Studying Torah on Shabbat Afternoon
Laws and Customs | August 01, 2025
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Studying Torah on Shabbat Afternoon

Laws and Customs | December 10, 2025
  • One may not study Torah on Shabbat afternoon as doing so will cause one to still be thinking of that Torah on the 9th of Av on which it is forbidden because Torah study gladdens the heart.
  • Some permit studying Torah on Shabbat afternoon. One who didn’t get a chance to complete his daily study of Chitas (Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya) or Rambam in the morning, may rely on this opinion and complete them in the afternoon.
  • Certainly, one may study parts of the Torah which are sad and/or relate to the destruction of the Bait HaMikdash. Several examples:
  • Megillat Eicha and the Midrash on Eicha
  • The sad parts of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) and Iyov (Job).
  • The last chapter of Tractate Mo’ed Kattan.
  • The story of the second destruction as recorded in Gittin 55b – 58a, or of the first destruction as recorded in Sanhedrin 96b and 97.
  • The Book of Josephus (Wars of the Jews).
  • The laws of mourning and of Tisha Be’Av may also be studied.
  • Some say that on this Shabbat afternoon one may study Chassidic books as long as one does not learn them in depth.
  • One may review the parsha and the Targum Onkelus (Shnayim Mikrah) on this Shabbat afternoon.
  • One may not study Torah on Shabbat afternoon as doing so will cause one to still be thinking of that Torah on the 9th of Av on which it is forbidden because Torah study gladdens the heart.
  • Some permit studying Torah on Shabbat afternoon. One who didn’t get a chance to complete his daily study of Chitas (Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya) or Rambam in the morning, may rely on this opinion and complete them in the afternoon.
  • Certainly, one may study parts of the Torah which are sad and/or relate to the destruction of the Bait HaMikdash. Several examples:
  • Megillat Eicha and the Midrash on Eicha
  • The sad parts of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) and Iyov (Job).
  • The last chapter of Tractate Mo’ed Kattan.
  • The story of the second destruction as recorded in Gittin 55b – 58a, or of the first destruction as recorded in Sanhedrin 96b and 97.
  • The Book of Josephus (Wars of the Jews).
  • The laws of mourning and of Tisha Be’Av may also be studied.
  • Some say that on this Shabbat afternoon one may study Chassidic books as long as one does not learn them in depth.
  • One may review the parsha and the Targum Onkelus (Shnayim Mikrah) on this Shabbat afternoon.
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Laws and Customs | August 01, 2025