Acute Angles: Permitted Partying In The Nine Days

Hi Rabbi Ingram. I popped into a Chabad minyan on my shul complex last night and was astonished to see the liquor flowing and everyone toasting a l’chaim. There were no babies around so it wasn’t a B’rit or Pidyon ha Ben. Taken aback, I left in a hurry. It was, after all, The Nine Days! What is going on? Yours in shock., Mike M.

Dear Mike,  

It is a pity you didn’t stick around to ask what was going on as you would have been enlightened.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe ztl, perhaps the supreme Torah influencer of his generation, urged his followers to adopt en masse a custom that was already known in Chabad, namely, to make siyumim – celebrations for completion of a significant tract of Torah (normatively Talmud) – during the Nine Days in order to mitigate somewhat our low spirits during this mournful period.

It is true that that the Mishna (Ta’anit 4:6) states that “when Av arrives we decrease our joy”.  However the operative word is mema’atin, “we decrease”.  It doesn’t say “we eliminate”. Ivdu et haShem be-Simcha, proclaims the Psalmist (100:2) – “Serve G-D with joy”. Since we are meant to be serving G-D 24/7 (even while asleep we are serving Him by recharging our batteries to daven properly next morning!), there is no moment when we are permitted to be stripped of all simcha! R’ Nachman of Breslov gave expression to that sentiment in his famous maxim mitsva gedola liheyot be-simcha, “it is a great mitsva to be in a state of joy!”

Since we are restricted during The Nine Days in our diet (no meat or wine), our attire (no freshly laundered clothes) our appearance (no shaving or haircutting) and our pleasure (no luxuriating in hot baths/showers and no swimming), there is a danger we may sink into a mild depression. The greatest antidote to depression known to the Jew is Torah! Therefore, Chabad custom is to seek out people who are able to make siyumim, inasmuch as they have been learning a massechta (tractate) of the Talmud, a complete seder (order) of the Mishna, a cheilek (portion) of Rambam’s Mishneh Torah or even a book of Tanach in depth, and are ready to complete in the Nine Days.

Now it is true that the Mishna Berura (#551:10:73) warns against hurrying or delaying one’s study simply for the purpose of being able to make the siyum during the Nine Days. However this is clearly in the context of special permission to eat meat and drink wine. It is noteworthy that, from what I have seen, Chabad Chasidim do not attempt to abuse the privilege of meat and wine. Non-meat delicacies are invariably served at their siyumim during the Nine Days.

As a Chabad “outsider” (though some of my best friends are Lubavitchers!), I find this making of siyumim to be a highly commendable and, indeed, most beautiful practice. Clearly the dual aim of the Seventh Rebbe as well as his predecessors was to mitigate feelings of sadness as explained above and, more significantly, to enhance kavod haTorah. I have witnessed men who would not normally have attempted an extensive or intensive portion of Torah study embark upon such in order to uphold the Chabad minhag of Nine Days siyumim. All I can say is kol ha-Kavod!

In conclusion, it is worth noting that in Shulkhan Arukh there is no section entitled The Nine Days – indeed, I am not aware of any Hebrew expression for The Nine Days! – since Sephardim confine most pre-Tisha b’Av restrictive practices to the week of the fast itself, of which there is none this year as the Ninth of Av is a Sunday! (Ashkenazim be reminded that Sephardim have it much more challenging for Selichot which begin immediately after Rosh Chodesh Elul!) Reasons for the more excessive Ashkenazic stringencies is a discussion beyond the scope of this essay. However, I am reminded of the celebrated anecdote told of R’ Naftali of Ropshitz (1760-1827) who, as Av was approaching, stopped a young yeshiva student and asked him Tsi ir est tag – “Do you ‘eat days’”?  (It was the custom for out-of-town yeshiva bochurim to eat their main meal with different families each day of the week and this was called essen tag.). The startled boy replied “yes!”.  Whereupon the Rebbe shot back: “Then eat up the Nine Days for us. We don’t want them!”

Indeed so. We don’t want them! Please G-D, take them away and the fast of Tisha b’Av with them and fulfill for us the verse in Zecharia (8:19) promising its transformation le–sasson ulesimcha, to a day of joy and gladness!