel). R. Isaac objected: Is an individual entitled to insert a benediction for himself? He should rather, said R. Isaac, include it in the benediction ending with the words: "Who hearest prayer." The same opinion was given also by R. Sheshet. An objection was raised to this view from the following Baraita: There is no difference between an individual and a community, except that the former recites eighteen benedictions, while the latter recites nineteen. Now what is meant by "individual" and "community"? Is "individual" to be understood literally and "community" in the sense of representative of the community? If so, the benedictions here spoken of would not be nineteen, but twenty-four! Consequently by "individual" can be meant only one who takes upon himself a fast which is known as a "private fast," while by "community" is meant an individual who takes upon himself a "public fast," and yet the Baraita reads: "except that the former recites eighteen benedictions and the latter nineteen," which proves that an individual may insert a benediction for himself! Answer: No, by "community" is no doubt meant its representative, but (as to your objection that in this case twenty-four benedictions are recited, it must be understood that) the Baraita has reference to the first three public fasts, during which the number of benedictions is not increased to twenty-four. Is this true? Is it not stated in a Baraita: "There is no difference between the three first and the three intermediary public fasts, except that during the former work is allowed, while during the latter it is prohibited," from which you must infer that with regard to the number of benedictions they are alike!? Answer: The author of this Baraita mentioned one difference and omitted the other. Is there anything else that he omitted, so that we may be justified in assuming that he omitted this difference? I will say this, then: The teacher of the Baraita was concerned only in pointing out a difference regarding things prohibited on fast days, but did not care to mention a difference in the number of benedictions recited. If you prefer, I may also say that the number of benedictions is not increased to twenty-four even during the intermediary public fasts. Is this true? Is it not stated in a Baraita: "There is no difference between the three intermediary and the seven (last) public fasts except that during the latter the alarm is sounded and the shops are closed," which proves that with regard to the twenty-four benedictions both groups of fasts are alike? If, however, you should say that here, too, the author of the Baraita mentions one difference and omits the other, what will you do, then, with the explicit words of the Baraita, saying that "there is no difference between them except"? Answer: Do you mean to say that the phrase "there is no difference" is to be taken literally?