1)

(a)The Beraisa cites the case of two people who became sick or who were both judged in court for the same crime prayed to Hash-m. According to Rebbi Meir, the prayers of one of them will be answered and the prayers of the other will not - if the former Davened with Kavanah, whereas the latter did not.

(b)Rebbi Elazar answers that the former must have prayed before the decree was sealed, whilst the later prayed afterwards, when it was too late - Rebbi Yitzchak (who will presumably answer the Kashya like Rebbi Meir) says that Tefilah is always effective, even after the decree has been sealed.

(c)Rebbi Yochanan (who differentiates between the Gezar-Din of a Yachid and the Gezar-Din of a Tzibur) learns - like Rebbi Elazar.

(d)Rebbi Elazar will establish the Pasuk in Yirmeyahu, where the Navi writes that even communal Teshuvah and Tefilah cannot alter the final decree - specifically by a decree which is accompanied by an oath.

2)

(a)Rebbi Shmuel bar Nachmeni Amar Rebbi Yonasan learns from the Pasuk in Shmuel "Lachen Nishba'ati l'Veis Eli, Im Yiskaper Avon Beis Eli b'Zevach uve'Minchah" - that the decree issued to Beis Eli cannot be rescinded.

(b)Rabah infers from the words "b'Zevach uve'Minchah" - that although the decree of Beis Eli cannot be rescinded through Korbanos, it can be rescinded through Torah-study.

(c)Abaye adds - that it can be rescinded through acts of Chesed as well.

(d)The respective opinions of Rabah and Abaye (who were both descendants of Eli ha'Kohen) reflect their own respective destinies - in that Rabah, who studied a lot of Torah, lived until the age of forty; whereas Abaye, who in addition, performed many acts of Chesed, lived until sixty.

(e)Rebbi Yochanan ben Zakai advised the family who were all dying by the age of eighteen to - study a lot of Torah. They subsequently lived beyond the age of twenty.

3)

(a)The Pasuk "ka'Hashem Elokeinu b'Chol Kor'einu Eilav" (implying that Hash-m answers answer our prayers at any time) - refers to prayers of a community; whereas the Pasuk "Dirshu Hash-m b'Himatz'o" (which implies that He only does so at certain times) - refers to those of an individual.

(b)"b'Himatz'o" - refers to the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

(c)According to Rav, Naval (who was guilty, not only of gross ingratitude towards David, but also of insulting him) was given ten days grace before he succumbed to his illness - because of the ten gulps he gave David's messengers (one per messenger).

(d)According to Rav Nachman Amar Rabah bar Avuhah - those ten days were the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the grace given to every individual in which to do Teshuvah).

4)

(a)We learned in our Mishnah, that on Rosh Hashanah, all the creatures in the world pass before Hash-m like 'Bnei Meron'. Some interpret this to mean like sheep - the sheep that were led single file from one sheep-pen to another, via a narrow passage, to be Ma'asered.

(b)According to Resh Lakish, 'Bnei Meron' means like the narrow steps of Beis Meron (or Choron) - Rav Yehudah Amar Shmuel explains it to mean like the soldiers in David ha'Melech's army.

(c)All these explanations have in common - the fact that the leading, the climbing and the counting, were all performed one by one (which is how Hash-m judges everyone in the world on Rosh Hashanah).

(d)Nevertheless, comments Rabah bar bar Chanah Amar Rebbi Yochanan - they are all judged with one glance. Note: These three illustrations seem to symbolize the three categories which we discussed earlier: The sheep going to be slaughtered symbolize the Resha'im, the dangerous ascent (which one needs to climb with particular care), the Beinonim, and the soldiers of Beis David, who fight the battles of Hash-m, the Tzadikim.

(e)We prove Rebbi Yochanan's comment from the Pasuk quoted in our Mishnah "ha'Yotzer Yachad Libam ... " - because the Pasuk cannot mean that, after creating the world, Hash-m unified their hearts to serve Him, since we see that this is not the case; it must therefore refer to the previous Pasuk (which speaks about supervising the whole world), and means that the Creator examines all their hearts in one glance.

5)

(a)The function of the Sheluchim, who did not travel on Shabbos - was to inform the people who lived in Galus, on which day the Beis-Din in Eretz Yisrael had fixed Rosh Chodesh.

(b)They did not go out at all in the months of Iyar, Sivan, Tamuz, Mar-Cheshvan, Teves and Shevat, only in Nisan - because of Pesach; in Av - because of Tish'ah-be'Av; in Elul - because of Rosh Hashanah; in Tishrei - because of Yom Kippur, Sukos, and Shemini Atzeres; in Kislev - because of Chanukah, and in Adar - because of Purim.

(c)They did not need to go out in the month of Sivan - because Shavu'os was fixed at forty-nine days after the second day of Pesach.

(d)The Bnei Golah observed Rosh Hashanah - on the thirtieth day of Elul (because, aside from one or two solitary occasions, Elul was always a short month).

(e)In the time of the second Beis Hamikdash - the Sheluchim would go out in the month of Iyar too, because of Pesach Sheni.

6)

(a)Initially, we interpreted the Pasuk in Zecharyah "Tzom ha'Revi'i ... Yih'yeh ... l'Sason ule'Simchah" to mean that when there is peace, the fast-days become days of celebration, and when there is not, they remain full fast-days. Rav Papa however, creates three levels from this Pasuk - by dividing the second category into two: when the nations of the world issue evil decrees against us, they are full fast-days, but when they do not, then fasting on them is voluntary, depending upon whether the people want to fast or not.

(b)That explain why the Sheluchim do not go out in Tamuz and Teves (for the respective fast-days that occur then) - because, seeing as fasting was not obligatory anyway, Beis-Din did not trouble the Sheluchim to go out.

(c)They nevertheless did go out in the month of Av - because so many terrible things happened then (predominantly, the destruction of both Batei-Hamikdash.

7)

(a)Zecharyah refers to "Tzom ha'Revi'i, v'Tzom ha'Chamishi, Tzom ha'Shevi'i and Tzom ha'Asiri". According to the Beraisa, on ...

1. ... "Tzom ha'Revi'i" - the walls of Yerushalayim were breached (on the ninth - see Tosfos DH 'Zeh').

2. ... "Tzom ha'Chamishi" - the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed (on the ninth).

3. ... "Tzom ha'Shevi'i" - Gedalya was murdered (on the third).

(b)Yishmael ben Nesanyah killed Gedalya ben Achikam.

(c)From the fact that Chazal fixed a fast-day to commemorate his death - we learn that the day on which a Tzadik dies is compared to the burning of the Beis Hamikdash.

8)

(a)According to Rebbi Akiva, "Tzom ha'Asiri" refers to Asarah b'Teves - According to Rebbi Shimon, it refers to the fifth of Teves, when news reached the ears of the exiles that Yerushalayim was destroyed.

(b)Rebbi Shimon prefers his own explanation to that of his Rebbe, Rebbi Akiva - because according to his explanation, Yirmeyahu ha'Navi lists the fast-days in their chronological order; whereas according to Rebbi Akiva, the last to be mentioned (Asarah b'Teves), was the first to occur.

(c)According to Rebbi Akiva, the Navi put "Tzom ha'Asiri" last - because it is the last of the months listed (even though it is not the last event).

9)

(a)Megilas Ta'anis - is a book that listed all the dates on which miracles happened to the Jews in Eretz Yisrael, and on which it was therefore forbidden to fast.

(b)Rav and Rebbi Chanina hold that Megilas Ta'anis became Batel. Their source for this - is the Pasuk in Zecharyah, which we quoted earlier, and from which we derived that when the Beis Hamikdash is destroyed, the days of rejoicing become fast-days, incorporating these days too.

(c)Rebbi Yochanan and Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi (who hold that it did not become Batel) reject the proof from 'Ein Shalom, Tzom' - on the grounds that Zecharyah was only referring to the days that were connected with the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, but not to other days, which remain Yamim-Tovim even after the Churban.

10)

(a)When the Rabanan decreed a fast-day on Chanukah, Rebbi Eliezer took a bath and Rebbi Yehoshua had a haircut - then they both told the Rabanan that they were obligated to fast for having fasted on a day when fasting was forbidden.

(b)Rav Yosef initially resolves this Beraisa according to Rav and Rebbi Chanina, who hold that Megilas Ta'anis became Batel (and it should therefore be permitted to fast on all the days listed in Megilas Ta'anis) - by stating that Chanukah is different, seeing as it is a positive Mitzvah to celebrate.

(c)Abaye object to Rav Yosef's answer however - on the grounds that if Megilas Ta'anis became Batel - then there is no Chanukah and there is no Mitzvah!

(d)What Rav Yosef really meant was - that Chanukah is different - because the miracle was widely publicized (which is why it did not become Batel even according to Rav and Rebbi Chanina).

11)

(a)When the Malchus Chashmona'im subdued the Greeks - they decreed that the Name of Hash-m (which the Greeks had forbidden to be mentioned) should even be included in documents.

(b)On the third of Tishrei - the Chachamim (who objected vehemently to the Chashmona'im's decree) succeeded in persuading the Chashmona'im to nullify it. That was considered a miracle (see Agados Maharsha), and resulted in that day being included in Megilas Ta'anis.

(c)Assuming that this Beraisa speaks after the Churban - we ask that, if, as Rav and Rebbi Chanina maintain, Megilas Ta'anis became Batel (i.e. the even old Yamim-Tovim became obsolete), how could Chazal introduce new Yamim-Tovim?

(d)We therefore establish the Beraisa with reference to the time of the Beis-ha'Mikdash. The problem with this is - that in that case, it would anyway have been forbidden to fast on the third of Tishrei, since it is Tzom Gedalya, and Tzom Gedalya in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, was a Yom-Tov.

12)

(a)Rav solves the current problem - by establishing the Chidush with regard to the day before, which would not have been forbidden on account of Tzom Gedalya (as we shall see shortly).

(b)It was not already forbidden, seeing as it is the day after Rosh Chodesh (and Rosh Hashanah) - since Rosh Chodesh is mid'Oraisa (Divrei Torah), whereas Megilas Ta'anis is only mid'Rabanan (Divrei Sofrim) ...

(c)... and whereas Divrei Sofrim need reinforcing (by forbidding the day before and the day after), Divrei Torah do not.

(d)Nor was it Asur to fast anyway (seeing as was the day that preceded Tzom Gedalya) Rav Ashi explains - since Tzom Gedalya is Divrei Kabalah (from Tanach), and Divrei Kabalah do not require reinforcing any more than Divrei Torah.