Nittel

My basement is dark as squeak and I play chess behind locked doors.

As it turns out, I didn’t end up learning last night… I ended up cooking instead. Does that mean that everything I made is treif?

The Wolf

No, it means that at heart you’re a chosid. Now come out of the closet and start admitting the truth!

Nittel, take two.

I’m machmir.

still it is worthwile to be machmir

Some Jews realized that nittel was an opportune time to cut up toilet paper for all the shabosos of the year.

December 25 is not nittel. Pope Gregory in 1589 changed the calendar removing 10 or 11 days. Also full 100 century dates e.g. 1900 are not leap years anymore only when divisible by 400. So January 6 is now nittel only.

Look up Yabia Omer Chelek 7 Yorei Deah 20. If danger is the reason the commeration day is important not the change in calendar.

The above reply is for Folfishmusings December 25, 2012 post.

The Vilna Gaon learned on every night of the year including Nittel, which is my minhag.

R Moshe Feinstein ZTL held you cannot make any public affairs on nittel nacht (Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Chanukah Mesibos etc)

@Joseph What restrictions? Nittel is batul today because the reason of the minhag doesn’t exist anymore. Even according to those Rabbonim that slapped a semi-serious retroactive ta’am to it (killing the klipa, or whatever) it still doesn’t excuse bittul Torah. Second, unless you live in Russia or Egypt, where the Christians still hold of the Gregorian Calendar, there’s literally no reason to hold of nittel today. Yes Chabad, Breslov, and Satmar. I’m talking about you too.

Yeseribus: 1. Minhagim don’t get revoked willy nilly 2. You should ask mechilla from the Achronim you accused of being “semi-serious” 3. You should defer your own views on what is or justifies Bittul Torah to those of our Chachomim 4. Changing Christian calendars has no bearing on the continuation of this Mesorah.

@Joseph Give me a posek alive today who states that it’s better to be mevatel than to learn on either nittel nacht.

The minhag doesn’t apply today. But there are other minhagim that don’t apply but are still kept.

Yseribus: Yes, in writing multiple times published in his voluminous sh”ut seforim easily found in butei medrashim all over the world. Or you can speak to him directly and very easily in his shul in New York. And, no, he isn’t outnumbered whatsoever. In fact you haven’t cited a maare makom for anyone else who says otherwise.

Nitei Gavriel Nittel, Nitei Gavriel Chanukah p. 385, Nitei Gavriel Luach Dvar Beito, Nitei Gavriel Chanukah p. 410,

Small sample of other maare mekomos: Darkei Chaim Veshalom 828, Chasam Sofer 7:31, Makor Chaim of Chavos Yair 155, Igros Kodesh 13:120, Hayom Yom 17th Teves, Likkutei Sichos 14:554; Igros Kodesh 13:120; 14:351; Reshimos Hayoman p. 365, Hisvadyus 5750 2 p. 49; Reshimos Hayoman p. 365, Shaareiy Halacha Uminhag p. 179, etc.

Small sample of Achromim who held of nittel nacht themselves: Rav Yonason Eibashitz, Rav Yaakov Emden, Rav Yisrael Salanter, Maharsha, Maharam Schick and others

I stand corrected.

However, I specified a living posek, as Nittle was a thing due to violence in Europe which is clearly not nogeya anymore. In that respect, it looks like the Nitei Gavriel is a bit of a da’as yachid. I’ve never heard of a Yeshiva shutting down for Christmas, so it’s up to you to bring up a ma’arei makom.

@Joseph Just looked up the Nitei Gavriel after shacharis. You are correct (and you got about 95% of your comments and ma’arei mekomos from his extensive footnotes). He is very clear, though, that it’s almost exclusively a Chassidishe minhag and only in Chutz La’aretz. So there’s a good reason why most people today don’t hold of it.

Also, although he doesn’t say it outright, he seems to imply that there’s no known reason for the minhag, just a lot of possibilities brought down by various poskim, and it’s just מנהג ישראל תורה. That’s enough to not criticize Chassidim for not learning, but still a very shakey thing to have to rely on. So I guess that unless you’re from a Nusach Sefard family, don’t use a metal object to cut your beard and peyos, hold of exclusively Chassidishe shechita, and all the other Chassidishe chumros, there’s no real reason to be mevatel Torah on either night of Christmas.