Erev Pesach: Siyum
Question
On what would I be able to make a siyum on in order not to have to fast on Erev Pesach?
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
Of course, you are referring to the Fast of the Firstborn, also known as the “Taanit Bechor.” This is a very unique fast day in Judaism, observed during the daylight hours on the eve of Passover. The primary reason for the fast is to recall the “Plague of the Firstborn” in Egypt when God killed all the Egpytion firstborn while the Jewish firstborn were spared.
The Fast of the Firstborn is also somewhat mournful in nature in that it recalls how the firstborn loss their priestly status, a status which had initially been granted them on the fourteenth of Nissan, the same date on which the fast is observed!
There is also a teaching that the fast also commemorates the salvation of the Jews from the hands of Haman in the Purim story. This is because Haman first hatched his plot to kill the Jews on the thirteenth of Nissan and, in response, Queen Esther decreed that the Jews of Shushan should fast for three days beginning the next day, the fourteenth of Nissan.
As one can tell by its name, only the firstborn have to fast. Firstborn women and girls generally do not fast.
As mentioned, this fast is especially unique because it essentially never takes place! This is because common custom is to dismiss the fast if one attends a “seudat mitzva,” a meal celebrating a mitzva or religious event. While a bris or pidyon haben would certainly qualify as a seudat mitzva to exempt the firstborn from fasting, this is not always practical.
The other, most common way, is for one to arrange to attend a “siyum,” a meal which celebrations the completion of a study of a tractate of Talmud. As such, many synagogues arrange for a scholar or other member to complete and celebrate a siyum in the synagogue so that the firstborns will be exempt from the fast. Even if one merely attended a siyum, one will not have to fast even if one did not partake of the meal or snacks that were served.
Source
Tractate Soferim 21:3
Shulchan Aruch, OC 470:1
See Rav Fried's Azamra L'ishmecha Newsletters, Hilchot Pesach