Aninus, Aveilus And Taanis

לע"נ ידידי האהוב ר' יואל בן ר' פנחס הלוי


Erev Tisha B'av is a time of "aninus". We know that when a relative dies, until the burial one is an "onen" and after the burial he becomes an "aveil". We see from the gemara [Taanis 30] that when eating the seuda hamafsekes, Rebbe Yehuda felt like an onen.

The aveilus is expressed in refraining from learning Torah. On a regular fast day one is permitted to learn Torah.

Tisha B'av is also like a Taanis Tzibbur [Psachim 54b]. It is in some ways as severe a fast as Yom Kippur. We see this in the Rambam [Taaniyos 5/7] who compares Tisha B'av to Yom Kippur insofar as they both begin at night. We see this in the gemara in Taanis [30b] where Rebbe Akiva says that one who eats on Tisha B'av is as if he ate on Yom Kippur.

To summarize: Erev Tisha B'av is a time of אנינות while Tisha B'av is a time of both aveilus and a public fast.

[See the excellent sefer Ohel Moshe on Inyanei Mikdash Ch. 11]