Arakhin 17

Chapter 17

א קדים אתי סיהרא תלתא יומי השתא נמי קא קדים אתי תרי יומי

1 the new moon<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The new moon, coming say on Wednesday, with New Year starting only on the Sabbath. This discrepancy would cause popular murmuring against the 'arbitrariness of the Sages'.');">1

ב כדאמר רב משרשיא כגון שהיתה שנה מעוברת הכא נמי כגון שהיתה שנה שלפניה מעוברת ועיבור שנה חודש דל ירחא מליא בהדי ירחא חסירא ואכתי חד יומא לא אדעתייהו דאינשי

2 would come three days too early! But now, too. It would come two days too early?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But the arrangement of eight months, too, would leave a difference of two days, hence what is the value of limiting it to eight full months? Normally six full months plus six defective ones would take care of the situation.');">2 - This is in accord with what R'Mesharsheya said: 'It refers to a case where the preceding year was prolonged',3 Here, too, the reference is to a year following a prolonged year, and the prolongation of a year is one month.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which may be either full or defective, and having made the intercalation of the preceding year defective, we have regained one day. which is counter-balanced by one day of the eight full months this year.');">4 But put one full month against one incomplete month, and there will be still one day left?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Yet, even with one month full, and one month of last year incomplete. we gain only one day, so that one day still intervenes between the new moon of Tishri and the fixation of the New Year; so that popular clamour against the Sanhedrin's margin would be aroused still.');">5

ג עולא אמר לא נראה לחכמים לחסר יתר על שמונה ומאי טעמא קאמר מה טעם אין פוחתים מארבעה חדשים המעוברים בשנה משום דלא נראה לחכמים לחסר יתר על שמונה

3 - People do not pay too much attention to that.6 'Ulla said: [the meaning is,] It did not seem right to the Sages to make more than eight defective months. He [the Tanna] states here a reason:7

ד מאי שנא תשעה דלא דאם כן מייתרא סיהרא תלתא יומי השתא נמי קא מייתרא תרי יומי

4 What is the reason that it did not seem right to the Sages to have less than four full months?

ה כדאמר רב משרשיא כגון שהיתה שנה מעוברת הכא נמי כגון שהיתה שנה שלפניה מעוברת דל ירחא חסירא בהדי ירחא מליא

5 Because it did not seem right to them to have more than eight defective months. Why not nine? Because in that case the new moon would be coming three days too late?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'Ulla's interpretation of the Mishnah: No less than four full months, but not more either, because 'it did not seem right to the Sages to have more than eight defective months', so that the New Moon should not appear three days after the New Year.');">8

ו ואכתי איכא חד יומא סברי איתחזויי איתחזי ואנן לאו אדעתין

6 But now, too, it would be coming two days too late? - That is to be explained in accord with R'Mesharsheya: 'It refers to a case where the preceding year was prolonged'; here, too, the reference is to a year following a prolonged year.9 Deduct one defective month against one full month, and still there will be one day left?10 They [the people] will say: It [the moon] has actually been seen, whilst we had paid no attention.11 [

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