Eruvin 111

פת קיבר ושכר חדש וירק לא קשיא הא בתומי וכרתי הא בשאר ירקי כדתניא שום ירק כרישין חצי ירק נראה צנון נראה סם חיים

black bread,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' panis cibarius.');">¹</span> new beer and vegetables?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Pes. 42a.');">²</span> - This is no difficulty, one [statement referring] to garlic and leek while the other [refers] to other vegetables; as it was taught: Garlic is a vegetable, leek is a semi-vegetable;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which proves that garlic and leek may be described as vegetables.');">³</span>

והא תניא נראה צנון נראה סם המות לא קשיא כאן בעלין כאן באמהות כאן בימות החמה כאן בימות הגשמים

if radish appears a life-giving drug has appeared. Was it not, however, taught: If radish appears a drug of death has appeared? - This is no contradiction, the latter might deal with the leaves while the former with the roots, or the latter might refer to the summer while the former might refer to the winter. Rab Judah citing Rab said: In a town which abounds with ascents and descents men and beasts die in the prime of their lives.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'in the half of their days'.');">⁴</span>

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב כל עיר שיש בה מעלות ומורדות אדם ובהמה שבה מתים בחצי ימיהן מתים ס"ד אלא אימא מזקינים בחצי ימיהן אמר רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע הני מולייתא דבי בירי ודבי נרש אזקנון

'Die'! Can one really think so? - Rather say: They age in the prime of life. R'Huna son of R'Joshua remarked: The crags between Be Bari and Be Narash have made me old.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Town south of Sura situated on a mountain slope on the east bank of the Euphrates, v. Obermeyer p. 308].');">⁵</span> Our Rabbis taught: If a town is to be squared<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. if for the purpose of measuring its Sabbath limits its irregular boundary lines are extended to form an imaginary square (cf. supra 55a) .');">⁶</span>

תנו רבנן בא לרבעה מרבעה בריבוע עולם נותן צפונה לצפון עולם ודרומה לדרום עולם וסימניך עגלה בצפון ועקרב בדרום

the sides of the square must be made to correspond to the four directions of the world: Its northern side, [for instance,] must correspond<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'gives'.');">⁷</span> to the North, and its southern side to the South; and your guiding marks<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In ascertaining the directions. vkdg');">⁸</span> are the Great Rear<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' , lit., 'wagon'.');">⁹</span>

רבי יוסי אומר אם אינו יודע לרבעה בריבוע של עולם מרבעה כמין התקופה כיצד חמה יוצאה ביום ארוך ושוקעת ביום ארוך זה הוא פני צפון חמה יוצאה ביום קצר ושוקעת ביום קצר זה הוא פני דרום תקופת ניסן ותקופת תשרי חמה יוצאה בחצי מזרח ושוקעת בחצי מערב

in the North and the Scorpion in the South. R'Jose said: If one<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Being unable to identify either of the two constellations.');">¹⁰</span> does not know how to square a town so as to make it correspond with the directions of the world, one may square it in accordance with the circuit of the sun.

שנאמר (קהלת א, ו) הולך אל דרום וסובב אל צפון הולך אל דרום ביום וסובב אל צפון בלילה סובב סובב הולך הרוח אלו פני מזרח ופני מערב פעמים מהלכתן ופעמים מסבבתן

How? - The direction in which on a long clay the sun rises<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At one end.');">¹¹</span> and sets<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At the other end.');">¹²</span> is the northern direction.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'face of the North'.');">¹³</span>

אמר רב משרשיא ליתנהו להני כללי דתניא לא יצאה חמה מעולם מקרן מזרחית צפונית ושקעה בקרן מערבית צפונית ולא יצאה חמה מקרן מזרחית דרומית ושקעה בקרן מערבית דרומית

The direction in which on a short day the sun rises<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At one end.');">¹¹</span> and sets<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At the other end.');">¹²</span> is the southern direction.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' At the summer solstice the sun appears to rise in N.E. to move along E., S., and W. and to set N.W., thus rising and setting in the North. As the days shorten and the nights lengthen the circuit of the sun appears steadily to diminish and the points of sunrise and sunset appear to move day after day from N.E. to E. and from N.W. to W. respectively (the autumnal equinox, when days and nights are equal) and then to S.E. and S.W. respectively (the winter solstice when the days are shortest and the nights longest) . On the shortest day, therefore, the sun appears to rise in S.E., to move only along S., and to set in S.W., thus rising and setting in the South.');">¹⁴</span>

אמר שמואל אין תקופת ניסן נופלת אלא בארבעה רבעי היום או בתחלת היום או בתחלת הלילה או בחצי היום או בחצי הלילה

At the vernal and autumnal equinoxes<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the circuit of Nisan (v. Glos.) and the circuit of Tishri (v. Glos.) .');">¹⁵</span> the sun rises in the middle point of the East and sets in the middle point of the West,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As shown supra p. 392, n. 12.');">¹⁶</span> as it is said in Scripture: It goet along<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' E.V. 'towards'.');">¹⁷</span>

ואין תקופת תמוז נופלת אלא או באחת ומחצה או בשבע ומחצה בין ביום ובין בלילה ואין תקופת תשרי נופלת אלא או בשלש שעות או בתשע שעות בין ביום ובין בלילה ואין תקופת טבת נופלת אלא או בארבע ומחצה או בעשר ומחצה בין ביום ובין בלילה

the south, and turneth about the<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' E.V. 'unto the'.');">¹⁸</span> north;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Eccl. I, 6.');">¹⁹</span> 'It goeth along the south' during the day 'and turneth about the north'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. hidden from view as if it turned about behind the North.');">²⁰</span>

ואין בין תקופה לתקופה אלא תשעים ואחד יום ושבע שעות ומחצה ואין תקופה מושכת מחברתה אלא חצי שעה

during the night. The wind turneth, turneth about moveth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. E.V., 'whirleth about continually'.');">²¹</span> refers to the eastern horizon and the western horizon along which the sun sometimes moves<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. is seen moving in the day time.');">²²</span>

ואמר שמואל אין לך תקופת ניסן שנופלת בצדק שאינה משברת את האילנות ואין לך תקופת טבת שנופלת בצדק שאינה מייבשת את הזרעים והוא דאיתליד לבנה או בלבנה או בצדק:

and sometimes turns about.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. hidden from view as if it turned about behind the North.');">²⁰</span> R'Mesharsheya stated: These rules<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On the points of sunrise and sunset.');">²³</span> should be disregarded for it was taught: The sun has never exactly risen in the North East and set in the North West, nor has it ever risen precisely in the South East and set in the South West. Samuel stated: Thee vernal equinox occurs only at the beginning of one of the four quarters of the day<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. the solar day of twenty-four hours, which includes both day and night.');">²⁴</span> viz. , either at the beginning of the day or at the beginning of the night or at midday or at midnight.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The year consists of three hundred and sixty-five days and six hours approx., representing fifty-two weeks and one and a quarter solar day's. The first vernal equinox which, according to tradition, occurred on the first of Nisan, which was then a Wednesday at the beginning of the first quarter of the solar day, i.e., at the 'beginning of the night' (solar days in the Heb. calendar beginning with nightfall) was consequently followed in the second year by a vernal equinox that began at the beginning of a second quarter of the solar day which was the 'midnight' of Thursday');">²⁵</span> The summer solstice only occurs either at the end of one and a half, or at the end of seven and a half hours of the day or the night.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The period intervening between an equinox and the following solstice and between a solstice and the following equinox is, as stated infra, ninety-one days and seven and a half hours approx., representing thirteen weeks and seven and a half hours. When the first vernal equinox occurred at the beginning of a Wednesday (cf. prev. n.) the following summer solstice must have occurred thirteen weeks later at the end of seven and a half hours after the beginning of the night belonging to that Wednesday. When the second vernal equinox occurred at the midnight of Thursday the summer solstice must have occurred thirteen weeks later at the end of one and a half hours after the beginning of the day also a Thursday. Since the third vernal equinox occurred on a Friday at the beginning of the day the following solstice must have occurred thirteen weeks later at the end of seven and a half hours of the day also a Friday. Finally when the fourth vernal equinox occurred at midday on Saturday, the following solstice must have occurred at the end of one and a half hours of the night of the Sunday thirteen weeks later.');">²⁶</span> The autumnal equinox only occurs at the end of three, or nine hours of the day or the night,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This is obtained by dropping the thirteen complete weeks (cf. prev. n.) which do not affect the weekday or the hour, and by adding the seven and a half hours to the respective summer solstices (cf. prev. nn.) .');">²⁷</span> and the winter solstice only occurs at the end of four and a half, or ten and a half hours of the day o the night.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' These calculations are arrived at by dropping the weeks and adding the hours (cf. prev. n.) to the respective times of the autumnal equinoxes, the same process as in the previous cases being repeated every four years.');">²⁸</span> The duration of a season of the year<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the lapse of time between an equinox and a solstice that follows it, and between a solstice and an equinox that follows it.');">²⁹</span> is no longer than ninety-one days and seven and a half hours; and the beginning of one season is removed from that of the other by no more than one half of a planetary hour.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Every hour of the day is assumed to be governed by the sun, the moon or one of the undermentioned planets in the following order: Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun and Venus. It follows that every eighth hour is under the influence of the same heavenly body. Since, for instance, Mercury is in ascendancy in the first hour of the first day of the week, it is also in ascendancy in the eighth, the fifteenth and the twenty-second hour and so on ad infinitum. Similarly Venus who is in ascendancy in the seventh hour of the first day of the week is also in ascendancy in the fourteenth and the twenty-first hour etc. Now since the beginning of one season is removed from that of the next season (as stated supra) by thirteen weeks and seven and a half hours and since in every week (consisting of 7 X 24 hours) the same relative order and succession of the heavenly bodies is invariably repeated, the weeks may be entirely disregarded in the calculations that determine what heavenly body would exercise its influence at the beginning of a season. The seven and a half hours only having to be taken into consideration, and the number of heavenly bodies concerned being seven, it follows that the same heavenly body that was in ascendancy at the beginning of a season is again in ascendancy during the last half hour of that season and during the first half hour of the season that follows. Every season thus begins 'one half of a planetary hour' later than the preceding one.');">³⁰</span> Samuel further stated: The vernal equinox never begins under Jupiter<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. the hour under the influence of this planet (cf. prev. n.) .');">³¹</span> but it breaks the trees, nor does the winter solstice begin under Jupiter but it dries up the seed. This, however, is the case only when the new moon occurred in the moon-hour or in the Jupiter-hour.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sc. the hour under the influence of this planet (cf. prev. n.) .');">³¹</span>