Reply To: Hilchos Pesach

The Shulchan Oruch 429:2 rules that we do not say Tachanun all of the month of Nisan**, and we don’t say

“Tzidkoscha” in Minchah for Shabbos. We also do not say eulogies. We do not fast, neither to remember

(tragedies) nor in a community*

*There are different reasons for this. The Be’er HaGolah on this sif brings us to the Halacha in

Maseches Sofrim (21:2-the middle of 21:4), which says that it is because the Mishkan was erected on the 1st of

Nisan (aka for a month afterwards you should not fast because of the Mishkan being erected, a happy event),

and the Nasiyim, when each of them brought their Korban for the Mishkan, they each had a Yom Tov, and we

should not fast when the Nesiyim had a Yom Tov. But there were only 12 Nesiyim and 13 days before Pesach

(excluding Erev Pesach, because not everyone is a firstborn and fasts on Erev Pesach)!

The answer is (maybe, this is just a guess): ” One of the days that the Nesiyim were supposed to bring their

Korbanos was Shabbos ,and we do know that we don’t bring personal Korbanos on Shabbos. So 13-1=12 days.

Another answer (this one better than mine, brought in Birkei Yosef): The 13th day before Taanis

HaBechoros is to count when Aharon made his ‘Korban’ lighting the Menorah, that it was a Yom Tov.

*The Mikra Sofrim notes that if it was only 12 days, why fast the whole month? Because if you count the Yamim

Tovim of Pesach, which are 4 days in the Golus, 2 in E”Y and the Shabbos that is most probably Chol HaMoed,

it is 19 days (in the Golus=Taanis HaBechoros ), 18 if Shabbos is Chol HaMoed, which is a majority of the

month. And in E”Y theYom Tov is only one day, so if the Yom Tov is Shabbos, that means there are two

Shabbosos during that Pesach. So 12+2=14, and add on the fast of the bechoros and you have 15 days, which is

1/2, which is counted as a majority, of a month. If you go by the explanation of the Birkei Yosef just add one

day to each calculation.

(Continuation of the last note) The Nachalas Yaakov quotes the Beis Yosef on the Tur, who gives the same

opinion as the Mikra Sofrim, that since the majority of the month is holy, the rest is as well, and thus you

do not fast during the whole month of Nisan. The Be’er Heitev, the Bach and the Prisha on the Tur also hold

the same opinion.

*The Magen Avrohom notes that this excludes private fasts, which you CAN do during Nisan, since this is not

mentioned as an issur to do during Nisan by the Shulchan Oruch in the sif quoted above.

The Tur adds We do not fall on our faces during Nisan, not during the day and not during the night.

Why do we need the “During the night? The Beis Yosef answers that this is to the places that are accustomed

to say Tachanun at night.

The Bach asks a question on the peculiar wording of the Halacha in Sofrim 21:2, “WHY DO WE NOT fast

during Nisan?” Rather say, “Why do we fast during Nisan?” Why use the double negative? The Bach

answers that we might have thought that the 3 first days of Nisan, when Ester really fasted, we might as well

fast too, but we are informed not to. The Halacha in Sofrim thus says “Why don’t we fast (those three days)

during Nisan?”

The Gra only quotes the Halacha in Sofrim in the Biur HaGra on the relevant sif in the Shulchan Oruch.

The Taz says on “And the firstborn fast” that students fast to recompensate for the three days (according to

my understanding). “How is this possible?” you might ask. They are fasting with no excuse, if they are not

firstborn. The answer is that the Taz holds like the Magen Avrohom who says that PRIVATE FASTS ARE

ALLOWED. The Taz holds that this is categorized as a private fast.

The Ateres Zakeinim says when you are supposed to say Tachanun every day and you are not supposed to

during Nisan. And you are not supposed to remember Neshamos. And people do, after Pesach, say Tachanun

and fast for yartzeits, which says it is permissible after Pesach to say Tachanun and fast for a yartzeit,

because it is a private fast, not a communal one. But it is forbidden to publicly remember them (aka speeches)

until Nisan is over. So some people make the public remembrances before Nisan, like the Maharil said.

The Eishel Avrohom notes that the Shulchan Oruch speaks in the way of “It is a complete issur to say Tachanun

during Nisan.’ It is not just a minhag. It is a strict halacha.