Rosh Hashanah 39

אלא אי אמרת לעולם חסר אמאי מחללינן משום דמצוה לקדש על הראייה

But if it is always defective, why should they profane it?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since the New Moon can be fixed without actual observation.');">¹</span> - Because it is a religious duty to sanctify [the New Moon] on the strength of actual observation.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Even though the observation is not necessary for the purpose.');">²</span>

איכא דאמרי א"ר נחמן אף אנן נמי תנינא על שני חדשים מחללין את השבת על ניסן ועל תשרי אי אמרת בשלמא לעולם חסר משום הכי מחללינן דמצוה לקדש על הראייה

According to another version, R'Nahman said: We also have learnt: 'For the fixing of two New Moons the Sabbath may be profaned, for those of Nisan and of Tishri'. Now if you say that the Adar which precedes Nisan is always defective, there is no difficulty; the reason why Sabbath may be profaned is because it is a religious duty to sanctify [the New Moon] on the strength of actual ob servation.

אלא אי אמרת זמנין מלא זמנין חסר אמאי מחללינן נעבריה האידנא ונקדשיה למחר

But if you say that it is sometimes full and sometimes defective, why should [the Sabbath] be profaned? Let us prolong [the month] today and sanctify [the New Moon] to-morrow?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., in all such cases we can make Adar thirty days, and if the watchers have seen the new moon on Sabbath, they need not report till the next day.');">³</span>

אי דאקלע יום שלשים בשבת ה"נ הכא במאי עסקינן דאקלע יום שלשים ואחד בשבת דמצוה לקדש על הראייה

- If the thirtieth day happens to be on Sabbath, that is actually what we do. Here, however, we are dealing with the case where the thirty-first day happens to fall on Sabbath [and we allow the Sabbath to be profaned because] it is a religious duty to sanctify on the strength of actual observation.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence we do not make New Moon on the thirtieth day, the new moon not yet having been observed, and it is not permitted to make it on the thirty-second.');">⁴</span>

מתיב רב כהנא כשהמקדש קיים מחללין אף על כולן מפני תקנת הקרבן

R'Kahana raised [against the instruction sent to Mar 'Ukba] the following objection: 'When the Temple stood, Sabbath was profaned for the fixing of all the months, for the sake of the adjustment of the sacrifice'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., so that the sacrifice for New Moon should be offered at the proper time.');">⁵</span> Now since the reason [for allowing the profanation of the Sabbath] was not in the case of all the other [months] because it is a religious duty to sanctify on the strength of actual observation, neither is the reason in the case of Nisan and Tishri because it is a religious duty to sanctify on the strength of actual observation.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But, as in the case of all the others, to secure that the New Moon offering should be brought on the proper day.');">⁶</span>

מדכולהו לאו משום דמצוה לקדש על הראייה ניסן ותשרי נמי לאו משום דמצוה לקדש על הראייה

Now if you say that the Adar preceding Nisan is sometimes full and sometimes defective, there is no difficulty: for the reason mentioned we allow the profanation of the Sabbath. But if you say that it is always defective, why should we allow the profanation?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Seeing that the observation makes no difference.');">⁷</span>

אי אמרת בשלמא זמנין מלא וזמנין חסר משום הכי מחללינן אלא אי אמרת לעולם חסר אמאי מחללינן תיובתא

- This is unanswerable.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'this is a confutation'.');">⁸</span> When 'Ulla came [from Palestine to Babylon], he said: They have prolonged Elul.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So as to prevent Sabbath and a festival falling on successive days.');">⁹</span>

כי אתא עולא אמר עברוה לאלול אמר עולא ידעי חברין בבלאי מאי טיבותא עבדינן בהדייהו

Said 'Ulla thereupon: Do our Babylonian colleagues recognize what a boon we are conferring on them? What was the boon? - 'Ulla said: On account of the vegetables;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which would become stale if kept over two days. Vegetables eaten raw are referred to, and of course, there could be no plucking on Sabbath or Festivals.');">¹⁰</span>

מאי טיבותא עולא אמר משום ירקיא רבי אחא בר חנינא אמר משום מתיא

R'Aha B'Hanina said: On account of the [unburied] dead.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which would commence to decompose if kept over two days.');">¹¹</span> What difference does it make [in practice which view we adopt here]? - There is a difference, in the case of a Day of Atonement coming just after Sabbath.

מאי בינייהו איכא בינייהו יוה"כ שחל להיות אחר השבת מאן דאמר משום מתיא מעברינן ומאן דאמר משום ירקיא לאימת קא בעי להו לאורתא לאורתא טרח ומייתי

According to him who says that the reason is because of the [unburied] dead, we prolong Elul [so as to prevent this], but according to him who says that it is because of vegetables, [we do not do so, because] when are the vegetables required? For the evening [after the Day of Atonement]; and in the evening we can get fresh ones.

ולמ"ד משום ירקיא לעבריה משום מתיא אלא איכא בינייהו יו"ט הסמוך לשבת בין מלפניה בין מלאחריה מ"ד משום ירקיא מעברינן ומאן דאמר משום מתיא אפשר בעממי

But even if we accept the view that the reason is because of vegetables, we should still prolong Elul because of the unburied dead? - We must therefore say that the practical difference is in the case of a festival which comes just before or just after Sabbath. In such a case, according to him who says the reason is because of vegetables,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which would be required on the second of the holy days.');">¹²</span>

ולמ"ד משום מתיא לעבריה משום ירקיא אפשר בחמימי

we prolong Elul [to prevent this], but according to him who says it is because of the [unburied] dead, [we do not do so], because they can be attended to by heathens. But even if we accept the view that it is because of the [unburied] dead, let us still prolong Elul on account of the vegetables? - Vegetables can be [freshened by being put] in hot water.

אי הכי מאי שנא לדידן אפילו לדידהו נמי לדידן חביל לן עלמא לדידהו לא חביל להו עלמא

If that is the case, why is it a boon only for us [in Babylon]? Why not also for them [in Palestine] - We suffer from oppressive heat, they do not suffer from oppressive heat.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the world is oppressive for us'. In Palestine vegetables or dead bodies could be kept for two days.');">¹³</span>

איני והתני רבה בר שמואל יכול כשם שמעברין את השנה לצורך כך מעברין את החדש לצורך ת"ל (שמות יב, ב) החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים כזה ראה וקדש

Is all this correct,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence we do not make New Moon on the thirtieth day, the new moon not yet having been observed, and it is not permitted to make it on the thirty-second.');">⁴</span> seeing that Rabbah B'Samuel has learnt: I might think that just as the year is prolonged in case of emergency,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' E.g., to make Passover fall in the season of new corn., v. Sanh. 11b.');">¹⁵</span>

אמר רבא לא קשיא כאן לעברו כאן לקדשו והכי קאמר יכול כשם שמעברין את השנה ואת החדש לצורך כך מקדשין את החדש לצורך תלמוד לומר החדש הזה לכם כזה ראה וקדש

so the month may be prolonged to meet an emergency; therefore it says, This month is for you the head of months,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XII, 2.');">¹⁶</span> [which implies], See [the moon] like this and then sanctify!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The word 'this' is interpreted to mean that God showed Moses the new moon as a model for all future time');">¹⁷</span>

וכי הא דאמר רבי יהושע בן לוי מאיימין על העדים על החדש שנראה בזמנו לעברו ואין מאיימין על העדים על החדש שלא נראה בזמנו לקדשו

- Raba replied: There is no contradiction: in the once case we speak of prolonging the month, in the other of sanctifying it,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. infra.');">¹⁸</span> and what [the above teaching] meant is this: I might say that just as the year is prolonged to meet an emergency, so the month may be sanctified to meet an emergency, therefore it says, 'This month is for you'; See [the moon] like this, and then sanctify.

איני והא שלח ליה רבי יהודה נשיאה לרבי אמי הוו יודעין שכל ימיו של רבי יוחנן היה מלמדנו מאיימין על העדים על החדש שלא נראה בזמנו לקדשו אע"פ שלא ראוהו יאמרו ראינו

This is illustrated by the dictum of R'Joshua B'Levi: 'Witnesses<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Men sent out by the Beth din to watch for the appearance of the new moon from points of vantage.');">¹⁹</span> can be intimidated [to withhold the report of] the new moon which has appeared in its due time<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., on the thirtieth day.');">²⁰</span>

אמר אביי לא קשיא הא בניסן ותשרי הא בשאר ירחי

in order that the month may be prolonged,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Over the thirtieth day and the next New Moon declared on the thirty-first, which shows that the month can be prolonged in case of need.');">²¹</span> but they may not be intimidated into reporting the new moon which has not appeared in its proper time in order that a New Moon may be sanctified [on the thirtieth]'.

רבא אמר הא דתני רבה בר שמואל אחרים היא דתניא אחרים אומרים אין בין עצרת לעצרת ואין בין ראש השנה לראש השנה אלא ד' ימים בלבד ואם היתה שנה מעוברת חמשה

Is this so? Did not R'Judah the Prince<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The grandson of Rabbi.');">²²</span>

רב דימי מנהרדעא מתני איפכא מאיימין על העדים על החדש שלא נראה בזמנו לקדשו ואין מאיימין על העדים על החדש שנראה בזמנו לעברו

send to R'Ammi a message saying: Know that when R'Johanan was alive he used to teach us that witnesses may be intimidated into reporting [on the thirtieth day] the new moon which has not appeared in its due time, in order that the New Moon may be sanctified, and even though they have not seen it they may say, We have seen it? - Abaye said: There is no contradiction: the one rule<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That the month may be sanctified to meet a special need.');">²³</span> holds good for Nisan and Tishri, the other for the other months of the year.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A 'special need' might arise in the other months of the year if, for instance, eight months in a year (which was the maximum) had already been made 'full' and in the next month the moon did not appear on the thirtieth: v. 'Ar. 8b.');">²⁴</span>

מ"ט

Raba said: This teaching which Rabbah B'Samuel learnt follows the 'Others', as it has been taught: 'Others say that between one Pentecost and another and between one New Year and 'another there are always four days [of the week] difference, or, if it was a leap year, five'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. p. 21, nn. 12, 13, and note. For this to happen the months would have to follow the moon strictly.');">²⁵</span> R'Dimi from Nehardea reports the teaching in the reverse form: 'Witnesses can be intimidated to report [on the thirtieth day] the appearance of the moon which has not appeared in its proper time, in order that the month may be sanctified, but they may not be intimidated to withhold the report of the new moon which has been seen at its proper time in order that the month may be prolonged. What is the reason?