Pesachim 4:5 — Working on Tisha B'Av and erev Pesach

The Lived Mishnah·A Zeman Nakat Project
Tisha B'Av Series
Mishnah 4 of 41
אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָיִם
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MoedSederסדרמוֹעֵד
PesachimMesechtaמסכתפסחים
4Perekפרקד׳
5Mishnahמשנהה׳
נושא · Topicמְלָאכָה בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאָב וּבְעֶרֶב פֶּסַחWorking on Tisha B'Av and erev Pesach
This Mishnah is:a rule · with a machlokeswhat does that mean?
Mishnah פסחים ד׳:ה׳ · Pesachim 4:5
מָקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלָאכָה בְתִשְׁעָה בְאָב, עוֹשִׂין.
מָקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלָאכָה, אֵין עוֹשִׂין.
וּבְכָל מָקוֹם תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים בְּטֵלִים.
רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, לְעוֹלָם יַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם עַצְמוֹ תַּלְמִיד חָכָם.
וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים,
בִּיהוּדָה הָיוּ עוֹשִׂין מְלָאכָה בְעַרְבֵי פְסָחִים עַד חֲצוֹת,
וּבַגָּלִיל לֹא הָיוּ עוֹשִׂין כָּל עִקָּר.
וְהַלַּיְלָה,
בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹסְרִין,
וּבֵית הִלֵּל מַתִּירִין עַד הָנֵץ הַחַמָּה.
Where the custom is to work on Tisha B'Av, one works.
Where the custom is not to work, one does not work.
And everywhere, talmidei chachamim refrain.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: a person should always make himself a talmid chacham.
And the Chachamim say:
in Yehuda they would work on erev Pesach until midday,
and in the Galil they did not work at all.
And the night before —
Beis Shammai forbid,
and Beis Hillel permit until sunrise.
A reading aid, not an exact translation.

This English is a clause-by-clause rendering to help you follow the Hebrew. It is not word-for-word literal, and it is not a transcript of the recorded shiur — the audio carries explanation and context the translation deliberately leaves out.

case/objectrestrictive rulingpermissive rulingTanna
Structure
The Mishnah's Structure▾
תִּשְׁעָה בְאָב — מִי עוֹשֶׂה מְלָאכָה? שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת — עוֹשִׂין may work — never must שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ שֶׁלֹּא — אֵין עוֹשִׂין the minhag forbids וּבְכָל מָקוֹם — תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים בְּטֵלִים לְעוֹלָם יַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם עַצְמוֹ תַּלְמִיד חָכָם the gold ring holds both customs, and everyone inside it
Summary Chart
Working on Tisha B'Av and erev Pesach▾
CaseRulingReason
May one work on Tisha B'Av?Where the custom permits, yes; where it forbids, no—
What of a talmid chacham?Tanna Kamma: Everywhere, he refrains—
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel: One should always make himself a talmid chacham—
May one work on erev Pesach (until midday)?Chachamim: In Yehuda, yes — until midday; in the Galil, not at all—
And the night before?Beis Shammai: Forbidden—
Beis Hillel: Permitted until sunrise—
Transcript
A machine transcript of the recorded shiur.

This is the shiur as spoken, transcribed automatically and left unedited — the wording is Ephraim's, and occasional transcription errors remain. It follows the audio word by word.

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Mishnah Insights
An amalgam of commentaries, including original insights.

These insights draw on the commentaries to this Mishnah and on the recorded shiur. Those commentaries often rest on earlier sources — the Gemara, the Yerushalmi, the Rishonim, and one another — without always saying so; where they do, we generally cite the one we read. Every commentary consulted is kept, verbatim, with this card.

When the place's custom sets the workday▾

Why only a custom, if we are all avelim?

Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning, and a mourner is barred from melacha — so why does the mishnah leave working to local custom rather than forbidding it outright? Because an avel's ban on work binds only in fresh mourning; over a loss as ancient as the Churban it eases, and what remains is minhag, varying by place. The Meiri adds a grace note: the talmidei chachamim sit idle on Tisha B'Av, since they, more than anyone, feel the absence of the Place.

Why the night before is permitted

Why does Beis Hillel allow work on the night before, and forbid it only once the day itself begins? Hon Ashir answers by comparing the day to a fast. On Yom Tov, melacha is set aside so the day can be enjoyed — the restriction serves oneg. Erev Pesach is the reverse. Work is set aside not for the day's pleasure but for its labor: the hours are needed for clearing the chametz and baking the matzah, and, while the Mikdash stood, for making sure the Korban Pesach was not neglected. Because that need belongs to the daytime, the restriction belongs to the daytime too, and the night before stays open — just as a fast is kept by day and not the evening before. The mishnah's Tisha B'Av clause has the same shape: the night is permitted, the day is restricted, and in both the reason lives in the day itself.

שְׁאֵלַת חָכָם

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: let a person make himself like a talmid chacham and refrain from work on Tisha B'Av — and no onlooker will suspect yuhara (showing off), since they assume he simply has no work. Yet in Berachos, on a chasan who would recite Shema on his wedding night, it is Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel who does worry about yuhara — and the Rabbanan who do not. The same Tanna, the opposite stance. How do the two stand together?

Series Insights
Series context▾
← Previous
Taanis 4:7
The disciplines of the week
Mishnah 4 of 41
Pesachim 4:5
The custom of refraining from work
Next →
Megillah 1:3
Deferring the fast, so as not to accelerate mourning

Observance carried by custom

Alongside the fixed disciplines of the day, the series notes one that lives as custom: refraining from work. Its place-by-place variation, and the push for talmidei chachamim to keep it everywhere, show the Churban-mourning being woven into ordinary communal life rather than imposed by a single rule.

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