Nittel Night - Rabbi Binyomin Cohen shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 Hello, everyone. There is a well-known custom not to study Torah on Nittel night. That’s the night between December 24 and 25, from sunset until midnight. Some places never observed this custom, while others did. We’ll try to explain where the custom comes from and why Torah is not studied then. The simple reason is that on that night, a holiday for non-Jews, non-Jews would harass Jews. It was dangerous for a Jew to be out on the street, so people did not go to Torah classes held in shuls and study halls. Because of the danger, they stayed off the streets and consequently did not study that night. For the same reason, they did not study at home either, because they would have needed to light a candle. There was no lighting like we have today, and there was concern that non-Jews might interpret a lit candle as a sign that the Jews were mocking them or celebrating. So they did not light candles at home either, and had no way to study. According to this straightforward explanation, the reason no longer applies today. There is no danger in going to a Torah class on the night of December 25, so there is no reason not to study. Indeed, in some circles, among the Litvish community and several other communities, they do not observe this custom at all and study as usual on Nittel night. In Muslim countries, the custom did not exist at all. Why? Because this date belongs to the Christian calendar, and in Muslim countries it had no significance. So in Muslim countries, among Sephardic communities and the like, people are not familiar with the custom of refraining from Torah study on the night of December 25. But there is another reason, which the Rebbe cites and which appears in several sources. According to this reason, we can understand why even today, when there is no danger, there is still a reason

03:32 Speaker 2 not to study Torah during those hours from sunset until midnight. The reason given is to avoid giving sustenance to the external forces—to avoid giving vitality to impurity and the kelipos. Torah study during their time could, so to speak, be credited to them or serve to elevate their souls. For this reason, the custom of not studying Torah until midnight is observed even today, when the concerns mentioned earlier no longer apply. Of course, that doesn’t mean one should sit idle. One can read stories of tzaddikim or accounts of great Torah figures, but not study Torah in the usual sense. The Rebbe Rashab, the fifth Chabad Rebbe, said that he was not fond of those scholars who insisted on studying specifically during those hours. In other words, there is an inner reason why we do not study at that time, and that is the practice in Chabad and several other communities. Of course, there are exceptions. If there is a special reason—for example, something was arranged in advance without taking the date into account, or there is some other particular need to hold a study session—that is an exception. Years ago, it was customary at the large yeshiva in Kfar Chabad for soldiers to come once a year and study a page of Gemara with the yeshiva students. That was the practice decades ago, and one year, without noticing the date, they arranged with the army for the soldiers to come on the afternoon of December 25. At the last moment, they realized it was Nittel night, when Torah is not studied. They could not change the date. It had already been set, and the only options were to study despite it being Nittel night or cancel the event altogether. The heads of

06:50 Speaker 2 the yeshiva at the time, Rabbi Katz, a"h, and Rabbi Gruzman, a"h, approached Rabbi Ashkenazi, a"h, who was the rabbi of Kfar Chabad then, and asked him what to do. Rabbi Ashkenazi ruled that because this was Torah study for a large group, and it would be canceled altogether if they did not go ahead, they should hold the session. I remember the soldiers arriving and studying with the students as usual, even though it was Nittel night. So there are exceptional cases. Although our practice is not to study on that night, study can be permitted in such special circumstances. For example, it is well known that we do not recite Tehillim at night, apart from special nights such as Friday night and the like. But if there is a need to recite Tehillim for a sick person’s recovery, or for a woman in labor to give birth safely, then it is permitted at night too. In other words, there is the ordinary situation and there is the exception, when we act differently. The same applies if someone is in a place, say a shul, where a regular class is held, and the people there are unfamiliar with this custom. If the person giving the class does not come, the class will be canceled: people will go home or just talk idly. In such a case, it is certainly better to hold the class. Even though it is Nittel night, this is a public Torah class that might otherwise be canceled altogether. That is especially true when people come to shul to daven and also attend the class; if it does not take place, the entire class and all that learning could come to an end. In such a case, one can rely on the opinions that did not accept

09:51 Speaker 2 the custom. And even for those who do observe it, this is a special need, for which study was permitted. It is along the lines of, “It is a time to act for Hashem; they have set aside Your Torah.” But under ordinary circumstances, as we know, we do not study on this night, so as not to give vitality to impurity or sustenance to the kelipos. We do other things, but not Torah study. There is also room to be lenient for someone who needs to study for an exam, because that study is not really for the sake of learning; it is for the exam—particularly if the person is not studying aloud, but only reviewing or summarizing material. If the exam is in a day or two and the person might otherwise not prepare properly, there is room to be lenient and allow the study, since it is being done to prepare for the exam and review the material properly. During this time, one can do other things, including things done for a mitzvah, but not study Torah. Studying could be seen as being, so to speak, like Torah study on a yahrzeit, when one studies to elevate the soul of the departed. We do not want this study, even indirectly, to be interpreted that way. So, to sum up: the custom is not to study at this time, on the night of December 25, from sunset until midnight. But if there is a particular need, such as a public class that might be canceled, some other need, or reviewing for an exam, one may study. Since it is not being done as study for its own sake, but for a particular reason, then this

13:07 Speaker 2 It is permissible. If someone has arranged to learn with a person who is becoming observant, who has drawn closer to Judaism, and that person tells him, “I have a free evening and I want to learn,” then again, there is room to consider permitting it. The question is: What is the alternative? What will that person do during that time if he does not learn? If they can spend the time on more general things—stories of tzaddikim, things that strengthen faith, rather than formal study—then of course they can do that. But if, when told that they cannot learn now, the person will go watch a movie or television, or read a newspaper, then clearly it is preferable to learn with him. Of course, we should try as much as possible to steer the session away from formal study and more toward words of encouragement and inspiration. But again, as we said, each case has to be considered on its own merits. We need to see what options or alternatives there are: If we do not learn at that time, what will we do instead? Then we can decide accordingly. Someone who is unsure and cannot decide on his own should consult his rav or mashpia about what to do in such a case. But in general, that is the approach: to see how to make use of the time. This is especially so if the class is given in the shul of a community that does not observe this custom at all. Someone comes to give them a class to strengthen them, so he follows their practice. They do not observe this custom, and the class has already been set for a particular day of the week and cannot be moved, meaning it would have to be canceled. It would be a shame for the class to be canceled. So of course, we do not cancel it; we hold the class, especially since the people coming to listen do not observe this custom. It is like someone who serves as the shliach

16:07 Speaker 2 tzibbur in a minyan that uses a different nusach: he says the Kaddish prayers and the repetition of the Amidah according to the congregation’s nusach. Why? Because the repetition of the Amidah is for the congregation, and the Kaddish prayers are for the congregation. Someone praying alone says neither the repetition nor Kaddish. So in his private prayer, he uses the nusach he normally follows. Suppose he uses Nusach Tehillat Hashem: he says his silent Amidah according to Tehillat Hashem, but the Kaddish prayers according to the congregation’s nusach, and likewise the repetition of the Amidah. We can apply the same principle to our subject. This learning is for the congregation, not for himself. If he needed to study something on his own, he would say, “On this day, during these hours, I won’t study. I’ll do something else now and study on another day or at another time.” But since it is being done for a congregation, especially one that does not observe this custom, there is certainly room to be lenient and follow the congregation’s practice—particularly so that a communal class is not canceled. We can see an example of how important it is not to cancel something that others customarily do, especially when it cannot be changed. In the year of the revolution in Tehran, many children came to the United States—boys and girls, including teenagers. They managed to bring many children out of there, and a large number arrived in the United States, in Crown Heights. This was shortly before Pesach. A communal Seder was arranged for those boys and girls, and the Rebbe asked that, since they were Jews from Iran, and rice is an important food at the Seder for Jews from Persia and Iran—they do, of course, eat kitniyos—bowls of rice should also be prepared for them at the Seder. The rice, of course, was to be checked beforehand to ensure it was kosher for Pesach.

19:04 Speaker 2 One might have said, “Wait, you are our guests now; you are with Chabad, and in Chabad we do not eat kitniyos. So for this Seder, you will eat without rice.” No. It was important to the Rebbe that those children feel at home and experience the Seder night as they had been accustomed to experiencing and observing it all those years. In other words, this was their custom, and it could not be shifted to another time: it was the Seder night, not some other day, and this was what they were accustomed to eating. So the Rebbe insisted and asked that rice be prepared for their Seder night meal. We see from this that even with a custom that is not our own—not only is it not our custom, but we have a custom not to eat kitniyos—when it concerns a community that practices differently, it would not be right to cancel that community’s custom. Of course, I am not talking about a custom based on a mistake. For example, there were places where they customarily served liquor on Shabbos when there was a groom or a bar mitzvah boy, in the middle of the Torah reading. That is a custom founded on a mistake. One does not drink during the Torah reading, and in that case one cannot say, “That is the custom,” and continue it. It was a mistaken practice adopted by unlearned people. But when something is a matter of disagreement among the halachic authorities, and some people practice that way, we must give serious consideration to that community’s custom and not cancel it. So here, too, if the class has already been scheduled, it should not be canceled—unless it is possible to plan in advance for it not to fall on that day, or to announce in advance that next week’s class will be held on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, for example, as a one-time change. Then, on the one hand, we observe the custom, and on the other, we do not cancel the class. But

21:25 Speaker 2 if it cannot be changed, then the class should indeed be held, and the congregation’s practice should not be canceled.