Rosh Hashanah 23

Chapter 23

א ומתוך ששינו מעשיהם שינה הקב"ה עליהם מעשה בראשית והעלה מזל כימה ביום ונטל שני כוכבים והביא מבול לעולם
1 and because they perverted their ways, the Holy One, blessed be He, changed for them the work of creation, and caused the constellation of Pleiades to rise at daybreak and took away two stars [from it] and brought a flood on the world'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' There seems to be some confusion in the text here. To make it astronomically correct we should read (with the Seder Olam) in the dictum of R. Joshua, 'When Pleiades rises at daybreak', and in the dictum of R. Eliezer, 'sets at daybreak'.');"><sup>1</sup></span> Now accepting the view of R'Joshua, we can understand why the word 'second' is used;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because we find Nisan called the first month in the Torah.');"><sup>2</sup></span>
ב בשלמא לר' יהושע היינו דכתיב שני אלא לר"א מאי שני שני לדין
2 but on R'Eliezer's view, what is meant by 'second'? - [It means], the second to [the day of] judgment.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which is also recognized by Scripture as the beginning of a year in the text, 'The eyes of the Lord are upon it (the Land of Israel) from the beginning of the year'.');"><sup>3</sup></span> Again, on R'Joshua's view we see what change there was in the work of creation; but on R'Eliezer's view what change was there?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Seeing that it was the season of rain.');"><sup>4</sup></span>
ג בשלמא לרבי יהושע היינו דשינה אלא לר"א מאי שינה
3 - The answer is found in the dictum of R'Hisda; for R'Hisda said: With hot liquid they sinned and with hot liquid they were punished.' With hot liquid they sinned', namely, in [sexual] transgression.'
ד כדרב חסדא דאמר רב חסדא ברותחין קלקלו וברותחין נידונו ברותחין קלקלו בעבירה וברותחין נידונו כתיב הכא (בראשית ח, א) וישכו המים וכתיב התם (אסתר ז, י) וחמת המלך שככה
4 With hot liquid they were punished': it is written here<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In connection with the Flood.');"><sup>5</sup></span> , and the waters assuaged,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. VIII, 1.');"><sup>6</sup></span>
ה ת"ר חכמי ישראל מונין למבול כר"א ולתקופה כר' יהושע חכמי אומות העולם מונין אף למבול כר' יהושע:
5 and it is written elsewhere, and the wrath of the king was assuaged.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Esth. VII, 10.');"><sup>7</sup></span> Our Rabbis taught: 'The wise men of Israel follow R'Eliezer in dating the Flood<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the years of Noah and the calendar from Tishri; Tishri being the New Year for years.');"><sup>8</sup></span>
ו ולירקות: תנא לירקות ולמעשרות ולנדרים לירקות מאי נינהו מעשר ירק
6 and R'Joshua in dating the annual cycles,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' They hold that the world was created in Nisan, v. supra p. 30, n. 5. tb,');"><sup>9</sup></span> while the scholars of other peoples follow R'Joshua in dating the Flood also'.
ז היינו מעשרות תנא דרבנן וקתני דאורייתא
7 AND FOR VEGETABLES. A Tanna taught: 'For vegetables and for tithes and for vows'.
ח וליתני דאורייתא ברישא איידי דחביבא ליה אקדמה ותנא דידן תנא דרבנן וכל שכן דאורייתא
8 What is meant by vegetables? The tithe of vegetables?
ט וליתני מעשר אחד מעשר בהמה ואחד מעשר דגן וליתני ירק תרי גווני ירק דתנן ירק הנאגד משיאגד ושאינו נאגד משימלא את הכלי
9 But this is the same as 'tithes'? - [The Tanna] mentions first a tithe prescribed by the Rabbis and then those prescribed by the Torah.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tithes for all other kinds of produce apart from vegetables are derived by the Rabbis from biblical texts. But v. Tosaf. s.v. .');"><sup>10</sup></span> But let him mention those prescribed by the Torah first? - Since he was specially pleased with the others,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because they were a rabbinic innovation.');"><sup>11</sup></span>
י ת"ר ליקט ירק ערב ראש השנה עד שלא תבא השמש וחזר וליקט
10 he mentions them first. And our Tanna [ - why does he not mention tithes]? - He mentions a tithe prescribed by the Rabbis,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., tithes for vegetables.');"><sup>12</sup></span> and [leaves us to infer] a fortiori those prescribed by the Torah. Why does not the Tanna here say simply 'tithe' [in the singular]? - He desires to include both the tithe of cattle and the tithe of cereals. Then why does he not say vegetable' [in the singular]? - He refers to two kinds of vegetables, as we have learnt: '[Tithe is to be given from] vegetables which are commonly made up into bundles, from the time they are so made up, and from those which are not commonly so made up, from the time when he fills a vessel with them. Our Rabbis taught: If one<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Apparently a non-Jew is meant (Tosaf.) .');"><sup>13</sup></span> gathered herbs on the eve of New Year before sunset, and then gathered some more
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