Commentary for Avodah Zarah 17:4
אי טעי ספרא נשייליה לתנא כמה חשיב ונבצר מינייהו עשרין שנין ומשכח ליה לחומריה וסימניך ספרא בצירא תנא תוספאה
If on the other hand a notary is uncertain, let him ask a Tanna what the year is according to his reckoning and deduct from it twenty years and he will find his calculation. As a mnemonic take, “The Scribe is reducing the Tanna is adding.”
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
Vice versa holds true for the notary.
What is interesting in this sugya is the existence of two separate ways of counting years—a secular one and a religious one. Such a phenomenon continues to this day, although we use two altogether different systems, a Christian one and one that counts from the creation of the world.
What is interesting in this sugya is the existence of two separate ways of counting years—a secular one and a religious one. Such a phenomenon continues to this day, although we use two altogether different systems, a Christian one and one that counts from the creation of the world.
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