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- ב"ה - Today in Judaism - Today is Sunday, 8 Kislev, 5778 · November 26, 2017Daily Quote: If I am not for myself, who is for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? (Hillel (Ethics of the Fathers 1:14))
Daily Torah Study:
Chumash: Vayishlach, 1st Portion Genesis 32:4-32:13 with Rashi
• English / Hebrew Linear Translation
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• Daily Wisdom (short insight)
Genesis Chapter 32
4Jacob sent angels ahead of him to his brother Esau, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. דוַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח יַֽעֲקֹ֤ב מַלְאָכִים֙ לְפָנָ֔יו אֶל־עֵשָׂ֖ו אָחִ֑יו אַ֥רְצָה שֵׂעִ֖יר שְׂדֵ֥ה אֱדֽוֹם:
Jacob sent angels: Heb. מַלְאָכִים, literally angels (Gen. Rabbah 75:4).
וישלח יעקב מלאכים: מלאכים ממש:
to the land of Seir: Heb. אַרְצָה שֵׂעִיר [like] לְאֶרֶץ שֵׂעִיר, to the land of Seir. [In] every word that requires the prefix “lammed” [to] at the beginning, Scripture placed a“heh” at the end. — [from Yev. 13b]
ארצה שעיר: לארץ שעיר, כל תיבה שצריכה למ"ד בתחילתה הטיל לה הכתוב ה"א בסופה:
5And he commanded them, saying, "So shall you say to my master to Esau, 'Thus said your servant Jacob, "I have sojourned with Laban, and I have tarried until now. הוַיְצַ֤ו אֹתָם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֣ה תֹֽאמְר֔וּן לַֽאדֹנִ֖י לְעֵשָׂ֑ו כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ עַבְדְּךָ֣ יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב עִם־לָבָ֣ן גַּ֔רְתִּי וָֽאֵחַ֖ר עַד־עָֽתָּה:
I have sojourned: Heb. גַּרְתִּי. I did not become an officer or a dignitary, but a stranger (גֵּר) . It is not worthwhile for you to hate me on account of your father’s blessing, [with] which he blessed me (27:29):“You shall be a master over your brothers,” for it was not fulfilled in me (Tanchuma Buber Vayishlach 5). Another explanation: גַּרְתִּי has the numerical value of 613. That is to say: I lived with the wicked Laban, but I kept the 613 commandments, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.
גרתי: לא נעשיתי שר וחשוב אלא גר, אינך כדאי לשנוא אותי על ברכות אביך שברכני (לעיל כז כט) הוה גביר לאחיך, שהרי לא נתקיימה בי. דבר אחר גרתי בגימטריא תרי"ג, כלומר עם לבן הרשע גרתי ותרי"ג מצות שמרתי ולא למדתי ממעשיו הרעים:
6And I have acquired oxen and donkeys, flocks, manservants, and maidservants, and I have sent to tell [this] to my master, to find favor in your eyes.' " ווַֽיְהִי־לִי֙ שׁ֣וֹר וַֽחֲמ֔וֹר צֹ֖אן וְעֶ֣בֶד וְשִׁפְחָ֑ה וָֽאֶשְׁלְחָה֙ לְהַגִּ֣יד לַֽאדֹנִ֔י לִמְצֹא־חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֶֽיךָ:
And I have acquired oxen and donkeys: My father said to me, (27:28):“of the dew of the heavens and [of] the fatness of the earth,” but this is neither from the heavens nor from the earth. — [from Tanchuma Buber Vayishlach 5]
ויהי לי שור וחמור: אבא אמר לי (כז כח) מטל השמים ומשמני הארץ, זו אינה לא מן השמים ולא מן הארץ:
oxen and donkeys: Heb. שׁוֹר וַחִמוֹר, lit., an ox and a donkey. It is customary to call many oxen “ox.” A person says to his companion at night, “The rooster has crowed,” but does not say, “The roosters have crowed.” - [from Tanchuma Buber Vayishlach 5]
שור וחמור: דרך ארץ לומר על שורים הרבה שור. אדם אומר לחבירו בלילה קרא התרנגול, ואינו אומר קראו התרנגולים:
and I have sent to tell [this] to my master: to let [you] know that I am coming to you. —
ואשלחה להגיד לאדוני: להודיע שאני בא אליך:
to find favor in your eyes: That I am at peace with you and seek your love. —
למצא חן בעיניך: שאני שלם עמך ומבקש אהבתך:
7The angels returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is also coming toward you, and four hundred men are with him." זוַיָּשֻׁ֨בוּ֙ הַמַּלְאָכִ֔ים אֶל־יַֽעֲקֹ֖ב לֵאמֹ֑ר בָּ֤אנוּ אֶל־אָחִ֨יךָ֙ אֶל־עֵשָׂ֔ו וְגַם֙ הֹלֵ֣ךְ לִקְרָֽאתְךָ֔ וְאַרְבַּע־מֵא֥וֹת אִ֖ישׁ עִמּֽוֹ:
We came to your brother, to Esau: Concerning whom you said,“He is my brother,” but he still behaves toward you like the wicked Esau. He still has hatred (Genesis Rabbah 75:7).
באנו אל אחיך אל עשו: שהיית אומר אחי הוא, אבל הוא נוהג עמך כעשו הרשע, עודנו בשנאתו:
8Jacob became very frightened and was distressed; so he divided the people who were with him and the flocks and the cattle and the camels into two camps. חוַיִּירָ֧א יַֽעֲקֹ֛ב מְאֹ֖ד וַיֵּ֣צֶר ל֑וֹ וַיַּ֜חַץ אֶת־הָעָ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּ֗וֹ וְאֶת־הַצֹּ֧אן וְאֶת־הַבָּקָ֛ר וְהַגְּמַלִּ֖ים לִשְׁנֵ֥י מַֽחֲנֽוֹת:
Jacob became…frightened, and…distressed: He was frightened lest he be killed (Gen. Rabbah 75:2, Tanchuma, Vayishlach 4), and he was distressed that he might kill others.
ויירא ויצר: ויירא שמא יהרג, ויצר לו אם יהרוג הוא את אחרים:
9And he said, "If Esau comes to one camp and strikes it down, the remaining camp will escape." טוַיֹּ֕אמֶר אִם־יָב֥וֹא עֵשָׂ֛ו אֶל־הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֥ה הָאַחַ֖ת וְהִכָּ֑הוּ וְהָיָ֛ה הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֥ה הַנִּשְׁאָ֖ר לִפְלֵיטָֽה:
one camp and strikes it down: Heb. וְהִכָּהוּ הַמַחִנֶה הָאַחַת. [The word] מַחִנֶה is used both in the masculine and feminine genders. [Other examples are:] (Ps. 27:3):“If a camp encamps (תַּחִנֶה) against me.” This is feminine. (Below, 33: 8)“this (הַזֶה) camp.” That is masculine. Likewise, there are other things (nouns) that are used both in the masculine and feminine genders, e.g. (above 19:23):“The sun (הַשֶׁמֶשׁ) came out (יָצָא) upon the earth” ; (Ps. 19:7):“From the end of the heavens is its source (מוֹצָאוֹ) .” These are masculine. (II Kings 3:22):“the sun shone (זָרְחָה) on the water.” This is feminine. And likewise, רוּחַ, wind (Job 1:19):“when, behold, a great (גְדוֹלָה) wind came (בָּאָה) .” This is feminine;“and struck (וַיִגַע) the four corners of the house.” This is masculine. [Another instance is] (I Kings 19:11):“and a great (גְדוֹלָה) and strong (וְחָזָק) wind, splitting (מְפָרֵק) mountains.” This is both masculine and feminine. Likewise, אֵשׁ, fire, as (Num. 16:35):“And fire went forth (יָצְאָה) from before the Lord,” feminine gender; (Ps. 104:4):"burning (לֹהֵט) fire, masculine gender.
המחנה האחת והכהו: מחנה משמש לשון זכר ולשון נקבה. (תהלים כז ג) אם תחנה עלי מחנה, הרי לשון נקבה, (לג ח) המחנה הזה, לשון זכר. וכן יש שאר דברים משמשים לשון זכר ולשון נקבה, (לעיל יט כג) השמש יצא על הארץ, (תהלים יט ז) מקצה השמים מוצאו, הרי לשון זכר. (מ"ב ג כב) השמש זרחה על המים, הרי לשון נקבה. וכן רוח (איוב א יט) והנה רוח גדולה באה, הרי לשון נקבה, (שם) ויגע בארבע פנות הבית, הרי לשון זכר, (מ"א יט יא) ורוח גדולה וחזק מפרק הרים, הרי לשון זכר ולשון נקבה. וכן אש (במדבר טז לה) ואש יצאה מאת ה', לשון נקבה. (תהלים קד ד) אש לוהט, לשון זכר:
the remaining camp will escape: Against his will, for I will wage war with him. He (Jacob) prepared himself for three things: for a gift, for war, and for prayer. For a gift, [as Scripture says] (verse 22): “So the gift passed on before him.” For prayer, [as Scripture says] (verse 10): “God of my father Abraham…” For war, [as Scripture says]: “the remaining camp will escape.” - [from Tanchuma Buber, Vayishlach 6]
והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה: על כרחו כי אלחם עמו. התקין עצמו לשלשה דברים לדורון, לתפלה ולמלחמה. לדורון להלן (פסוק כב) ותעבור המנחה על פניו. לתפלה (פסוק י) אלהי אבי אברהם. למלחמה והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה:
10And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord, Who said to me, 'Return to your land and to your birthplace, and I will do good to you.' יוַיֹּ֘אמֶר֘ יַֽעֲקֹב֒ אֱלֹהֵי֙ אָבִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖י אָבִ֣י יִצְחָ֑ק יְהֹוָ֞ה הָֽאֹמֵ֣ר אֵלַ֗י שׁ֧וּב לְאַרְצְךָ֛ וּלְמֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וְאֵיטִ֥יבָה עִמָּֽךְ:
and God of my father Isaac: But elsewhere (31:42), it says: and the Fear of Isaac. Moreover, why did he repeat the Tetragrammaton? Scripture should have written: “Who said to me, ‘Return to your land, etc.’ ” Rather, so did Jacob say before the Holy One, blessed be He: You gave me two promises: one when I left my father’s house from Beer-sheba, when You said to me (28: 13): “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac,” and there You said to me, (ibid., verse 15): “and I will guard you wherever you go.” And in Laban’s house You said to me (31:3), “Return to the land of your forefathers and to your birthplace, and I will be with you.” There You revealed Yourself to me with the Tetragrammaton alone, for it is said:“And the Lord (יהוה) said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your forefathers, etc.’” With these two promises I am coming before You.
ואלהי אבי יצחק: ולהלן הוא אומר (לא מב) ופחד יצחק, ועוד מהו שחזר והזכיר שם המיוחד, היה לו לכתוב האומר אלי שוב לארצך וגו'. אלא כך אמר יעקב לפני הקב"ה שתי הבטחות הבטחתני אחת בצאתי מבית אבי מבאר שבע, שאמרת לי (כח יג) אני ה' אלהי אברהם אביך ואלהי יצחק, ושם אמרת לי (שם טו) ושמרתיך בכל אשר תלך. ובבית לבן אמרת לי (לא ג) שוב אל ארץ אבותיך ולמולדתך ואהיה עמך, ושם נגלית אלי בשם המיוחד לבדו, שנאמר (לא ג) ויאמר ה' אל יעקב שוב אל ארץ אבותיך וגו', בשתי הבטחות האלו אני בא לפניך:
11I have become small from all the kindnesses and from all the truth that You have rendered Your servant, for with my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. יאקָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַֽחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכָּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י בְמַקְלִ֗י עָבַ֨רְתִּי֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֣ן הַזֶּ֔ה וְעַתָּ֥ה הָיִ֖יתִי לִשְׁנֵ֥י מַֽחֲנֽוֹת:
I have become small: My merits have diminished because of the kindnesses and the truth that You have rendered me. Therefore, I fear lest I have became sullied with sin since [the time that] You promised me, and it will cause me to be delivered into Esau’s hand[s]. — [from Shab. 32a, Ta’anith 20b, Ber. 41]
קטנתי מכל החסדים: נתמעטו זכיותי על ידי החסדים והאמת שעשית עמי, לכך אני ירא, שמא משהבטחתני נתלכלכתי בחטא ויגרום לי להמסר ביד עשו:
and from all the truth: The realization of Your words, that You kept for me all the promises that You made to me.
ומכל האמת: אמיתת דבריך, ששמרת לי כל ההבטחות שהבטחתני:
for with my staff: I had with me neither silver nor gold nor livestock, but only my staff. The Midrash Aggadah states: He placed his staff into the Jordan, and the Jordan split. — [from Tanchuma Buber, Vayetze 3; Aggadath Bereishith 45:2]]
כי במקלי: לא היה עמי לא כסף ולא זהב ולא מקנה אלא מקלי לבדו. ומדרש אגדה נתן מקלו בירדן ונבקע הירדן:
12Now deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, lest he come and strike me, [and strike] a mother with children. יבהַצִּילֵ֥נִי נָ֛א מִיַּ֥ד אָחִ֖י מִיַּ֣ד עֵשָׂ֑ו כִּֽי־יָרֵ֤א אָֽנֹכִי֙ אֹת֔וֹ פֶּן־יָב֣וֹא וְהִכַּ֔נִי אֵ֖ם עַל־בָּנִֽים:
from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: From the hand of my brother, who does not behave toward me like a brother, but like the wicked Esau. — [apparently from Gen. Rabbah 75:7]
מיד אחי מיד עשו: מיד אחי שאין נוהג עמי כאח אלא כעשו הרשע:
13And You said, 'I will surely do good with you, and I will make your seed [as numerous] as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of multitude.'" יגוְאַתָּ֣ה אָמַ֔רְתָּ הֵיטֵ֥ב אֵיטִ֖יב עִמָּ֑ךְ וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י אֶת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּח֣וֹל הַיָּ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יִסָּפֵ֖ר מֵרֹֽב:
I will surely do good: Heb. הֵיטֵב אֵיטִיב. [The double expression denotes:] הֵיטֵב, [I will do good] in your merit; אֵיטִיב, [I will do good] in the merit of your forefathers (Gen. Rabbah 76:7).
היטב איטיב: היטב בזכותך, איטיב בזכות אבותיך:
and I will make your seed [as numerous] as the sand of the sea: Now where did He tell him this? Is it not so that He said to him only (28:14): “And your seed shall be like the dust of the earth” ? But He said to him (ibid. 15): “for I will not forsake you until I have done for you what I have spoken concerning you,” and to Abraham He said (22:17): “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore.”
ושמתי את זרעך כחול הים: והיכן אמר לו כן, והלא לא אמר לו אלא (שם כח יד) והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ. אלא שאמר לו (כח טו) כי לא אעזבך עד אשר אם עשיתי את אשר דברתי לך, ולאברהם אמר (כב יז) הרבה ארבה את זרעך ככוכבי השמים וכחול אשר על שפת הים:
Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 44 - 48• Hebrew text
• English text
Chapter 44
The psalmist cries and laments painfully over this bitter exile, where we and our Torah are shamed daily, when the nations say that God has exchanged us for another nation, and where we are considered as sheep for the slaughter, as a byword and taunt. It is therefore fitting that God redeem us, for the sake of His great Name that abides with us in exile.
1. For the Conductor, by the sons of Korach, a maskil.1
2. God, with our ears we have heard, our fathers have told us, of the deeds You wrought in their days, in the days of old.
3. You drove out nations with Your hand, and planted [Israel in their place]; You afflicted peoples and banished them.
4. For not by their sword did they inherit the land, and their own arm did not save them, but by Your right hand, Your arm and the light of Your countenance-for You favored them.
5. You are my king, O God; decree the salvation of Jacob.
6. Through You will we gore our adversaries; with Your Name we will trample our opponents.
7. For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword cannot save me.
8. For You have delivered us from our foes, and You shamed those who hate us.
9. In God we glory all day, and forever thank Your Name, Selah.
10. Though You abandon and disgrace us, and do not go forth with our armies;
11. You cause us to retreat from the oppressor, and those who hate us plunder for themselves;
12. You deliver us like sheep to be devoured, and scatter us among the nations;
13. You sell Your nation without gain, and do not set a high price upon them;
14. You make us a disgrace to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us;
15. You make us a byword among the nations, [a cause for] nodding the head among the peoples;
16. all day long my humiliation is before me, and the shame of my face covers me
17. at the voice of the reviler and blasphemer, because of the foe and avenger-
18. all this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You, nor have we been false to Your covenant.
19. Our hearts have not retracted, nor have our steps strayed from Your path.
20. Even when You crushed us in the place of serpents, and shrouded us in the shadow of death-
21. did we forget the Name of our God, and extend our hands to a foreign god?
22. Is it not so that God can examine this, for He knows the secrets of the heart.
23. For it is for Your sake that we are killed all the time; we are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.
24. Arise! Why do You sleep, my Lord? Wake up! Do not abandon [us] forever!
25. Why do You conceal Your countenance and forget our affliction and distress?
26. For our souls are bowed to the dust, our bellies cleave to the earth.
27. Arise! Be our help, and redeem us for the sake of Your kindness.
FOOTNOTES
1.A psalm intended to enlighten and impart knowledge(Metzudot).
Chapter 45
The psalmist composed this psalm referring to Moshiach. He describes his greatness, his attributes, his glory, his wealth, and his reign; and states that Israel anticipates him, remembering and saying in every generation, "When will King Moshiach come?"
1. For the Conductor, upon the shoshanim,1 By the sons of Korach; a maskil,2 a song of love.
2. My heart is astir with a noble theme; I say, "My composition is for the king;3 my tongue is the pen of a skillful scribe.”
3. You are the most handsome of men, charm is poured upon your lips; therefore has God blessed you forever.
4. Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one-it is your majesty and splendor.
5. And with your splendor, succeed and ride on for the sake of truth and righteous humility; and your right hand will guide you to awesome deeds.
6. Your arrows are sharpened-nations fall beneath you-[the arrows fall] into the hearts of the king's enemies.
7. Your throne, O ruler, is forever and ever, [for] the scepter of justice is the scepter of your kingdom.
8. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore has God, your God, anointed you with oil of joy above your peers.
9. Myrrh, aloes and cassia are [the fragrance] of all your garments, which are from ivory palaces that bring you joy.
10. Daughters of kings visit you, and the queen stands erect at your right hand, adorned in the fine gold of Ophir.
11. Hear, O daughter, and observe, incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house.
12. Then the king will desire your beauty. He is your master-bow to him.
13. The daughter of Tyre, the wealthiest of nations, will seek your favor with a gift.
14. All the glory of the princess is within; her clothing surpasses settings of gold.
15. In embroidered garments she will be brought to the king; the maidens in her train, her companions, will be led to you.
16. They will be brought with gladness and joy, they will enter the palace of the king.
17. Your sons will succeed your fathers; you will appoint them ministers throughout the land.
18. I will cause Your Name to be remembered throughout the generations; therefore will the nations praise You forever and ever.
FOOTNOTES
1.A musical instrument shaped like a shoshana, a rose (Metzudot).
2.A psalm intended to enlighten and impart knowledge(Metzudot).
3.Reffering to the Messiah. (Metzudot).
Chapter 46
This psalm tells of the Gog and Magog era (the Messianic age), when man will cast aside his weapons, and warfare will be no more.
1. For the Conductor, by the sons of Korach, on the alamot,1 a song.
2. God is our refuge and strength, a help in distress, He is most accessible.
3. Therefore, we will not be afraid when the earth is transformed, when mountains collapse in the heart of the seas;
4. when its waters roar and are muddied, and mountains quake before His grandeur, Selah.
5. The river2-its streams will bring joy to the city of God, the sacred dwelling of the Most High.
6. God is in her midst, she will not falter; God will help her at the approach of morning.
7. Nations clamor, kingdoms stumble; He raises His voice and the earth dissolves.
8. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold forever.
9. Go and see the works of the Lord, Who has wrought devastation in the land.
10. To the end of the earth He causes wars to cease; He breaks the bow, snaps the spear, and burns the wagons in fire.
11. Stop [waging war]! And know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, exalted upon the earth.
12. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold forever.
FOOTNOTES
1.A musical instrument (Rashi)
2.Flowing from Eden (Rashi)
Chapter 47
Following the battle of Gog and Magog (in the Messianic era), war will be no more. God will grant us salvation, and we will merit to go up to the Holy Temple for the festivals, Amen.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by the sons of Korach.
2. All you nations, clap hands; sound [the shofar] to God with a sound of jubilation.
3. For the Lord is most high, awesome; a great King over all the earth.
4. He subdues peoples under us, nations beneath our feet.
5. He chooses our heritage for us, the glory of Jacob whom He loves eternally.
6. God ascends through teruah, the Lord-through the sound of the shofar.
7. Sing, O sing to God; sing, O sing to our King.
8. For God is King over all the earth; sing, O man of understanding.
9. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.
10. The most noble of the nations are gathered, the nation of the God of Abraham; for the protectors of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.
Chapter 48
The psalmist prophesies about the Messianic era, singing the praises of a rebuilt Jerusalem and the sacrifices brought there. At that time Israel will say, "As we heard from the mouths of the prophets, so have we merited to see!"
1. A song, a psalm by the sons of Korach.
2. The Lord is great and exceedingly acclaimed in the city of God, His holy mountain.
3. Beautiful in landscape, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the northern slopes, the city of the great King.
4. In her citadels, God became known as a tower of strength.
5. For behold, the kings assembled, they advanced in concert [to invade her].
6. They saw [the wonders of the Almighty] and were astounded; they were terror-stricken, they hastened to flee.
7. Trembling seized them there, pangs as of a woman in the throes of labor;
8. [they were crushed as] by an east wind that shatters the ships of Tarshish.
9. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God; may God establish it for all eternity.
10. God, we have been hoping for Your kindness [to be revealed] within Your Sanctuary.
11. As Your Name, O God, [is great,] so is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
12. Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the towns of Judah exult, because of Your judgments.
13. Walk around Zion, encircle her, count her towers.
14. Consider well her ramparts, behold her lofty citadels, that you may recount it to a later generation.
15. For this God is our God forever and ever; He will lead us eternally.
Tanya: Kuntres Acharon, middle of Essay 4• English Text (Lessons in Tanya)
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Sunday, Kislev 8, 5778 · November 26, 2017
Today's Tanya Lesson
Kuntres Acharon, middle of Essay 4
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The Alter Rebbe will now point out the superior quality inherent in the very service of action-related mitzvotin comparison to intellectually-generated love and awe. For the direction of the latter form of divine service is merely elevation (haalaah), which causes a corresponding “elevation of the lights” above. The ultimate intent of creation is fulfilled not by this, but by the practical commandments, for their function is the drawing down (hamshachah) of Divinity to a state of revelation in this world below.
ובר מן כן דין
Besides all the above,1 i.e., all the above-mentioned ways in which the action-related mitzvot are superior to intellectually-aroused love and fear, there is yet another superior quality to the practical mitzvot:
אפילו בנשמה דאצילות, אף שהיא מכלים דאצילות
Even in the case of a soul of Atzilut, though it derives from the vessels of Atzilut,
וכן בנפש רוח, מכלים דיצירה עשיה
and equally in the case of Nefesh-Ruach which derive from the vessels of Yetzirah-Asiyah,2
הנה רחימו אולי צריך לומר: דחילו ורחימו שכליים שלהם מעוררים גם כן בכלים דיצירה עשיה בחינת העלאה ממטה למעלה, באתערותא דלתתא
their intellectual love [3this should possibly read: “fear and love”], which themselves are a mode of elevation, also arouse in the vessels of Yetzirah-Asiyah a state of upward elevation, through an arousal initiated from below.
וזהו בחינת הסתלקות לבד, חס ושלום
However, this is a state of departure alone, G‑d forbid.
The effect on the vessels is that they depart upwards and do not fulfill their purpose, just as love and fear that do not descend into expression in mitzvot are also in a state of elevation and departure. When love and fear do descend into mitzvot, they enhance the effect of the mitzvot in drawing down Divine light.
אבל בחינת המשכה מלמעלה למטה, הוא על ידי מצות מעשיות דוקא, להמשיך אור בכלים
But eliciting from above downward is effected only by means of the practical mitzvot, which draw light into the vessels,
ובחיצוניות הכלים דוקא, שחיצוניות העליון יורד למטה, ופנימיות התחתון עולה למעלה
and specifically into the external aspect of the vessels, so that the external aspect of the superior level descends, while the internal aspect of the inferior level rises.
As created beings thus experience an upward-directed longing for the Divine, Divinity descends into this world.
וזהו שכתוב בזהר, פרשת פקודי הנ״ל, דאית סדורא כו׳
This is the intent of the above-quoted Zohar in Parshat Pekudei,4 that “there is an order [of elevation and an order of descent].”
ושתיהן צורך גבוה, העלאה והמשכה
Both are needed for the Divine purpose, i.e., for man’s spiritual service, the elevation and the elicitation,
על ידי העלאת מין נוקבין מס״ג, בבחינת עובדא ומלולא
by the elevation of mayin nukvin from the Divine Name Sa’g that is accomplished (by the elevation of the sparks) by deed and speech.
וזהו תכלית ההשתלשלות, להתגלות אור עליון למטה
This is the ultimate purpose of the downward progression of all the various worlds — that the supernal light be revealed below,
ולא לעלות התחתון למעלה, שזה אינו אלא לפי שעה
and not that the inferior level be elevated, for this [elevation] can only be momentary, until a further descent.
ואף גם זאת, דוקא עליות הכלים לאורות עליונים
And even so, when an elevation is necessary, this involves — not the ascent of the light, for that would be a move toward departure, but — specifically an elevation of the vessels toward the supernal lights.
היא מעלת השבת ויום הכפורים
This is the specific quality of Shabbat and Yom Kippur, at which time there is an “elevation of the worlds” (aliyat haolamot), where the vessels are in a state of elevation towards the supernal lights,
אבל לא עליות והסתלקות האורות, חס ושלום, כמו שכתוב בפרי עץ חיים
but not the elevation and departure of the lights, G‑d forbid, as is written in Pri Etz Chayim.5
ונפש רוח נשמה של האדם, לגבי גופו בעולם הזה, חשיבי כאורות לגבי כלים
The Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah of man relative to his physical body in This World are considered as lights relative to vessels.
וכן דחילו ורחימו שכליים, לגבי מצות מעשיות
So too are intellectual fear and love, relative to mitzvot of action; they, too, are considered as lights relative to vessels.
ולכן התפלל משה רבנו עליו השלום תפלות כמנין ואתחנן, על קיום מצות מעשיות דוקא
This is why Moses offered [515] prayers equivalent in number to [the Hebrew word] Vaetchanan,6 asking that he be privileged to enter the Holy Land, specifically so that he could fulfill the practical mitzvot.
Only in the Holy Land can the practical mitzvot be fulfilled in their entirety — and the fulfillment of the practical mitzvot is the ultimate purpose of the entire Hishtalshelut, for through them Divinity is drawn down to this nether world.
והוא הדין לדבור גשמי של הלכותיהן
So too as regards the physical utterance of their laws.
For by uttering and studying the laws of the mitzvot with physical speech one also draws down the light below.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | Note of the Rebbe: “On the forthcoming text see Or HaTorah, Parshat Acharei, p. 549ff.” |
| 2. | Note of the Rebbe: “Inspection of the manuscripts of Kuntres Acharon is required, for it appears that the text is incomplete and should read as follows: ‘...and equally in the case of Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah and the vessels of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah...in the vessels of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, in the state of....’ However, Or HaTorah gives the text as above.” |
| 3. | The brackets are in the original text. |
| 4. | P. 249a. |
| 5. | Shaar HaShabbat, ch. 7 of the Introduction, et al. |
| 6. | Devarim 3:23; Devarim Rabbah 11:9. |
• Sefer Hamitzvot:
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Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
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Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 171
Giving a Half Shekel
"Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to G‑d"—Exodus 30:12.
Every Jewish man is obligated to contribute annually a half a shekel [to the Temple coffers].
This biblical mitzvah only applies during the Temple Era.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
Giving a Half Shekel
Positive Commandment 171
Translated by Berel Bell
Positive Commandment 172
The 171st mitzvah is that we are commanded to give a half shekel1 every year.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "Each man shall give an atonement offering for his life," and, "[Everyone included in the census] shall give [a half shekel.]"
It is clear that women are not obligated in this mitzvah, since the verse says, "Everyone included in the census" [and only men were in the census].
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the tractate devoted to this subject, i.e. tractate Shekalim.
There it is explained that this mitzvah applies only when the Holy Temple is standing.
FOOTNOTES
1.Or one half of whatever coin is in use at a particular time (Hilchos Shekalim 1:5). This money was used to purchase the communal sacrifices, as well as other necessities (ibid. 4:1).
2.Ex. 30:12-13
Positive Commandment 153Calculating Months and Years
"This month shall be to you the beginning of months"—Exodus 12:2.
We are commanded to establish a calendar and calculate its months and years. The months are lunar months, with a new month established when the new moon appears; the years follow the solar seasonal cycle, necessitating the periodic addition of an extra (thirteenth) month to a year – which then becomes a "leap year" – because twelve lunar months are several days short of a solar year. This mitzvah is known as Sanctifying the New Moon.
This mitzvah is entrusted to the Jewish Supreme Court that presides in Israel. Unlike the counting of six days and then observing the Shabbat, a mitzvah that is incumbent upon every individual, no individual can unilaterally decide that a new month has arrived simply because he espied the new moon, and no individual can decide to add a month to the calendar based on his personal (even Torah-based) calculations.
Only the Supreme Court can make these calculations, and only in the Land of Israel. We follow the rulings issued by the Supreme Court in Israel even if they inadvertently established the "wrong" day as the New Moon, even if they did so under duress.
In the event that there are no qualified rabbis remaining in Israel, these calculations can be made, and months and leap years established, by a court that was ordained in Israel—even if it finds itself in the Diaspora.
Today we no longer sanctify the months based on the testimony of witnesses who saw the new moon, because there is no longer a sitting rabbinical Supreme Court in Israel—much as we no longer offer sacrifices, because we lack a Holy Temple.
But under no circumstances can an individual or court outside of Israel establish a new month or a leap year. Our calculations today in the Diaspora are only to determine which days the Court in Israel established as the New Moon, and which years they established as leap years.
[Editor's Note: Nachmanides asks, if so, how do we have holidays and a calendar today, when there is no rabbinical Supreme Court in Israel? He answers that there is a tradition that Hillel the Prince, who resided in Israel, established a calendar until the arrival of Moshiach, and sanctified all the new months and leap years until that time. Therefore, we can use our calculations to determine exactly what he previously established.]
Some laws associated with this mitzvah:
- The extra month added to a leap year is the one contiguous to the month of Passover—i.e. Adar.
- The establishment of new months and leap years must be done during daylight hours.
- A year must be comprised of complete months; a month must be comprised of complete days.
Calculating Months and Years
Positive Commandment 153
Translated by Berel Bell
The 153rd mitzvah is that G‑d (exalted be He) commanded us to calculate the months and years.1 This is the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh (Sanctifying the Moon).
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "[And G‑d said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt,] 'this month [Nissan] shall be the head month to you.' "
In their explanation of this mitzvah, the Sages said,3 "This testimony is given lochem ["you", plural]."4 The meaning of this statement: This mitzvah is not incumbent on every individual as is Shabbos, for example, where every single individual counts six days and rests on the seventh. In our case, it would mean that every individual who sees the appearance of the new moon would consider that day Rosh Chodesh [the first of the month]; Or that an individual could use the Torah-approved calculations to himself determine Rosh Chodesh; Or that he could himself estimate that the produce would not yet ripen [by Pesach]5, or consider any of the other factors6 which are used in determining [the calendar] — and then [himself declare a leap year and] add a month!
However, this mitzvah can only be performed by the Bais Din Hagadol, and only in Eretz Yisroel7. Therefore, since today there is no Bais Din HaGadol, we no longer determine the months on the basis of testimony, just as we no longer bring sacrifices because there is no Holy Temple.
group of heretics known here in the East8 as Karaites have erred in this principle.9 Not even all of the Rabbis have grasped it, and as a result, grope around with them together in deep darkness.10
must understand that the calculations which we use today to know11 when Rosh Chodesh and the holidays occur, may only be done in Eretz Yisroel. Only in cases of dire need, when there are no Sages in Eretz Yisroel, and when the Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel was previously ordained in Eretz Yisroel, is it permissible to declare a leap year or determine Rosh Chodesh outside Eretz Yisroel — as Rabbi Akiva did, as explained in the Gemara.12 This is a very extreme measure, and it is well known that in the majority of cases, it was done only in Eretz Yisroel. They [i.e. the Sages in Eretz Yisroel] are the ones to establish the months and declare a leap year, when they gather together and use the accepted methods.
is a very important principle upon which the Torah's perspective13 on this subject is based, which is only understood and fully realized by those who delve deeply into the Torah, as follows. This that we outside Eretz Yisroel use our system to make calculations and we declare that "this day is the first of the month," and "this day is a holiday," does not in any way mean that we are making this day based on our calculations. Rather, it is because the Bais Din in Eretz Yisroel has already established that the day is a holiday or Rosh Chodesh. The day becomes a holiday or Rosh Chodesh upon their declaration, "Today is Rosh Chodesh, or "Today is a holiday"; regardless of whether they based their actions on calculations or testimony.14
[that the Bais Din HaGadol in Eretz Yisroel has absolute authority] is known to us through the verse15, "[Speak to the Israelites and tell them, 'These are the holidays] that you shall designate.' " Our Sages explain16, "These are the only holidays." The meaning of this statement, as passed down in the Oral Tradition: whatever they [i.e. the Bais Din] designate as holidays are considered holidays, even if they made an error, were forced [into making a declaration], or misled.
calculations which we make today are only to know which day they established in Eretz Yisroel, since they use the exact same system to make calculations and to determine the day – not testimony. Therefore, we are really basing ourselves on their determination, rather than our own calculations, which are only used to reveal [what they already determined previously]. One must clearly understand this.
will give some additional explanation: let us assume, for example, that there would be no Jewish inhabitants in Eretz Yisroel (G‑d forbid such a thing, since He has already promised that he will never completely wipe out or uproot the Jewish nation17); that there would be no Bais Din there, nor a Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel which had been ordained in Eretz Yisroel. In such a case, our calculations would be totally futile,18 since we, who dwell outside Eretz Yisroel, may not make the calculations, nor declare leap years nor establish the months without the conditions mentioned above,19 since, "For from Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the L‑rd from Jerusalem."20 A person who fully understands the words of the Talmud in this subject will, upon meditation, undoubtedly agree with the abovementioned.
Torah contains brief references to the basic principles which are relied upon to know when Rosh Chodesh and the leap years occur. Among them: "This law must therefore be kept at its designated time (l'moadah)."21 Our Sages said,22 "This teaches you that one may add on to the leap year only close to the holiday" [moed, i.e. Pesach23].
also said,24 "From which verse do we derive that only during the daytime may we officially add on to the month or officially declare Rosh Chodesh? From the verse,25 'miyamim yamimah.' "26
[So too,] G‑d's statement27 (exalted be He), "[This month shall be the head month to you; the first month] of the months of the year." On this our Sages said,28 "The year must be composed of months, not of [odd] days", meaning that when adding on to the year, a complete month must be added.29
There is also a verse,30 "a month of days." Our Sages commented,31 "the month must be composed of days, not of [odd] hours". [So too] the verse,32 "safeguard the month of Aviv,"33 which implies that in calculating the year we must take into account the seasons. Therefore, they shall be years [based not only on the moon but also] based on the sun.
All the details of this mitzvah have been completely explained in the first chapter of Sanhedrin,34 in tractate Rosh Hashanah,35 and in Berachos.
FOOTNOTES
1.The lunar month has approximately 29 1/2 days. Since, as mentioned later in this mitzvah, a month may only consist of complete days, one must determine whether a particular month has 29 or 30 days. This could be done either by witnesses, who testified that they saw the moon appear on the 30th day, or by making the astronomical calculations.
In addition, the holidays must fall out in the proper season: Pesach in the spring, etc. Since the lunar year is only 354 days and the solar year 365 days, each lunar year is 11 days short. Therefore, an additional lunar month must be periodically added in order to maintain the proper timing of the holidays.
2.Ex. 12:2.
3.Rosh Hashanah 22a.
4.I.e. to Moshe and Aharon. In later generations, it applies to the most important heads of the generation. See Rashi, ibid.
5.This would be a sign that Pesach is too early and therefore a month must be added.
6.Such as the spring solstice falling out later than the 16th of Nissan.
7.Unless there is no Sage in Eretz Yisroel of sufficient stature. See below.
8.I.e. Egypt. See Heller edition, note 10.
9.And therefore, even in the Rambam's times, they attempted to do this mitzvah by determining the calendar on the basis of testimony, each location individually. See Yad Halevi, note 8.
10.Trying to disprove the Karaites with faulty reasoning — saying, for example, that the primary mitzvah is to base everything on calculations, rather than testimony, even when the Bais Din HaGadol was in existence (unlike the Rambam's reasoning). See Kapach, 5731, note 40. The Rambam therefore proceeds to explain the function of the calculations.
11.See below for the preciseness of this wording — that today we use the calculations only to "know" what was previously established, not to ourselves establish Rosh Chodesh.
12.Berachos 63a.
13.This phrase can also be translated, "full understanding." See Kapach, 5731, note 44.
14.See note below regarding today's situation, where there is no Bais Din Hagadol in Eretz Yisroel.
15.Lev. 23:2.
16.Rosh Hashanah 25a.
17.For the source of this statement, see Tzafnas Paneach; Yermiyahu 31:35-36 and Guide to the Perplexed Part II, ch.28 (quoted in Kapach, 5731, note 51.)
18.The Ramban asks, if so, how can we have holidays and a calendar today?
However, there is a tradition (see Rashba, responsa, Vol.4, No.254) that Hillel HaNassi, in Eretz Yisroel, established a calendar until the arrival of Moshiach. Therefore, we can use our calculations to determine exactly what was previously established. According to many commentaries (see, for example, Megillas Esther; Chinuch) this is also the opinion of the Rambam. However, see Avnei Nezer, Orach Chaim, 310, 311; Maharam Shick, Mitzvah 4; Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Deah, 234.
19.I.e. in cases of dire need, when there are no Sages in Eretz Yisroel, and when the Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel was previously ordained in Eretz Yisroel.
20.Yeshayahu 2:3.
21.Ex. 13:10.
22.Mechilta D'Rashbi.
23.The extra month of the leap must be an additional Adar, right before Nissan, the month of Pesach.
24.Mechilta D'Rashbi.
25.Ex. 13:10.
26.Literally, "from day to day." The standard translation of this verse, however, is "from year to year," or "every year."
27.Ex. 12:2.
28.Megilah 5a.
29.Unlike the solar leap year, where one day is added.
30.Num. 11:21.
31.Megillah 5a.
32.Deut. 16:1.
33.I.e. the spring solstice.
34.11a.
35.20a.
Rambam:
• 1 Chapter A Day: Kri'at Shema Kri'at Shema - Chapter Three
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• 3 Chapters A Day: Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Three, Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Four, Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Five
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• English Text | Video ClassSunday, Kislev 8, 5778 · 26 November 2017
"Today's Day"
Sunday, Kislev 8, 5704
Torah lessons: Chumash: Vayishlach, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 44-48.
Tanya: We must understand (p. 611)...and the like. (p. 613).
Man should ponder thoughtfully how great are the kindnesses of the Creator: Such a puny insignificant being, Man, can bring great delight to the "Greatest of all great"' of Whom it is written, "There is no delving into His greatness."1 Man ought therefore always be inspired, and perform his avoda with an eager heart and spirit.
FOOTNOTES
1.Tehillim 145:3.
Daily Thought:
Grasping Truth
Blind faith cannot grasp Truth, because it does not grasp anything at all.
Intellect cannot grasp Truth, because intellect is finite and Truth is infinite.
Only the eye of the soul, its inner wisdom, can grasp Truth and know it as she knows her own self.
For she is Truth.
-------
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Kri'at Shema - Chapter Three
In the second chapter, the Rambam discussed various halachot regarding the proper state of mind necessary for the reciting of the Shema. In Chapter 3, the discussion centers on the proper physical surroundings required for the performance of the mitzvah and those situations that preclude its fulfillment.
Deuteronomy 23:10-15 discusses the laws regarding army camps, giving as a fundamental guiding principle: "God walks among your camp, therefore,... your camp must be holy" (ibid.., 15). Included in that guideline is the obligation for every soldier to carry a spade in order to cover his excrement (ibid.. 23:14). (See Positive Commandments 192 and 193 in Sefer HaMitzvot of the Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 6:14-15.)
Since these laws were instituted because "God walks among your camp," it follows that they are also relevant when the Jews attempt to relate to God through prayer. Thus, these verses also serve as the source for the laws regarding the prohibition of reciting the Shema in the presence of feces as discussed in this chapter.
Commenting on the above verses, the Sifri states: "From here, we are taught that one should not recite the Shema next to the soakings of the clothes washers" - i.e., that one should not recite the Shema in a place where there is a foul odor or an unclean substance.
1
One who recites the Shema should wash his hands with water before reciting it.
If the time for reciting the Shema arrives and he cannot find water, he should not delay his recitation in order to search for water. Rather, he should clean his hands with earth, a stone, or a beam [of wood] or a similar object, and then recite.
א
הקורא את שמע רוחץ ידיו במים קודם שיקרא הגיע זמן קריאתה ולא מצא מים קודם שיקרא לא יאחר קריאתה וילך לבקש מים אלא מקנח ידיו בעפר או בצרור או בקורה וכיוצא בהן וקורא:
Commentary on Halachah 1
2
One should not recite the Shema in a bathhouse or latrine - even if there is no fecal material in it - nor in a graveyard or next to a corpse. If he distances himself four cubits from the grave or the corpse, he is permitted to recite it. Anyone who recites in an improper place must recite the Shema again.
ב
אין קורין לא בבית המרחץ ולא בבית הכסא אע"פ שאין בו צואה ולא בבית הקברות ולא בצד המת עצמו ואם הרחיק ארבע אמות מן הקבר או מן המת מותר לקרות וכל מי שקרא במקום שאין קורין בו חוזר וקורא:
Commentary on Halachah 2
3
The Shema may be recited facing, but not inside, a latrine that has been newly built, but not used as of yet. [In contrast,] the Shema may be recited in a new bathhouse.
In the case of two buildings, one of which was designated for use as a latrine and, concerning the other, the owner said: "And this..." - a doubt remains regarding the latter: whether it also was appropriated for a similar use or not.
Therefore, one should not deliberately recite the Shema there. However, after the fact, if he recited it there, he has fulfilled his obligation.
If the owner said: "Also this," both have been designated for this use, and the Shema may not be recited in them.
It is permissible to recite the Shema in the courtyard of the bathhouse, i.e., the place where people stand clothed.
ג
בית הכסא החדש שהוכן ועדיין לא נשתמש בו מותר לקרות קריאת שמע לנגדו אבל לא בתוכו מרחץ החדש מותר לקרות בתוכו היו שני בתים זימן אחד מהם לבית הכסא ואמר על השני וזה הרי השני ספק אם הזמינו לכך אם לא לפיכך אין קורין בו לכתחלה ואם קרא יצא אמר גם זה הרי שניהם מזומנין ואין קוראין בהן חצר המרחץ והוא המקום שבני אדם עומדין בו לבושין מותר לקרות בו קריאת שמע:
Commentary on Halachah 3
4
Not only Kri'at Shema, but nothing pertaining to matters of sanctity may be uttered in a bathhouse or latrine, even in a language other than Hebrew.
Not only speech, but even thoughts pertaining to the words of Torah are forbidden in a bathhouse, latrine or other unclean places - i.e., a place where feces or urine is found.
ד
ולא קריאת שמע בלבד אלא כל ענין שהוא מדברי הקדש אסור לאומרו בבית המרחץ ובבית הכסא ואפילו אמרו בלשון חול ולא לאמרו בלבד אלא אפילו להרהר בלבו בדברי תורה בבית הכסא ובבית המרחץ ובמקום הטנופת והוא המקום שיש בו צואה ומי רגלים אסור:
Commentary on Halachah 4
5
Secular matters may be discussed in a latrine, even in Hebrew. Similarly, the terms used to express Divine attributes, such as merciful, gracious, faithful and the like, may be uttered in a latrine.
However, the specific names of the Almighty - i.e., those which may not be erased - may not be mentioned in a latrine or bathhouse that has been used. If a situation arises where it is necessary to restrain someone from wrongdoing, this should be done, even in Hebrew and even concerning matters of sanctity.
ה
דברים של חול מותר לאמרן בלשון קדש בבית הכסא וכן הכנויים כגון רחום וחנון ונאמן וכיוצא בהן מותר לאמרן בבית הכסא אבל השמות המיוחדים והן השמות שאינן נמחקין אסור להזכירן בבית הכסא ובבית המרחץ ישן ואם נזדמן לו להפריש מן דבר האסור בבית המרחץ או בבית הכסא מפריש ואפילו בלשון קודש ובעניני קודש:
Commentary on Halachah 5
6
The Shema may not be recited in the presence of human feces, or in the presence of dog or pig excrement while skins are soaking in it, or in the presence of any other feces like these that have a foul odor. This is also the case regarding human urine, but not animal urine.
One need not distance oneself from the feces or urine of a child unable to eat the weight of an olive of grain cereal, in the time in which an adult could eat an amount equivalent to the weight of three eggs.
ו
צואת האדם וצואת כלבים וחזירין בזמן שיש בתוכן עורות וכל צואה שריחה רע כגון אלו אסור לקרות קריאת שמע כנגדן וכן כנגד מי רגלים של אדם אבל מי רגלים של בהמה קורין כנגדן קטן שאינו יכול לאכול כזית דגן בכדי שיאכל הגדול כשלשה ביצי דגן אין מרחיקין לא מצואתו ולא ממי רגליו:
Commentary on Halachah 6
7
One may not recite the Shema next to feces, even if they are as dry as a shard. However, if they were so dry that, if thrown away, they would crumble, one may recite the Shema facing them.
If urine that has been soaked up into the ground is still sufficiently wet to moisten one's hand, the Shema should not be recited facing it. If it has dried sufficiently, the Shema may be recited.
ז
היתה צואה יבשה כחרש אסור לקרות כנגדה ואם היתה יבשה יותר מחרש עד שאם זרקה תתפרך הרי היא כעפר ומותר לקרות כנגדה מי רגלים שנבלעו בקרקע אם היו מרטיבין היד אסור לקרות כנגדן ואם לאו מותר:
Commentary on Halachah 7
8
How far must a person distance himself from feces or urine in order to recite the Shema? Four cubits. This applies when they are at his side or behind him, but if they are in front of him, he should move until he cannot see them, and then recite [the Shema].
ח
כמה ירחיק אדם מצואה וממי רגלים ואחר כך יקרא ארבע אמות במה דברים אמורים בזמן שהם מלאחוריו או מצדיו אבל אם היו כנגד פניו מרחיק מהן עד שלא יראה אותן ואח"כ יקרא:
Commentary on Halachah 8
9
When does the above apply? When he is in an enclosure with them, and they are on the same level. However, if they are 10 handbreadths higher or lower than he, he may sit next to them and recite the Shema, since there is a space separating them.
The above applies provided no foul smell reaches him. Similarly, if he were to cover the feces or urine with a vessel, it would be considered as buried, even though it would still be in the room, and it is permitted to recite [the Shema] next to it.
ט
בד"א כשהיה עמהן בבית במקום שוה אבל אם היה שם מקום גבוה מהן עשרה טפחים או נמוך מהם עשרה טפחים יושב בצד המקום וקורא שהרי נפסק ביניהם והוא שלא יגיע לו ריח רע וכן אם כפה כלי על הצואה או על מימי רגלים אף על פי שהן עמו בבית הרי אלו כקבורין ומותר לקרות כנגדן:
Commentary on Halachah 9
10
A person who is separated from feces by a glass partition, may recite the Shema next to them even if he can still see them. If a quarter log of water is added to the urine of one micturition, the Shema may be recited within four cubits of it.
י
היה בינו ובין הצואה מחיצה של זכוכית אע"פשהוא רואה אותה מאחרי הזכוכית מותר לקרות בצדה נתן רביעית מים לתוך מי רגלים של פעם אחת מותר לקרות עמהן בתוך ד' אמות:
Commentary on Halachah 10
11
If feces are found in a hole in the ground, a person may stand with his shoe over the hole and recite the Shema. However, his shoe may not touch the feces.
If one finds very small feces, the size of a drop, he may expectorate thick saliva upon it to cover it, and then recite the Shema.
When there is a residue of feces on one's skin or one's hands are dirty from the washroom, if - because of the small quantity or its dryness - there is no foul odor, he may recite the Shema, since there is no foul odor.
However, if it is still in its place, even if not visible when he stands, since it is visible when he sits, he is forbidden to recite the Shema until he cleans himself very well. This is because of the moist nature and foul smell of the feces.
Many Geonim taught that one is forbidden to recite the Shema if one's hands are soiled, and it is proper to heed their teaching.
יא
היתה צואה בגומא עומד בסנדלו על הגומא וקורא והוא שלא יהיה סנדלו נוגע בה היתה כנגדו צואה מעוטה ביותר כמו טיפה רוקק עליה רוק עבה עד שתתכסה וקורא היתה נטישת צואה על בשרו או ידיו מטונפות מבית הכסא ולא היה להן ריח רע כלל מפני קוטנן או יבשותן מותר לקרות לפי שאין להן ריח רע אבל אם היתה במקומה אף ע"פ שאינה נראית כשהוא עומד הואיל ונראית כשהוא יושב אסור לקרות עד שיקנח יפה יפה מפני שהצואה לחה היא ויש לה ריח רע וכמה גאונים הורו שאסור לו לקרות אם היו ידיו מטונפות וכך ראוי לעשות:
Commentary on Halachah 11
12
[When the source of] a foul odor has substance, one may distance himself four cubits and recite the Shema provided the odor has subsided. If it has not subsided, he should distance himself further until it ceases.
If [the odor] is not emanating from an actual substance - e.g., it is the result of someone passing gas - he should distance himself until the odor ceases and [then] recite.
It is forbidden to recite the Shema in front of a cesspool or chamber pot, even if it is empty and has no foul smell, as it is similar to a latrine.
יב
ריח רע שיש לו עיקר מרחיק ד' אמות וקורא אם פסק הריח ואם לא פסק הריח מרחיק עד מקום שפסק הריח ושאין לו עיקר כגון מי שיצא ממנו רוח מלמטה מרחיק עד מקום שתכלה הריח וקורא גרף של רעי ועביט של מימי רגלים אסור לקרות קריאת שמע כנגדן ואף על פי שאין בהן כלום ואין להם ריח רע מפני שהם כבית הכסא:
Commentary on Halachah 12
13
It is forbidden to recite the Shema while facing moving excreta - e.g., excreta floating on the water. The mouth of a pig is regarded as moving excreta. Therefore, the Shema may not be recited facing it, until it has moved four cubits away.
יג
צואה עוברת כגון שהיתה שטה על פני המים אסור לקרות כנגדה ופי חזיר כצואה עוברת דמי ואסור לקרות כנגדו עד שיעברו ממנו ארבע אמות:
Commentary on Halachah 13
14
A person who reaches an unclean place while he is walking and reciting the Shema, should not place his hand over his mouth and [continue] his recitation. Rather, he should stop reciting until he has passed this particular place.
Similarly, if one is reciting [the Shema] and passes gas, he should stop until the odor subsides and resume his recitation afterwards. The same applies to one studying Torah.
When another person passes gas, even though one should stop reciting the Shema, he need not interrupt his Torah study.
יד
היה קורא והגיע למקום הטנופת לא יניח ידו על פיו ויקרא אלא יפסיק עד שיעבור מאותו מקום וכן הקורא שיצתה ממנו רוח מלמטה יפסיק עד שתכלה באשה וחוזר לקריאתו וכן בדברי תורה יצתה רוח מחבירו אע"פ שמפסיק לקריאת שמע אינו פוסק לדברי תורה:
Commentary on Halachah 14
15
A person is permitted to continue reciting the Shema if a doubt arises whether feces or urine is found in the house in which he is located.
In contrast, a person reading the Shema in a garbage heap is not permitted to continue reading if a doubt arises regarding the presence of feces until he checks [that it is clean] because a garbage heap may be presumed to contain feces. If the doubt exists only regarding urine, however, the Shema may be recited even in a garbage heap.
טו
היה קורא קריאת שמע בבית ונסתפק לו אם יש שם צואה או מימי רגלים או אין שם הרי זה מותר לקרות היה קורא באשפה ונסתפק לו אם יש שם צואה או אין שם לא יקרא עד שיבדוק שחזקת האשפה שהיא מקום הטנופת אבל ספק מי רגלים אפילו באשפה מותר לקרות:
Commentary on Halachah 15
16
Just as it is forbidden to recite the Shema where there are feces or urine until one distances himself from it, so, too, the Shema may not be recited in the presence of nakedness, unless one turns his face away.
This applies also to a non-Jew or a child. Even if a glass partition separates him from them - since he sees them - he must turn his face away in order to recite the Shema.
Any part of a woman's body is regarded as ervah. Therefore, one should not gaze at a woman, even his wife, while reciting the Shema. If even a handbreadth of her body is uncovered, he should not recite the Shema facing her.
טז
כשם שאסור לקרות כנגד צואה ומי רגלים עד שירחיק כך אסור לקרות כנגד הערוה עד שיחזיר פניו אפילו כותי או קטן לא יקרא כנגד ערותן אפילו מחיצה של זכוכית מפסקת הואיל והוא רואה אותה אסור לקרות עד שיחזיר פניו וכל גוף האשה ערוה לפיכך לא יסתכל בגוף האשה כשהוא קורא ואפילו אשתו ואם היה מגולה טפח מגופה לא יקרא כנגדה:
Commentary on Halachah 16
17
Just as one may not recite the Shema in the presence of another's nakedness, so, too, is he forbidden to do so when he himself is naked. Therefore, one may not recite the Shema when he is naked until he covers his nakedness.
If his loins are covered with cloth, leather or sack, even though the rest of his body is exposed, he may recite the Shema, as long as his heel does not touch his genitalia.
If he is lying under his sheet, but is otherwise naked, he should make a separation by placing his sheet below his heart, and [then] recite the Shema. He should not, however, make a separation from his neck [downward] and recite, because his heart will see his nakedness, and it is as if he is reciting without any loin covering.
יז
וכשם שהוא אסור כנגד ערות אחרים כך הוא אסור לקרות כנגד ערותו ולא יקרא כשהוא ערום עד שיכסה ערותו היתה חגורה של בגד או עור או שק על מתניו אף על פי ששאר גופו ערום מותר לו לקרות קריאת שמע והוא שלא יהיה עקבו נוגע בערותו היה ישן בטליתו והיה ערום חוצץ בטליתו מתחת לבו וקורא אבל לא יחוץ צוארו ויקרא מפני שלבו רואה את הערוה ונמצא כמי שקורא בלא חגורה:
Commentary on Halachah 17
18
When two people are lying under one sheet, each is forbidden to recite the Shema even if he has covered himself below his heart, unless the sheet also separates between them in a manner that prevents their bodies from touching from the loins downward.
If he is sleeping with his wife, children or other young members of his household, their bodies are considered like his own, and he is not affected by them. Therefore, even though his body is touching theirs, he may turn away his face, separate below his heart and recite [the Shema].
יח
שנים שהיו ישנים בטלית אחת כל אחד מהן אסור לקרות אף על פי שיכסה מתחת לבו עד שתהא טלית מפסקת ביניהן עד שלא יגע בשר זה בבשר זה ממתניו ולמטה ואם היה ישן עם אשתו או בניו ובני ביתו הקטנים הרי גופן כגופו ואינו מרגיש מהן לפיכך אע"פ שבשרו נוגע בהם מחזיר פניו וחוצץ מתחת לבו וקורא:
Commentary on Halachah 18
19
Until when is one considered a child concerning this matter? A boy, until 12 years and one day; a girl, until 11 years and one day.
[When they reach that age, they are only excluded when] their physical characteristics are like those of adults - i.e., developed breasts and pubic hair. From this time onwards, one may not recite the Shema unless he has first separated himself from them with the sheet.
However, if they have not yet developed breasts or pubic hair, he may still recite [the Shema while lying] in physical contact with them, and need not separate from them until the boy is 13 years and one day, and the girl 12 years and one day.
יט
עד אימתי הם קטנים לענין זה עד שיהא הזכר בן שתים עשרה שנה ויום אחד והנקבה בת אחת עשרה שנה ויום אחד והוא שיהא תבניתם כתבנית גדולים שדים נכונו ושערך צמח ואחר כך לא יקרא עד שתפסיק טלית ביניהן אבל אם עדיין לא היו שדים נכונו ושערך צמח קורא עמהן בקירוב בשר ואינו צריך הפסק עד שיהיה הזכר בן י"ג שנה ויום אחד והנקבה בת שתים עשרה שנה ויום אחד:
Commentary on Halachah 19
Rambam:• 3 Chapters A Day: Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Three, Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Four, Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Five
English Text | Hebrew Text
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Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Three
1
When witnesses see the new [moon], and there is a journey of the night and a day or less between them and the place where the court holds sessions,1 they should undertake the journey and testify. If the distance between them is greater, they should not undertake the journey. For the testimony [that they will deliver] after the thirtieth day will be of no consequence,2 since the month will already have been made full.
א
עדים שראו את החדש אם היה ביניהם ובין מקום שיש בו בית דין מהלך לילה ויום או פחות הולכין ומעידין. ואם היה ביניהן יתר על כן לא ילכו שאין עדותן אחר יום שלשים מועלת שכבר נתעבר החדש:
2
The witnesses who see the new [moon] should journey to the court to testify even on the Sabbath, as [implied by Leviticus 23:2]: "[These are the festivals] you should proclaim in their season." Whenever [the Torah] uses the word "season," the Sabbath [prohibitions]3 may be overridden.
Therefore, [the Sabbath prohibitions] may be violated only for the sake of Rosh Chodesh Nisan and Rosh Chodesh Tishrei,4 to commemorate the festivals in their proper season. In the era of the Temple, [the Sabbath prohibitions] were violated for the sake of every Rosh Chodesh, because of the musaf offering sacrificed on Rosh Chodesh,5 since its [sacrifice] supersedes the Sabbath prohibitions.6
ב
עדים שראו את החדש הרי אלו הולכין לבית דין להעיד ואפילו היה שבת שנאמר אשר תקראו אותם במועדם וכל מקום שנאמר מועד דוחה את השבת. לפיכך אין מחללין אלא על ראש חדש ניסן ועל ראש חדש תשרי בלבד מפני תקנת המועדות. ובזמן שבית המקדש קיים מחללין על כולן מפני קרבן מוסף שבכל ראש חדש וחדש שהוא דוחה את השבת:
3
Just as the witnesses who see the new [moon] should violate the Sabbath [to testify], so too, the witnesses who substantiate their credibility7 should violate [the Sabbath to accompany] them, if the court is not familiar with the witnesses.
Even if only a single individual can testify regarding the witnesses, he should accompany them and violate the Sabbath,8 because of the possibility9 that they might encounter another individual who can [testify] together with him.
ג
כשם שמחללין העדים שראו את החדש את השבת כך מחללין עמהן העדים שמזכין אותן בבית דין אם לא היו בית דין מכירין את הרואין. ואפילו היה זה שמודיע אותן לבית דין עד אחד הרי זה הולך עמהן ומחלל מספק שמא ימצא אחר ויצטרף עמו:
4
When a witness who sighted the moon on Friday night is sick, he may be mounted on a donkey [and transported to the High Court].10 [Indeed,] even [if he is bedridden,] his bed [may be transported].11
If an ambush awaits them on the way,12 the witnesses may carry weapons. If the distance [to the court] is long, they may carry food.
Even if the moon was sighted [with a] large [crescent], and [one is certain that] it was also sighted by many others as well, he should not say, "Just as we saw [the moon], so did others, and there is no necessity for us to violate the Sabbath laws."13 Instead, every person who saw the new moon, who is fit to serve as a witness, and who is within a distance of the night and a day14 or less is commanded to violate the Sabbath laws and go and testify.15
ד
היה העד שראה את החדש בליל השבת חולה מרכיבין אותו על החמור ואפילו במטה. ואם יש להן אורב בדרך לוקחין העדים בידן כלי זיין. ואם היה דרך רחוקה לוקחים בידם מזונות. ואפילו ראהו גדול ונראה לכל לא יאמרו כשם שראינוהו אנחנו ראוהו אחרים ואין אנו צריכין לחלל את השבת אלא כל מי שיראה החדש ויהיה ראוי להעיד ויהיה בינו ובין המקום שקבוע בו בית דין לילה ויום או פחות מצוה עליו לחלל את השבת ולילך ולהעיד:
5
Originally, [the High Court] would accept testimony regarding the new moon throughout the entire thirtieth day. Once the witnesses were delayed and did not come until the evening. This created confusion in the Temple, and [the priests] did not know what to do:16 If they would offer the afternoon sacrifice, [a difficulty would result] if witnesses [in fact] came, for it is impossible to sacrifice the musaf offering [of Rosh Chodesh] after the daily afternoon sacrifice.17
At that time, [the High] Court instituted the [following] edict: Testimony regarding the new moon would be accepted only until the time of minchah,18 so that there would be enough time in the daylight hours to offer the musaf sacrifices, the daily afternoon offering, and the wine libations [that accompany these sacrifices].
ה
בראשונה היו מקבלין עדות החדש בכל יום שלשים. פעם אחת נשתהו העדים מלבוא עד בין הערבים ונתקלקלו במקדש ולא ידעו מה יעשו אם יעשו עולה של בין הערבים שמא יבאו העדים ואי אפשר שיקריבו מוסף היום אחר תמיד של בין הערבים. עמדו בית דין והתקינו שלא יהיו מקבלים עדות החדש אלא עד המנחה כדי שיהא שהות ביום להקריב מוספין ותמיד של בין הערבים ונסכיהם:
6
If the time of minchah arrives without witnesses having come, the daily afternoon offering should be sacrificed. If witnesses come after the time of minchah,19 this day should be observed as a holiday,20 and the following day should be observed as a holiday. The musaf offering, however, should be offered on the following day, because the new moon should not be sanctified after the time of minchah.
After the Temple was destroyed,21 Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and his court22 instituted a decree [requiring the High Court] to accept testimony regarding the new moon throughout the entire day. Even if witnesses come at the end of the thirtieth day before sunset,23 their testimony should be accepted and the thirtieth day alone should be considered a holiday.
ו
ואם הגיע מנחה ולא באו עדים עושין תמיד של בית הערבים. ואם באו עדים מן המנחה ולמעלה נוהגין אותו היום קדש ולמחר קדש ומקריבין מוסף למחר לפי שלא היו מקדשין אותו אחר מנחה. משחרב בין המקדש התקין רבן יוחנן בן זכאי ובית דינו שיהיו מקבלין עדות החדש כל היום כולו ואפילו באו עדים יום שלשים בסוף היום סמוך לשקיעת החמה מקבלין עדותן ומקדשין יום שלשים בלבד:
7
When the court would make a month full because the witnesses did not appear on the thirtieth day at all, they would ascend to a previously designated place and hold a feast on the thirty-first day, which would be Rosh Chodesh.24
They would not ascend there during the [thirty-first] night, b ut rather at daybreak, before the sun rose.25 No fewer than ten men would ascend [to participate] in this meal. They would not hold this meal without bread made from grain and legumes, of which they would partake during the meal. This is the intent of all the sources that refer to the feast associated with the mitzvah of the full month.
ז
כשמעברין בית דין את החדש מפני שלא באו עדים כל יום שלשים היו עולין למקום מוכן ועושין בו סעודה ביום אחד ושלשים שהוא ראש חדש. ואין עולין לשם בלילה אלא בנשף קודם עלות השמש ואין עולין לסעודה זו פחות מעשרה. ואין עולין לה אלא בפת דגן וקטנית ואוכלין בעת הסעודה. וזו היא סעודת מצוה של עיבור החדש האמורה בכל מקום:
8
Originally, when the court would sanctify the new moon, they would light bonfires26 on the mountaintops to notify the people in distant places.27 When the Samaritans began conducting themselves in a debased manner and would light bonfires [at the wrong times] to confuse the people,28 [the Sages] instituted the practice of having messengers journey to notify the people.29
These messengers may not violate [the sanctity of] the holidays, nor of Yom Kippur [by traveling on these days]. Needless to say, they may not violate [the sanctity of] the Sabbath. For one may not violate the Sabbath to uphold [the sanctification of] the new month, only to [actually] sanctify it.
ח
בראשונה כשהיו בית דין מקדשין את החדש היו משיאין משואות בראשי ההרים כדי שידעו הרחוקים. משקלקלו הכותים שהיו משיאין משואות כדי להטעות את העם התקינו שיהו שלוחים יוצאין ומודיעין לרבים. ושלוחים אלו אינן מחללין לא את יום טוב ולא את יום הכפורים ואין צריך לומר שבת שאין מחללין את השבת לקיימו אלא לקדשו בלבד:
9
Messengers are sent out [to inform the people] for six months: For Nisan, because of Pesach. For Av, because of the fast [of Tish'ah B'Av].30 For Elul, because of Rosh HaShanah - i.e., so they could wait in readiness on the thirtieth day of Elul.31 If it became known to them that the High Court had sanctified the thirtieth day, they would observe only that day as a holiday. If it did not become known to them,32 they would observe both the thirtieth and the thirty-first days [as Rosh HaShanah] until the messengers of Tishrei arrived.
For Tishrei, because of the festivals. For Kislev, because of Chanukah. For Adar, because of Purim.33 While the Beit HaMikdash was standing, [messengers] also would be sent out for the month of Iyar, because of the small Pesach.34
ט
על ששה חדשים היו שלוחים יוצאין. על ניסן מפני הפסח. ועל אב מפני התענית. ועל אלול מפני ראש השנה. כדי שישבו מצפין ביום שלשים לאלול אם נודע להם שקדשו בית דין יום שלשים נוהגים אותו היום קדש בלבד. ואם לא נודע להם נוהגים יום שלשים קדש ויום אחד ושלשים קדש עד שיבואו להם שלוחי תשרי. ועל תשרי מפני תקנת המועדות. ועל כסליו מפני חנוכה. ועל אדר מפני הפורים. ובזמן שבית המקדש קיים יוצאין אף על אייר מפני פסח קטן:
10
[Even when the moon was clearly sighted on the previous night,] the messengers for the months of Nisan and Tishrei would not depart35 until the sun rose and they heard the court pronounce, "It has been sanctified."36 If, however, the court sanctified the moon at the conclusion of the twenty-ninth day, [which is possible,] as we have explained,37 and the messengers heard the court pronounce it sanctified, they might depart that evening.
The messengers for the other months, by contrast, may depart in the evening after the moon has been sighted. Although the court has not sanctified the new month, since the new moon has been sighted, they may depart, for the court will surely sanctify the new month on the following day.
י
שלוחי ניסן ושלוחי תשרי אין יוצאין אלא ביום ראש חדש אחר שתעלה השמש עד שישמעו מפי בית דין מקודש. ואם קדשו בית דין בסוף יום תשעה ועשרים כמו שאמרנו ושמעו מפי בית דין מקודש יוצאין מבערב. ושלוחי שאר הששה חדשים יש להם לצאת מבערב אחר שנראה הירח אף על פי שעדיין לא קדשו בית דין את החדש הואיל ונראה החדש יצאו שהרי למחר בודאי מקדשין אותו בית דין:
11
Wherever these messengers would arrive [before the celebration of the festivals], the holidays would be observed for [only] one day, as prescribed by the Torah. In the distant places, which the messengers would not reach [before the celebration of the festivals],38 the holidays would be observed for two days because of the doubt [involved]. For they would not know the day on which the High Court established the new month.39
יא
כל מקום שהיו השלוחין מגיעין היו עושין את המועדות יום טוב אחד ככתוב בתורה. ובמקומות הרחוקים שאין השלוחים מגיעין אליהם היו עושין שני ימים מפני הספק לפי שאינם יודעים יום שקבעו בו בית דין את החדש אי זה יום הוא:
12
There are places where the messengers [sent out for] Nisan would arrive [in time for the celebration of Pesach], but the messengers [sent out for] Tishrei would not arrive [in time for the celebration of Sukkot].40 According to [the letter of] the law, it would have been appropriate for them to observe Pesach for one day, since the messengers reached them and informed them when Rosh Chodesh had been established, and for them to observe Sukkot for two days, since the messengers had not reached them. Nevertheless, so that there would be no difference between the festivals, the Sages instituted the ruling that two days were celebrated [for all holidays] in all places that were not reached by the messengers for Tishrei. [This includes] even the festival of Shavuot.41
יב
יש מקומות שהיו מגיעין אליהם שלוחי ניסן ולא היו מגיעין להן שלוחי תשרי. ומן הדין היה שיעשו פסח יום אחד שהרי הגיעו להן שלוחין וידעו באי זה יום נקבע ראש חדש. ויעשו יום טוב של חג הסוכות שני ימים שהרי לא הגיעו אליהן השלוחין. וכדי שלא לחלוק במועדות התקינו חכמים שכל מקום שאין שלוחי תשרי מגיעין שם עושין שני ימים אפילו יום טוב של עצרת:
13
[How many more] days do the messengers for Nisan journey than the messengers for Tishrei? Two. For the messengers for Tishrei do not travel on the first of Tishrei, because it is a holiday, nor on the tenth, because it is Yom Kippur.42
יג
וכמה בין שלוחי ניסן לשלוחי תשרי שני ימים. ששלוחי תשרי אינן מהלכין באחד בתשרי מפני שהוא יום טוב ולא בעשירי בו מפני שהוא יום כפור:
14
There is no need for there to be two messengers. Even a single individual's [statements] are believed. Moreover, this does not apply to messengers alone. Even when a [traveling] merchant of no particular distinction passes through on his journey, and says: "I heard from the court43 that it sanctified the new month on such and such a date," his statements are believed, and the [celebration of] the festivals is arranged accordingly.
[The rationale is that] this is a matter that will [eventually] be revealed.44 Therefore, the testimony of a single acceptable witness is sufficient.45
יד
אין השלוחין צריכין להיותן שנים אלא אפילו אחד נאמן. ולא שליח בלבד אלא אפילו תגר משאר העם שבא כדרכו ואמר אני שמעתי מפי בית דין שקדשו את החדש ביום פלוני נאמן ומתקנין את המועדות על פיו. שדבר זה דבר העשוי להגלות ועד אחד כשר נאמן עליו:
15
[The following rules apply when] the court held session throughout the entire thirtieth day, but witnesses did not arrive, [the judges] arose early in the morning and made the month full, as we stated previously in this chapter,46 and after four or five days witnesses came from distant places and testified that they had sighted the moon at the appropriate time, the thirtieth night. [Indeed, the same principles apply if the witnesses2 come at the end of the month.
We unnerve them in a very intimidating matter, and we seek to disorient them with queries. We cross-examine them very thoroughly and are extremely precise regarding their testimony. [For] the court endeavors not to sanctify this month, since it has already been declared full.47
טו
בית דין שישבו כל יום שלשים ולא באו עדים והשכימו בנשף ועברו את החדש כמו שבארנו בפרק זה. ואחר ארבעה או חמשה ימים באו עדים רחוקים והעידו שראו את החדש בזמנו שהוא ליל שלשים. ואפילו באו בסוף החדש. מאיימין עליהן איום גדול ומטריפים אותם בשאלות ומטריחין עליהן בבדיקות ומדקדקין בעדות ומשתדלין בית דין שלא יקדשו חדש זה הואיל ויצא שמו מעובר:
16
If the witnesses remain steadfast in their testimony, if it is compatible [according to the calculations of the court], if the witnesses are men whose character is well known, they are men of understanding, and if their testimony was scrutinized in a proper way - the moon is sanctified [retroactively]. We recalculate the dates of the month beginning from the thirtieth day [after the previous Rosh Chodesh], since the moon was sighted [on the appropriate] night.
טז
ואם עמדו העדים בעדותן ונמצאת מכוונת והרי העדים אנשים ידועים ונבונים ונחקרה העדות כראוי. מקדשין אותו וחוזרין ומונין לאותו החדש מיום שלשים הואיל ונראה הירח בלילו:
17
If it was necessary for the court to leave the month full, as it was before the witnesses came, it is left as it is. This is what is meant by the statement,48 "The month is made full out of necessity49." Some great Sages differ concerning this matter and maintain that the month is never made full out of necessity. Rather, if the witnesses come, the month is sanctified and they are not intimidated at all50.
יז
ואם הוצרכו בית דין להניח חדש זה מעובר כשהיה קודם שיבאו העדים אלו מניחין. וזה הוא שאמרו מעברין את החדש לצורך. ויש מן החכמים הגדולים מי שחולק בדבר זה ואומר לעולם אין מעברין את החדש לצורך. הואיל ובאו עדים מקדשין ואין מאיימין עליהן:
18
It appears to me51 that there is a difference of opinion among the Sages regarding this matter only in [the following circumstances]:
a) The other months besides Nisan and Tishrei, or
b) When witnesses come in Nisan and Tishrei after the holidays have passed, [all the festive practices] have already been observed, and the time to offer the sacrifices and observe the festivals has passed.
When, however, the witnesses come in Tishrei and in Nisan before the middle of the month,52 their testimony is accepted, and no attempt is made to intimidate them at all. For we do not attempt to i ntimidate witnesses who testify that they sighted at the appropriate time so that the month will be full.
יח
יראה לי שאין מחלוקת החכמים בדבר זה אלא בשאר החדשים חוץ מן ניסן ותשרי. או בעדי ניסן ותשרי שבאו אחר שעברו הרגלים. שכבר נעשה מה שנעשה ועבר זמן הקרבנות וזמן המועדות. אבל אם באו העדים בניסן ותשרי קודם חצי החדש מקבלין עדותן ואין מאיימין עליהן כלל. שאין מאיימין על עדים שהעידו על החדש שראוהו בזמנו כדי לעברו:
19
We do, however, intimidate witnesses whose testimony has been disputed, and it appears that their testimony will not be upheld, a nd the month will be made full. We pressure them so that their testimony will be upheld and the month will be sanctified in its proper time. Similarly, when, before the new month has been sanctified, witnesses come to nullify53 the testimony of the witnesses who saw the moon at its appropriate time, [the court] intimidates the witnesses who want to nullify the original testimony, so that the challenge will not be accepted and the new month will be sanctified at its appropriate time.54
יט
אבל מאיימין על עדים שנתקלקלה עדותן והרי הדבר נוטה וגנאי שלא תתקיים העדות ויתעבר החדש. מאיימין עליהן כדי שתתקיים העדות ויתקיים החדש בזמנו. וכן אם באו עדים להזים את העדים שראוהו בזמנו קודם שקדשוהו בית דין הרי אלו מאיימין על המזימין עד שלא תתקיים ההזמה ויתקדש החדש בזמנו
FOOTNOTES
1.The Rambam does not say "a one-day distance from Jerusalem," because after the destruction of the Temple, the High Court would sanctify the new month in other places. (See Rosh HaShanah 22b.)
2.Note the apparent contradiction in Halachah 15. In the light of that halachah, it would appear that the Rambam's intent is that since the court endeavors to nullify such testimony, it is undesirable for the witnesses to come and offer it (Lechem Mishneh).
3.The Rambam is referring to the prohibitions associated with going beyond the Sabbath limits and the performance of any forbidden labors necessary for their journey - e.g., carrying food or weapons.
4.Significantly, the month of Sivan is not mentioned, although the holiday of Shavuot is celebrated then. The celebration of Shavuot depends, not on a particular day of the month, but on the conclusion of the counting of the Omer. Thus when Rosh Chodesh was determined by the testimony of witnesses, Shavuot could be celebrated on the fifth, sixth, or seventh of Sivan (Rosh HaShanah 6b).
5.See Hilchot Temidim UMusafim 7:1,4, Hilchot Korban Pesach 1:18.
6.The sacrifice of any offerings associated with a fixed time supersedes the Sabbath prohibitions.
7.I.e., the character witnesses mentioned in Chapter 2, Halachah 3.
8.This law is based on an actual historical account. Rabbi Nehorai traveled to Usha together with witnesses to substantiate their credibility, in the hope of finding another person there to testify together with him (Rosh HaShanah 22b).
9.The Perush questions why the Sabbath laws are broken when there is only a possibility of performing a mitzvah, citing a similar situation - a baby born after sunset on Friday. He should not be circumcised on the following Sabbath, because there is a doubt whether circumcision should be performed on Friday or on the Sabbath (Hilchot Milah 1:12).
The subsequent commentaries offer several resolutions to this difficulty. Among them:
a) Circumcision can be performed at a later date, while the sanctification of the new moon cannot be postponed (Lechem Mishneh);
b) Traveling to Jerusalem to testify always involves violating the Sabbath laws with only a possibility of performing the mitzvah, for it is possible that the court will reject the witnesses' testimony (Rav David Arameah).
10.Leading a healthy person on a donkey is not considered to be transporting him in violation of the Sabbath labors, because "a living being carries himself." If, however, the person is sick, this principle does not apply, and he is considered a burden, so that transporting him on a donkey involves a prohibition (Hilchot Shabbat 18:16, 20:1-2). Nevertheless, this prohibition is waived in the endeavor to sanctify the new moon.
11.Rav David Arameah interprets this to mean that men are allowed to carry him to the court on his bed.
12.Rashi, Rosh HaShanah 22a, relates that the Sadducees would lie in ambush for the witnesses, with the intent of delaying their appearance in court until after the thirtieth day had passed.
13.In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Rosh HaShanah 1:5), the Rambam explains that although the moon might be seen very clearly in one place, in other locales it might have appeared low on the horizon, or covered by clouds. Therefore, it is desirable for all potential witnesses to journey to Jerusalem to make sure that the new moon is sanctified in its proper time.
14.I.e., there is sufficient time for the witness(es) to arrive at the High Court on the thirtieth day.
15.In this vein, it is worthy to note a story related in Rosh HaShanah 1:6. Forty pairs of witnesses passed through Lod on their way to Jerusalem to testify regarding the sighting of the moon. Rabbi Akiva held them back, because he saw that their testimony would not stand up under cross-examination by the court. Rabban Gamliel rebuked him, explaining that this would prevent them from journeying to Jerusalem at a future date, when their testimony might be of consequence. (See the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah.)
16.More specifically, Rosh HaShanah 30b states that the problem concerns the song to be sung by the Levites in connection with the sacrifice. Had there not been a difficulty with the song, the afternoon sacrifice could have been offered conditionally: If no witnesses come, the lamb would be considered the afternoon sacrifice; and if the witnesses do come, it would be considered part of the musaf offering (Rishon LeTzion).
Significantly, as reflected in the discussion in Rosh HaShanah (ibid.), the instance in question concerned the celebration of Rosh HaShanah, and not an ordinary Rosh Chodesh.
17.For once the afternoon sacrifice is offered, no other offerings may be sacrificed (Pesachim 58b; Hilchot Temidim UMusafim 1:3).
18.This refers to the time of the afternoon sacrifice, nine and a half seasonal hours (שעות זמניות) after sunrise (The Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Rosh HaShanah 4:4, Hilchot Temidim UMusafim 1:3).
19.The Rambam is referring to Rosh HaShanah.
20.Indeed, the people would observe the day as a holiday from nightfall on the previous day, lest witnesses come and the new moon be sanctified (Rashi, Rosh HaShanah 30b). See Halachah 9, and Chapter 5, Halachah 8.
21.And there were no longer any difficulties concerning the sacrifices.
22.Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai lived at the time of the Temple's destruction, and this decree was instituted shortly after that event.
23.The Lechem Mishneh and others have raised questions about the Rambam's choice of wording, based on his previous statements in Chapter 2, Halachah 9. Merkevet HaMishneh offers a simple resolution of this difficulty. Here we are speaking of the acceptance of the witnesses' testimony, and it is necessary to take time to cross-examine them. This process cannot be completed in the meager amount of time between sunset and the appearance of the stars.
24.The purpose of holding this feast would be to publicize that the month had become full.
25.Sanhedrin 70a relates that the participants in this meal would ascend in a time that is neither day nor night. Thus, the Rambam interprets this as referring to the time between the appearance of the first rays of the sun and sunrise itself. Rashi and others maintain that the participants would ascend in the evening, between sunset and the appearance of the stars.
26.The fires would be lit in the evening of the thirty-first night.
27.There are mountains surrounding Jerusalem on all sides. The bonfires on these mountains could be seen by people on further mountains, until in a short amount of time people throughout Eretz Yisrael could be notified that the new moon had been sanctified.
28.The Samaritans lived between Jerusalem and the Galilee. At one point, they desired to disrupt the calculation of the calendar and would light bonfires on the evening before the thirty-first day, regardless of whether or not the moon was sighted. The people in the Galilee would think that the chain of bonfires had begun in Jerusalem (Rosh HaShanah 22b).
29.The Jerusalem Talmud (Rosh HaShanah 2:1) states that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi was the one who nullified the bonfires, and substituted messengers instead. This, however, is somewhat difficult to accept because, as the Rambam mentions in Halachah 9, there were times when the messengers were sent out while the Temple was standing. Perhaps the intent is that until the time of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi there were times when both messengers were sent out and bonfires were lit. From his time onward, the bonfires were no longer used.
30.Rosh HaShanah 18b relates that in that era, fasting on the other commemorative fasts - the tenth of Tevet and the seventeenth of Tammuz - was not mandatory. Therefore, it was not necessary to send out messengers for these months.
31.The Rambam maintains that the people would observe Rosh HaShanah for two days, because of the doubt. Thus, if the people did not know when the month of Elul began, they would have to observe three days (Lechem Mishneh).
32.This is speaking about the villages in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem.
33.The commentaries note that Rosh HaShanah 19b also mentions the possibility of the messengers' being sent out in the second month of Adar if a leap year is declared. This, however, is an infrequent event, because generally, the decision to make the year a leap year was not made at the last moment (Aruch HaShulchan).
34.Pesach Sheni, when all those who had not offered a sacrifice on the first Pesach were given a further opportunity to bring this offering.
Messengers were not sent out for the month of Sivan, because the celebration of Shavuot is not dependent on the date of the month, but on the Counting of the Omer (Perush).
35.The messengers for the month of Tishrei could travel only 2000 cubits beyond Jerusalem (or 4000 cubits, if they made an eruv t'chumim) on Rosh HaShanah, because of the sanctity of that day (Perush).
36.Since the holidays observed in these months were prescribed by the Torah itself, this further stringency was required (ibid.).
37.See Chapter 2, Halachah 9.
38.The observance of an additional day of the holidays is described in greater detail in Chapter 5.
39.Thus, if the thirtieth day following Rosh Chodesh Adar fell on the Sabbath, they would not know whether Pesach (the fifteenth day of the following month) would be celebrated on the Sabbath or on Sunday.
40.For, as explained in the following halachah, the messengers sent out for Tishrei would not travel on Rosh HaShanah or on Yom Kippur.
In the brackets, we mention the holiday of Sukkot, but not Yom Kippur. For Yom Kippur was never observed by a community at large for two days. Rosh HaShanah 21a relates that Rabbah would fast for two days, but this was a stringency that he accepted on himself as an individual. The people in the diaspora would fast ten days after the thirtieth day following Rosh Chodesh Elul, for the court always endeavored to make Elul a month of 29 days. (See Or Sameach.)
41.As mentioned several times, Shavuot is unique, because its observance is dependent, not on a date in the month of Sivan, but on the Counting of the Omer, which begins after Pesach. Thus, even Jews living in the outer reaches of the diaspora were able to know when Shavuot was to be observed.
42.There is also the possibility of additional days, if there are more Sabbaths in Tishrei than in Nisan.
43.From the Rambam's wording, it would appear that it is necessary that the merchant receive his information from the High Court directly; hearing from others is not sufficient.
44.Rosh HaShanah 22b states that people will not lie about a matter when it is certain that eventually the truth will be revealed.
45.The commentaries compare the Rambam's statements here with those at the conclusion of Hilchot Gerushin. In the latter source, he employs the same rationale - that the truth of the matter will eventually be revealed - to explain why leniency is shown concerning testimony given to determine that a woman's husband has died, which enables her to remarry. In that instance, however, even greater leniency is shown, and the court accepts the testimony of witnesses who are otherwise unacceptable. The commentaries explain that the greater leniency is granted in consideration of the agonizing situation of the widow.
46.See Halachah 7.
47.The Rambam's statements in this and the following four halachot are based on his interpretation of Rosh HaShanah 20a. Significantly, his understanding of that passage differs from that of Rashi.
48.Rosh HaShanah, op. cit.
49.Note another interpretation of the expression, "The month is made full out of necessity," in Chapter 18, Halachah 11.
50.This opinion is also mentioned in the abovepassage.
51.Generally, when the Rambam uses the expression "It appears to me" in the Mishneh Torah, he is introducing an original interpretation. In this instance, the resolution offered by the Rambam is also suggested by Abbaye in the above passage. Nevertheless, there is a certain justification for the use of the phrase, because there are other interpretations offered by the Talmud, and no conclusion is reached. Therefore, the Rambam's choice of the interpretation to follow was motivated by his own comprehension of the passage.
52.When Pesach and Sukkot are celebrated. One might ask why consideration was not given to the observance of Yom Kippur on the tenth of Tishrei.
The Or Sameach offers the following resolution: Yom Kippur was observed for only one day in the outlying diaspora. The communities would assume that the moon had been sighted at its appropriate time, and they would observe Rosh HaShanah on the thirtieth day after Rosh Chodesh Elul, and Yom Kippur ten days afterwards. Thus, by accepting the witnesses' testimony, the court will have assured that a large portion of the Jewish people observed Yom Kippur on the proper date.
Although this explanation has its advantages, it does not address itself to the observance of Yom Kippur in Eretz Yisrael, or to the sacrifices that had to be offered on that sacred day in the Temple.
53.The Hebrew term used, lehazim, means to nullify their testimony by stating that, at the time they claimed to have seen the moon, they were in a different place from the place where they claimed to have sighted it.
54.It would appear that, in both of the instances mentioned in this halachah, this law applies only when, according to the court's calculations, the moon should have been sighted on the thirtieth night.
Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Four
1
A leap year is a year that includes an additional month.1The extra month that is added is always Adar,2 and thus the year contains two Adarin: the first Adar and the second Adar.3
Why is this month added? Because of the season of spring, so that Pesach will fall then, as [implied by Deuteronomy 16:1]: "Take heed the month of spring"4 [This command can be interpreted to mean, "Take heed] that this month falls in the spring season. Were the month [of Adar] not to be added [from time to time], there are times when Pesach would fall in the summer, and times [when it would fall] in the rainy season.
א
שנה מעוברת היא שנה שמוסיפין בה חדש. ואין מוסיפין לעולם אלא אדר ועושין אותה שנה שני אדרין אדר ראשון ואדר שני. ומפני מה מוסיפין חדש זה מפני זמן האביב כדי שיהא הפסח באותו זמן שנאמר שמור את חדש האביב שיהיה חדש זה בזמן האביב. ולולא הוספת החדש הזה הפסח בא פעמים בימות החמה ופעמים בימות הגשמים:
2
[An extra month is added,] making the year full, because of three factors: a) the vernal [spring] equinox;5 b) the ripening6 [of the barley crop], and c) the blooming of the fruit trees.
What is implied? When the court calculates7 and determines that the vernal equinox will fall on the sixteenth of Nisan or later, the year is made full. The month that would have been Nisan is made the second Adar, and thus Pesach will fall in the spring. This factor [alone] is sufficient for the court to make the year full;8 other factors need not be considered.
ב
על שלשה סימנין מעברין את השנה. על התקופה ועל האביב ועל פירות האילן. כיצד בית דין מחשבין ויודעין אם תהיה תקופת ניסן בששה עשר בניסן או אחר זמן זה מעברין אותה השנה. ויעשו אותו ניסן אדר שני כדי שיהיה הפסח בזמן האביב. ועל סימן זה סומכין ומעברין ואין חוששין לסימן אחר:
3
Similarly, if the court sees that [the barley crop] has not ripened, but that it is late in sprouting, or that the fruit trees that usually bloom at the time of the Pesach holiday have not bloomed, these two factors are sufficient,9 and the year is made full, even though the vernal equinox will fall before the sixteenth of Nisan.10
[The reason the year is] made full [because of these factors] is so that there will be [an abundant quantity] of ripened [barley] accessible, so that the wave offering of the omer can be brought from it on the sixteenth of Nisan,11 and so that the fruits will bloom, as they always do in the spring.
ג
וכן אם ראו בית דין שעדיין לא הגיע האביב אלא עדיין אפל הוא. ולא צמחו פירות האילן שדרכן לצמוח בזמן הפסח. סומכין על שני סימנין אלו ומעברין את השנה. ואף על פי שהתקופה קודם לששה עשר בניסן הרי הן מעברין. כדי שיהיה האביב מצוי להקריב ממנו עומר התנופה בששה עשר בניסן. וכדי שיהיו הפירות צומחין כדרך כל זמן האביב:
4
There are three territories that are of consequence regarding the ripening [of the barley]: Judea, Transjordan, and the Galilee. If [the barley] ripened in two of these lands, but not in the third, the year is not made full.12 If, however, [the barley] ripened in one of these lands, but not in the other two, the year is made full if the fruit trees have not bloomed.
These are the primary grounds for making the year full, so that the years will follow the solar calendar.13
ד
ועל שלש ארצות היו סומכין באביב. על ארץ יהודה ועל עבר הירדן ועל הגליל. ואם הגיע האביב בשתי ארצות מאלו ובאחת לא הגיע אין מעברין. ואם הגיע באחת מהן ולא הגיע בשתים מעברין. אם עדיין לא צמחו פירות האילן. ואלו הן הדברים שהן העיקר שמעברין בשבילן כדי שיהיו השנים שני החמה:
5
There are other factors for which the court makes [the year full] in the case of necessity.14 Among them: that the roads are not suitable,15 and it is impossible for the people to make the pilgrimage. [In such an instance,] the year is made full, [to allow time for] the rains to stop and the roads to be fixed.
That the bridges have been destroyed and there are rivers interrupting [the roads], and preventing the people [from continuing their journey]. The year is made full, so that the bridges can be fixed, lest the people endanger themselves and die.
That the ovens for the Paschal sacrifice were destroyed by the rains,16 and thus there will be no place for [the people] to roast their Paschal offerings. We therefore make the year full, so that the ovens can be built and can dry [in the sun].
That Jews from the diaspora who have left their homes have not arrived in Jerusalem. We make the year full, so that they will have the time to reach [Jerusalem].17
ה
ויש שם דברים אחרים שהיו בית דין מעברין בשבילן מפני הצורך. ואלו הן. מפני הדרכים שאינן מתוקנין ואין העם יכולין לעלות מעברין את השנה עד שיפסקו הגשמים ויתקנו הדרכים. ומפני הגשרים שנהרסו ונמצאו הנהרות מפסיקין ומונעין את העם ומסתכנים בעצמן ומתים, מעברין את השנה עד שיתקנו הגשרים. ומפני תנורי פסחים שאבדו בגשמים ואין להם מקום לצלות את פסחיהם מעברין את השנה עד שיבנו התנורים וייבשו. ומפני גליות ישראל שנעקרו ממקומן ועדיין לא הגיעו לירושלים מעברין את השנה כדי שיהיה להם פנאי להגיע:
6
We do not, however, make the year full because of snow, nor because of a cold climate,18 nor because of Jews from the diaspora who have not yet left their homes.
[Similarly, the year is not made full] because of ritual impurity - e.g., when most of the people or most of the priests are impure.19 The year is not made full so that they will be able to purify themselves and offer [the Paschal sacrifice] in a state of ritual purity.20 Instead, they should offer [the sacrifice] while ritually impure. Nevertheless, if the year has been made full because of ritual impurity, it may be left full.
ו
אבל אין מעברין השנה לא מפני השלג ולא מפני הצנה ולא מפני גליות ישראל שעדיין לא נעקרו ממקומם. ולא מפני הטומאה. כגון שהיו רוב הקהל או רוב הכהנים טמאים אין מעברין את השנה כדי שיהיה להם פנאי לטהר ויעשו בטהרה אלא יעשו בטומאה. ואם עיברו את השנה מפני הטומאה הרי זו מעוברת:
7
There are factors that, in and of themselves, are never sufficient cause to make the year full. They are, however, mentioned as contributing factors when a year must be made full so that [Pesach will fall after] the vernal equinox, because of [the barley that has not] ripened, or the fruit trees.
These factors are: That young goats or lambs have not been born, or are merely few in number, or that young doves have not [matured to the point where they can] fly.
We do not make the year full so that the goats and the lambs will be available for the Paschal sacrifices, and the doves will be available for the pilgrimage sacrifice,21 or for those individuals22who are obligated to bring doves as a sacrifice. Nevertheless, these are mentioned as contributing factors [to make] the year [full].
ז
יש דברים שאין מעברין בשבילן כלל אבל עושין אותן סעד לשנה שצריכה עיבור מפני התקופה או מפני האביב ופירות האילן. ואלו הן. מפני הגדיים והטלאים שעדיין לא נולדו או שהן מעט. ומפני הגוזלות שלא פרחו. אין מעברין בשביל אלו כדי שיהיו הגדיים והטלאים מצויין לפסחים והגוזלות מצויין לראייה או למי שנתחייב בקרבן העוף. אבל עושין אותן סעד לשנה:
8
What does mentioning them as contributing factors [to make] the year [full] imply? The court says: "This year must be made full because the equinox falls late, or because [the barley] has not ripened and the fruit trees have not bloomed,23 and also because the young goats are small and the doves are frail"
ח
כיצד עושין אותן סעד לשנה. אומרין שנה זו צריכה עיבור מפני התקופה שמשכה או מפני האביב ופירות האילן שלא הגיעו ועוד שהגדיים קטנים והגוזלות רכים:
9
The year can be made full only by [judges] who were invited [to participate in the deliberations].24 What is implied? The head of the High Court25 tells [several] members of the court, "Be present at a particular place, where we will make calculations and decide whether or not it is necessary to make the year full" It is only those who were invited who [have the authority to] make [the year] full.
How many [judges participate in the deliberations whether] to declare a leap year? We begin with three judges from the High Court who have received semichah. Should two [of these judges] say, "There is no need to sit to decide whether or not [the year] should be made full" [their opinion is accepted]. [Although] one [judge] says that they should continue their deliberations, his statements are of no consequence.
If two [of these judges] say, "There is a need to sit [further] to decide whether or not it is necessary to make [the year] full" and the other [judge] says that they should not continue their deliberations, we add two of the judges who had been invited previously, and the discussion of the matter [is continued].
ט
אין מעברין את השנה אלא במזומנין לה. כיצד יאמר ראש בית דין הגדול לפלוני ופלוני מן הסנהדרין היו מזומנין למקום פלוני שנחשב ונראה ונדע אם שנה זו צריכה עיבור או אינה צריכה. ואותן שהוזמנו בלבד הן שמעברין אותה. ובכמה מעברין אותה מתחילין בשלשה דיינין מכלל סנהדרי גדולה ממי שסמכו אותן. אמרו שנים לא נשב ולא נראה אם צריכה עיבור אם לאו ואחד אמר נשב ונבדוק. בטל יחיד במיעוטו. אמרו שנים נשב ונראה ואחד אומר לא נשב. מוסיפין עוד שנים מן המזומנים ונושאים ונותנין בדבר:
10
Should two [judges] say that it is necessary to make [the year] full, and three say that there is no necessity, [the opinion of] the two is of no consequence. If three [judges] say that it is necessary to make [the year] full, and two say that there is no necessity, two more [judges] who were invited are added to the court, and the subject is debated.
These seven [judges should] arrive at a conclusion. If they all agree to make the year full, or not to make the year full, their decision is followed. If there is a difference of opinion among them, we follow the majority, whether to make the year full, or not to make the year full.
It is necessary that the head of the High Court - i.e., the one who presides over the seventy-one [judges of the Sanhedrin] - be one of these seven. If [the three original judges] conclude26 that it is necessary for the year to be made full, it should be made full, provided the nasi27 is among the three, or consents [to their ruling].
Concerning the institution of a leap year, the opinions of the lesser judges should be offered first.28 Concerning the sanctification of the new month, we begin from the head of the court.29
י
שנים אומרים צריכה עיבור ושלשה אומרין אינה צריכה. בטלו שנים במיעוטן. שלשה אומרין צריכה עיבור ושנים אומרין אינה צריכה עיבור. מוסיפין שנים מן המזומנין לה ונושאין ונותנין וגומרין בשבעה. אם גמרו כולם לעבר או שלא לעבר עושין כמו שגמרו. ואם נחלקו הולכים אחר הרוב בין לעבר בין שלא לעבר. וצריך שיהא ראש בית דין הגדול שהוא ראש ישיבה של אחד ושבעים מכלל השבעה. ואם גמרו בשלשה לעבר הרי זו מעוברת והוא שיהא הנשיא עמהן או שירצה. ובעיבור השנה מתחילין מן הצד. ולקידוש החדש מתחילין מן הגדול:
11
Neither a king30 nor a High Priest should be [included in the group entrusted with deciding] whether or not to institute a leap year. A king [should not be included, lest he be influenced] by consideration for his soldiers and his wars.31
A High Priest should not be included because of the cold - i.e., he may choose not to institute a leap year so that Tishrei will not fall in the winter, and he would [thereby not] have to immerse himself five times on Yom Kippur [in such weather].
יא
אין מושיבין לעיבור השנה לא מלך ולא כהן גדול. מלך למפני חיילותיו ומלחמותיו שמא דעתו נוטה בשבילן לעבר או שלא לעבר. וכהן גדול מפני הצנה שמא לא תהיה דעתו נוטה לעבר כדי שלא יבא תשרי בימי הקור והוא טובל ביום הכפורים חמש טבילות:
12
If the head of the High Court, the nasi, was on a distant journey, [the court] may institute a leap year only with the proviso that the nasi will consent. If the nasi comes and consents, the year is full. If he does not consent, it is not full.
A leap year may be instituted only in the territory of Judea, for the resting place of the Divine Presence32 is there, as [implied by Deuteronomy 12:5]: "And you shall seek out his dwelling" If a leap year is instituted in the Galilee, the year remains full.
A year should be made full only during the day.33 If it is made full during the night, it is not full.
יב
היה ראש בית דין הגדול והוא הנקרא נשיא בדרך רחוקה אין מעברין אותה אלא על תנאי אם ירצה הנשיא. בא ורצה הרי זו מעוברת לא רצה אינה מעוברת. ואין מעברין את השנה אלא בארץ יהודה שהשכינה בתוכה שנאמר לשכנו תדרשו. ואם עיברוה בגליל מעוברת. ואין מעברין אלא ביום. ואם עיברוה בלילה אינה מעוברת:
13
The court has the authority to calculate, institute, and decide which year(s) shall be full whenever it desires, even several years in advance.34 Nevertheless, a particular year is not declared a full year until after Rosh Hashanah, at which time a public statement [can be] made [to the effect that] the year has been made full.35
[A leap year is announced at such an early date] only in a pressing situation.36 If the situation is not pressing, the announcement that a leap year has been instituted is not made until the month of Adar. [At that time, the court announces,] "This year is a leap year, and the following month is not Nisan, but rather the second Adar" If a court announces before Rosh HaShanah, "The year to come will be a leap year" this announcement does not make the year a leap year.
יג
יש לבית דין לחשב ולקבוע ולידע אי זו שנה תהיה מעוברת בכל עת שירצה אפילו לכמה שנים. אבל אין אומרין שנה פלונית מעוברת אלא אחר ראש השנה הוא שאומר שנה זו מעוברת. ודבר זה מפני הדחק אבל שלא בשעת הדחק אין מודיעין שהיא מעוברת אלא באדר הוא שאומר שנה זו מעוברת וחדש הבא אינו ניסן אלא אדר שני. אמרו לפני ראש השנה שנה זו מעוברת אינה מעוברת באמירה זו:
14
If the thirtieth day of Adar arrived without the year having been declared a leap year, it should never be made a leap year.37For that date is fit to be Rosh Chodesh Nisan, and once Nisan begins without the year having been declared a leap year, [the court] no longer has that option. If, however, they declared a leap year on the thirtieth of Adar, their ruling is binding.
If witnesses came after the leap year had been declared and testified regarding [the sighting of] the moon, the court sanctifies the new month on the thirtieth day, and makes it the Rosh Chodesh of the second Adar.38 If they had sanctified the new month on the thirtieth day before they declared a leap year, they would not have been able to declare the leap year. For a leap year may not be declared in Nisan.
יד
הגיע יום שלשים באדר ולא עיברו עדיין השנה לא יעברו אותה כלל. שאותו היום ראוי להיות ראש חדש ניסן ומשיכנס ניסן ולא עיברו אינן יכולים לעבר. ואם עיברוה ביום שלשים של אדר הרי זו מעוברת. באו עדים אחר שעיברו והעידו על הירח הרי אלו מקדשין את החדש ביום שלשים ויהיה ראש חדש אדר שני. ואילו קידשוהו קודם שיעברו את השנה שוב לא היו מעברין שאין מעברין בניסן:
15
A leap year may not be declared in a year of famine39 when everyone is hurrying to the granaries to partake [of the new year's harvest] and derive vitality. [In such a situation,] it is impossible to prolong the time when the prohibition against eating from the new harvest [is in effect].40
We do not declare the Sabbatical year41 a leap year, because everyone is entitled to take the crops that grow on their own.42 Therefore, grain will not be available to offer the omer [of barley] and the two loaves of bread [offered on Shavuot].43 It was customary to make the year preceding the Sabbatical year a leap year.44
טו
אין מעברין את השנה בשנת רעבון שהכל רצים לבית הגרנות לאכול ולחיות ואי אפשר להוסיף להן זמן לאסור החדש. ואין מעברין בשביעית שיד הכל שולטת על הספיחין ולא ימצאו לקרב העומר ושתי הלחם. ורגילין היו לעבר בערב שביעית:
16
It appears to me45 that our Sages' statement that a leap year should not be declared in a year of famine and in the Sabbatical year means that a leap year should not be declared because of the condition of the roads or the bridges, or because of factors of this nature. If, however, it is appropriate to declare a leap year because [Pesach will fall before] the vernal equinox, because [the barley has not] ripened, or because the fruit trees [have not bloomed], a leap year is declared always.46
טז
יראה לי שזה שאמרו חכמים אין מעברין בשנת רעבון ובשביעית. שלא יעברו בהם מפני צורך הדרכים והגשרים וכיוצא בהם. אבל אם היתה השנה ראויה להתעבר מפני התקופה או מפני האביב ופירות האילן מעברין לעולם בכל זמן:
17
When the court institutes a leap year, they write a letter to all [the people in] distant places, notifying them that a leap year has been instituted, and the reason for which it was instituted.
These letters were written in the name of the nasi.47 They would say, "Let it be known that I and my colleagues have agreed to add to this year this many days" - for it was possible for them to declare a month of twenty-nine days or a month of thirty days.
[The intent is that] the court had the option of notifying the people in the outlying areas that the month would [probably] be either full or lacking.48 [In fact, however,] the determination of whether the month is full or lacking is dependent on the sighting of the moon.
יז
כשמעברין בית דין את השנה כותבין אגרות לכל המקומות הרחוקים ומודיעים אותן שעיברוה ומפני מה עיברו. ועל לשון הנשיא נכתבו. ואומר להן יודע לכם שהסכמתי אני וחברי והוספנו על שנה זו כך וכך. רצו תשעה ועשרים יום רצו שלשים יום. שחדש העיבור הרשות לבית דין להוסיפו מלא או חסר לאנשים הרחוקים שמודיעין אותם. אבל הם לפי הראיה הם עושים אם מלא אם חסר
FOOTNOTES
1.This month is added to juxtapose the lunar calendar upon which the months are based, with the solar calendar, which governs the years.
2.The Mechilta (commenting on Exodus 12:2) states that just as when a month is made full the addition is made at the end of the month, so too, when a year is made full the addition is made at the end. (The year is considered as beginning in Nisan and ending in Adar.)
3.Based on Hilchot Nedarim 10:6, it appears that the Rambam considers the first Adar to be the additional month of the leap year. The Tur and the Ramah (Orach Chayim 427:1) differ and consider the second Adar to be the additional month.
In practice, Purim is always celebrated in the second Adar (Hilchot Megillah 1:12). There is a difference of opinion with regard to whether to commemorate birthdays, yahrzeits, and the like that took place in Adar of an ordinary year in the first or the second Adar of a leap year. The accepted custom in the Ashkenazic community is to commemorate them in the first Adar of a leap year (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 221:3).
4.Based on this verse, Rav Sa'adiah Gaon considers the adjustment of the yearly calendar to be a separate mitzvah. The Rambam, by contrast, considers it one dimension of the mitzvah of establishing the calendar.
5.In astronomical terms, the vernal equinox is defined as the entry of the sun into the constellation of Aries the ram (Chapter 9, Halachah 3).
6.We have translated the Hebrew word אביב as "ripening," as in Exodus 9:31. Because the agricultural cycle was so much an integral part of the calendar, the word אביב also means "spring" in Hebrew.
7.The calculations that the court would consider are outlined in Chapter 9.
8.The Ra'avad (in his gloss on Halachah 16), the Ramah and others take issue with the Rambam on this point, maintaining that even when Pesach falls before the vernal equinox, another factor is necessary for a leap year to be declared.
9.Both these factors are, however, necessary. Neither in their own right is sufficient.
10.Based on Sanhedrin 13a,b, the Ramah (cited in the gloss of the Kessef Mishneh on Halachah 15) notes that our Sages required that the festival of Sukkot occur after the autumnal equinox. If the vernal equinox falls on the fifteenth of Nisan, it is possible that the autumnal equinox will not take place until the twenty-first of Tishrei, six days after Sukkot begins.
Several different perspectives are offered to resolve this point. Among them: The Or Sameach maintains that the Rambam's text originally contained a reference to the autumnal equinox, and it was omitted by the later printers. Aruch HaShulchan, by contrast, maintains that, according to the Rambam, the entire discussion in Sanhedrin is not accepted as halachah. We are not at all concerned with the autumnal equinox; all that is significant is that Pesach fall after the vernal equinox.
11.See Leviticus 23:9-14; Hilchot Temidim UMusafim 7:3.
12.The climates of these lands are different, and it is possible that the barley will have ripened in one land, but not in the others.
13.As opposed to the factors mentioned in the following halachot.
14.I.e., these factors are not associated with the juxtaposition of the lunar and solar calendars, but rather related to the celebration of the pilgrimage festival of Pesach in a complete manner.
15.Because they were damaged by the rains.
16.The ovens were earthenware, and could be damaged by substantial rains.
17.The Jerusalem Talmud (Sanhedrin 1:2) states that an effort should be made to enable the entire Jewish people to celebrate the pilgrimage festivals in Jerusalem.
18.Rashi, Sanhedrin 12a, writes that these factors will make the people's journey to Jerusalem uncomfortable, but will not prevent them from making the journey.
19.In his commentary on the tractate of Sanhedrin (one of the few tractates of the Gemara on which the Rambam wrote a commentary), the Rambam quotes Rav Hai Gaon as explaining that this instance refers to a situation in which the people were impure because of contact with a human corpse, and no ashes from the red heifer remained to purify them. One might think that the year should be made full to enable the priests enough time to offer a new red heifer and prepare ashes. Therefore, our Sages feel it necessary to explain that this measure is not taken, and in this instance the Paschal sacrifice should be offered by a priest in a state of ritual impurity.
20.On the one hand, an individual who is ritually impure may not offer the Paschal sacrifice at its appropriate time, but instead should offer it a month later, on Pesach Sheni. On the other hand, when the majority of the Jewish people, or the majority of the priests, are impure, the sacrifice should be offered in a state of ritual impurity. (See Hilchot Korban Pesach 7:1; Hilchot Bi'at HaMikdash 4:16.)
21.Our Sages interpret Deuteronomy 16:16, "You shall not appear before God empty-handed," as obligating a person to bring an olah ("burnt") offering on the pilgrimage festivals. The Rambam maintains that doves could be brought for these offerings. (See Hilchot Chaggigah 1:1.) Other authorities differ, as explained in the commentaries on that halachah.
22.E.g., a woman who gives birth (Leviticus 12:8), zavim (Leviticus 15:14), and zavot (Leviticus 15:29). It was customary for people living far from Jerusalem to delay offering the sacrifices they were obligated to bring until the pilgrimage festivals.
23.By mentioning both factors (the barley and the fruit trees), the Rambam indicates that he does not follow the perspective suggested by Rashi (Sanhedrin 11a), which states that the lack of lambs or doves coupled with either a delay in the ripening of the barley or the blooming of the fruit trees is sufficient cause to make the year full.
24.See Sanhedrin 11a, which relates that Rabban Gamliel once invited seven members of the Sanhedrin to participate in the deliberations regarding whether or not to make a year full. He requested that they meet him in the loft of the court early the following morning. When an additional member of the court came, Rabban Gamliel protested and taught the Sages this halachah.
25.For a leap year can be declared only by the High Court, or by a court deputized by the High Court (Chapter 5, Halachah 1).
26.When there are fewer than seven judges in the court, a leap year is instituted only when the decision to do so is unanimous. Only when the court is expanded to include seven judges is a majority ruling accepted as binding (Rabbenu Chananel, Sanhedrin 10b).
27.I.e., the head of the court.
28.Lest the lesser judges be intimidated after hearing the decision of the head of the court, and refrain from expressing their own opinion.
29.For the matter is more of a formality; the head of the court merely pronounces the month as sanctified.
30.Based on this ruling, Rabbi Akiva Eiger questions why King Chizkiyah was able to institute a leap year, as related in Pesachim 4:10.
31.Rashi (Sanhedrin 18b) states that the king would pay his soldiers a yearly salary, and therefore, by instituting an extra month, he would gain.
The B'nei Binyamin explains that there is also a reason for a king to desire to refrain from instituting an extra month. Bridegrooms, those who have built new homes, and those who have planted vineyards are freed from army service for a year. If a leap year is instituted, they benefit. Therefore, if a sizable portion of the population fell into these categories, and men were required for the army, it would be preferable for the king not to institute a leap year.
32.I.e., the Temple in Jerusalem. Curiously, however, it does not appear that the Rambam requires the proceedings to be carried out in the Temple, or even in Jerusalem.
33.Sanhedrin 11b states that there is an equation between the institution of a leap year and the sanctification of the new moon. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Halachah 8, the new moon can be sanctified only during the day.
Based on the equation between these two practices, the Minchat Chinuch (Mitzvah 4) questions the law mentioned previously: Why may the moon be sanctified throughout Eretz Yisrael (Chapter 1, Halachah 8) if a leap year may be instituted only in the territory of Judea?
34.Sanhedrin 12a relates that once, when Rabbi Akiva was imprisoned by the Romans, he instituted three leap years for the future.
35.Shorshei HaYam cites the fact that the year can be declared a leap year well in advance, as support for the Rambam's thesis (Halachah 2) that the fact that Pesach would be celebrated before the vernal equinox is, by itself, sufficient cause to declare a leap year. At the beginning of the year, it is impossible to know the state of the barley harvest, or the fruit trees.
36.Rashi (Sanhedrin, ibid.) relates that this refers to a situation when it was feared that the Romans would prevent the leap year from being instituted if the court waited for the usual time.
Note the Minchat Chinuch (Mitzvah 4), which explains that an early declaration should be made only in a pressing situation. The court may, however, calculate months and even years in advance, even in cases where the situation is not pressing.
37.I.e., although, as the Rambam continues, if they instituted a leap year on this date their ruling would be binding, at the outset they should not take such a step.
Pesachim 4:10 relates that declaring a leap year on this date was one of the three acts performed by King Chizkiyah that did not find favor in the eyes of the Sages.
38.Retroactively, it appears that the thirtieth day was fit to be Rosh Chodesh Nisan, and therefore the institution of the leap year would not have been effective. Nevertheless, since in actual fact, the declaration of the leap year preceded the sanctification of the new month, it is effective.
39.Sanhedrin 12a credits Elisha the prophet with the institution of this prohibition.
40.The prohibition of chadash prevents one from partaking of grain from the new harvest until the offering of the omer of barley on the sixteenth of Nisan (Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot 10:2-5). When the previous year has been plagued with famine, it is undesirable to keep this prohibition in effect any longer than necessary.
41.The Rambam follows the opinion in Sanhedrin (loc. cit.), which forbids instituting a leap year only in the Sabbatical year. Another opinion forbids instituting a leap year in the year following the Sabbatical year.
42.Our translation follows the commentary of the Perush, which explains that according to the Torah, all agricultural labor is forbidden in the Sabbatical year. It is, nevertheless, permitted to take crops that grow from seeds strewn by the wind or that grow from other causes that did not result from conscious human labor. Although our Sages forbade benefitting from such crops for personal use, it was from these crops that the grain used for the omer offering and the two loaves of bread were harvested.
The Sages forbade using these crops for personal use. Nevertheless, since the prohibition did not originate in the Torah, our Sages feared that it would not be observed by the common people and the crops would not remain for these sacrifices.
Significantly, Rashi and others offer a second rationale for this practice, that our Sages did not want to prolong a year when it was forbidden to do agricultural work.
43.See Leviticus 23:17. As the verse states, this offering and the omer must be from the harvest of the new year.
44.So that the farmers would have an extra month to work the land and gather its crops (Rashi, Sanhedrin, loc. cit.).
45.This expression indicates a ruling that the Rambam derives from his own logic without an explicit source in the works of our Sages. The Or Sameach cites a passage (Sanhedrin 26a), which appears to indicate that it is impossible to declare a Sabbatical year a leap year. There are, however, other interpretations of that passage. (See Tosafot, loc. cit..)
46.It appears that the Rambam's logic is that since according to the Torah, it is necessary to declare a leap year under such circumstances, the leap year should be declared. There is no obligation from the Torah to declare a leap year, because of problems with the roads or because of the other circumstances mentioned in Halachah 5. The Sages prescribed ordaining a leap year in these circumstances out of consideration for the people. In a Sabbatical year or a year of famine, the considerations mentioned in the previous halachah override those that would ordinarily require the year to be declared a leap year.
Significantly, the Ra'avad, the Ramah, and others do not accept the distinction made by the Rambam, and maintain that a Sabbatical year and a year of famine should never be declared leap years.
47.The Rambam's statement is based on the narrative in Sanhedrin 11b, which relates that Rabban Gamliel sent letters to Jews throughout the diaspora notifying them of the declaration of a leap year.
48.Since through calculations, it is possible to know whether or not it is likely for the moon to be sighted on the thirtieth night, the court would notify the people in the outlying areas accordingly. This notification would, however, be conditional on the actual sighting of the moon.
Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Five
1
All the statements made previously regarding the [prerogative to] sanctify Rosh Chodesh because of the sighting of the moon, and [to] establish a leap year to reconcile the calendar or because of a necessity, apply to the Sanhedrin in Eretz Yisrael. [For it is they] alone, or a court of judges possessing semichah that holds sessions in Eretz Yisrael and that was granted authority by the Sanhedrin, [who may authorize these decisions].1
[This concept is derived] from the command given Moses and Aaron [Exodus 12:2]: "This month shall be for you the first of months" The Oral Tradition as passed down, teacher to student, from Moses our teacher [throughout the generations, explains that] the verse is interpreted as follows:2 This testimony is entrusted to you and those [sages] who arise after you and who function in your position.3
When, however, there is no Sanhedrin in Eretz Yisrael, we establish the monthly calendar and institute leap years solely according to the fixed calendar that is followed now.
א
כל מה שאמרנו מקביעות ראש חדש על הראיה ועיבור השנה מפני הזמן או מפני הצורך. אין עושין אותו אלא סנהדרין שבארץ ישראל או בית דין הסמוכים בארץ ישראל שנתנו להן הסנהדרין רשות. שכך נאמר למשה ולאהרן החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים ומפי השמועה למדו איש מאיש ממשה רבינו שכך הוא פירוש הדבר עדות זו תהיה מסורה לכם וכל העומד אחריכם במקומכם. אבל בזמן שאין שם סנהדרין בארץ ישראל אין קובעין חדשים ואין מעברין שנים אלא בחשבון זה שאנו מחשבין בו היום:
2
This concept is a halachah communicated to Moses on [Mount] Sinai:4 When there is a Sanhedrin, the monthly calendar is established according to the sighting of the moon. When there is no Sanhedrin, the monthly calendar is established according to the fixed calendar that we follow now, and the sighting of the moon is of no consequence.
When the fixed calendar is followed, there are times when the day established [as Rosh Chodesh] will be the day on which the moon is sighted, and there are times when the sighting will either precede or follow it by a day.5 It is, however, an extremely extraordinary phenomenon for [the day established as Rosh Chodesh] to be a day after the sighting [of the moon], [and this is possible only] in the lands that are west of Eretz Yisrael.6
ב
ודבר זה הלכה למשה מסיני הוא. שבזמן שיש סנהדרין קובעין על פי הראיה ובזמן שאין שם סנהדרין קובעין על פי החשבון הזה שאנו מחשבין בו היום ואין נזקקין לראיה. אלא פעמים שיהיה יום שקובעין בו בחשבון זה הוא יום הראייה או קודם לו ביום או אחריו ביום. וזה שיהיה לאחר הראייה ביום פלא הוא ובארצות שהן למערב ארץ ישראל:
3
When did the entire Jewish people begin using this calendar? At the conclusion of the Talmudic period, when Eretz Yisrael was in ruin, and an established court no longer remained there.7 In the era of the Sages of the Mishnah, and in the era of the Sages of the Gemara until the time of Abbaye and Ravvah,8 [the people] would rely on the establishment [of the calendar] in Eretz Yisrael.9
ג
ומאימתי התחילו כל ישראל לחשב בחשבון זה. מסוף חכמי הגמרא בעת שחרבה ארץ ישראל ולא נשאר שם בית דין קבוע. אבל בימי חכמי משנה וכן בימי חכמי הגמרא עד ימי אביי ורבא על קביעת ארץ ישראל היו סומכין:
4
When the Sanhedrin functioned and the calendar was established based on the sighting [of the moon], the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael and, [similarly, the inhabitants of] all the places where the messengers of Tishrei10 would arrive, would celebrate the holidays for one day only.
The inhabitants of the distant places that were not reached by the messengers of Tishrei would celebrate two days because of the doubt involved. For they did not know the day that the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael established as [the beginning of] the new month.
ד
כשהיתה סנהדרין קיימת והיו קובעין על הראייה. היו בני ארץ ישראל וכל המקומות שמגיעין אליהן שלוחי תשרי עושין ימים טובים יום אחד בלבד. ושאר המקומות הרחוקות שאין שלוחי תשרי מגיעין אליהם היו עושים שני ימים מספק לפי שלא היו יודעין יום שקבעו בו בני ארץ ישראל את החדש:
5
In the present era, when the Sanhedrin no longer exists, and the court of Eretz Yisrael establishes [the months] according to the [fixed] calendar,11 according to law, it would be appropriate for [Jews] throughout the world to celebrate the holidays for one day alone.12 For [the inhabitants of] the distant regions of the diaspora and the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael rely on the same [fixed] calendar and establish [the festivals] accordingly. Nevertheless, the Sages ordained [that the inhabitants of the diaspora] retain the custom of their ancestors.13
ה
בזמן הזה שאין שם סנהדרין ובית דין של ארץ ישראל קובעין על חשבון זה. היה מן הדין שיהיו בכל המקומות עושין יום טוב אחד בלבד אפילו המקומות הרחוקות שבחוצה לארץ כמו בני ארץ ישראל. שהכל על חשבון אחד סומכין וקובעין. אבל תקנת חכמים הוא שיזהרו במנהג אבותיהם שבידיהם:
6
Therefore, [the inhabitants of] all the places that the messengers of Tishrei would not reach in the era when the messengers were sent out should celebrate two days even in the present era, just as they did when the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael established [the calendar] according to the sighting of the moon.
In the present era, the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael continue their custom and celebrate one day;14 for they never celebrated two days. Thus, our celebration of the second day of the holidays in the diaspora at present is a Rabbinic institution.15
ו
לפיכך כל מקום שלא היו שלוחי תשרי מגיעין אליו כשהיו השלוחין יוצאין. יעשו שני ימים ואפילו בזמן הזה כמו שהיו עושין בזמן שבני ארץ ישראל קובעין על הראייה. ובני ארץ ישראל בזמן הזה עושין יום אחד כמנהגן שמעולם לא עשו שני ימים. נמצא יום טוב שני שאנו עושין בגליות בזמן הזה מדברי סופרים שתקנו דבר זה:
7
[Even] when the calendar was established based on the sighting of the moon, the majority of the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael would celebrate Rosh HaShanah for two days, because of the doubt involved.16 They would not know the day on which the court established the new month, because the messengers would not depart on the holiday.17
ז
יום טוב של ראש השנה בזמן שהיו קובעין על הראייה היו רוב בני ארץ ישראל עושין אותו שני ימים מספק. לפי שלא היו יודעין יום שקבעו בו בית הדין את החדש שאין השלוחין יוצאין ביום טוב:
8
Moreover, even in Jerusalem, where the court would hold session, there were many times when the holiday of Rosh HaShanah was celebrated for two days. For if witnesses did not arrive on the thirtieth day [following Rosh Chodesh Elul], the day on which they had awaited [the arrival of] witnesses would be regarded as holy,18and the following day would be regarded as holy.19
Since [there were times when] they would observe [Rosh HaShanah for] two days even when they sanctified the months according to the sighting [of the moon], [our Sages] ordained that even the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael20 should always celebrate [Rosh HaShanah] for two days in the present era, when [the holidays] are established based on the fixed calendar. Thus, even [the observance of] the second day of Rosh HaShanah in the present era is a Rabbinic ordinance.
ח
ולא עוד אלא אפילו בירושלים עצמה שהוא מקום בית דין פעמים רבות היו עושין יום טוב של ראש השנה שני ימים. שאם לא באו העדים כל יום שלשים נוהגין היו באותו היום שמצפין לעדים קדש ולמחר קדש. והואיל והיו עושין אותו שני ימים ואפילו בזמן הראייה התקינו שיהיו עושין אפילו בני ארץ ישראל אותו תמיד שני ימים בזמן הזה שקובעין על החשבון. הנה למדת שאפילו יום טוב שני של ראש השנה בזמן הזה מדברי סופרים:
9
The celebration of the holidays for one or two days is not dependent on geographic distance [alone]. What is implied?
If a place is located within a five-day - or less - journey from Jerusalem, and thus it was surely possible for the messengers to reach them, we do not postulate that the inhabitants celebrate only one day. For we have no way of knowing whether or not the messengers [of the High Court] would journey to this place.21 Perhaps the messengers did not journey to this place because it was not populated by Jews at that time. [And if] it became populated by Jews after it [had become customary] to establish [the festivals] according to the fixed calendar, they [would be] obligated to celebrate two days.
Alternatively, [perhaps the messengers did not reach there,] because there was a blockade on the way, as existed between Jerusalem and the Galilee during the time of the Mishnah,22 or perhaps the Samaritans would prevent the messengers from passing through their [territory].
ט
אין עשיית יום טוב אחד תלוייה בקריבת המקום. כיצד אם יהיה מקום בינו ובין ירושלים מהלך חמשה ימים או פחות שבודאי אפשר שיגיעו להן שלוחין. אין אומרין שאנשי מקום זה עושין יום טוב אחד. שמי יאמר לנו שהיו השלוחים יוצאין למקום זה. שמא לא היו שלוחים יוצאין למקום זה מפני שלא היו שם ישראל ואחר שחזרו לקבוע על החשבון ישבו שם ישראלים שהן חייבין לעשות שני ימים. או מפני שהיה חירום בדרך כדרך שהיה בין יהודה וגליל בימי חכמי המשנה. או מפני שהיו הכותים מונעין את השלוחין לעבור ביניהן:
10
If the matter were dependent on geographic distance alone, all the inhabitants of Egypt would observe the holidays for only one day, for it is possible for the messengers of Tishrei to reach them. The distance between Jerusalem and Egypt via Ashkelon is a journey of eight days or less. Similar concepts apply regarding the majority of Syria. One thus can conclude that the matter is not dependent solely on geographic distance.
י
ואילו היה הדבר תלוי בקריבת המקום היו כל בני מצרים עושין יום אחד. שהרי אפשר שיגיעו להם שלוחי תשרי. שאין בין ירושלים ומצרים על דרך אשקלון אלא מהלך שמנה ימים או פחות וכן רוב סוריא. הא למדת שאין הדבר תלוי בהיות המקום קרוב:
11
Thus, the principles governing this matter can be summarized as follows: Whenever the distance between Jerusalem and a particular place exceeds a ten-day journey, the inhabitants should observe [the holidays] for two days, as was their previous custom. For the messengers sent out for Tishrei [cannot be guaranteed] to reach places other than those within a ten-day journey from Jerusalem.23
[T he following rules apply when, by contrast,] places are a ten-day journey or less from Jerusalem, and thus it is possible that the messengers could have reached them: We see whether that place is [located in the portions of] Eretz Yisrael that were inhabited by Jews during the time the calendar was established on the basis of the sighting [of the moon] during the second conquest [of the land] - e.g., Usha, Shefaram, Luz, Yavneh, Nov, Tiberias, and the like. [The inhabitants of these places] should celebrate only one day.
If the place is part of Syria24 - e.g., Tyre, Damascus, Ashkelon,25and the like - they should follow the custom of their ancestors. If [the custom was to celebrate] one day, [they should celebrate] one day. [If the custom was] two days, [they should celebrate] two days.
יא
נמצא עיקר דבר זה על דרך זו כך הוא. כל מקום שיש בינו ובין ירושלים מהלך יתר על עשרה ימים גמורים עושין שני ימים לעולם כמנהגם מקודם. שאין שלוחי כל תשרי ותשרי מגיעין אלא למקום שבינו ובין ירושלים מהלך עשרה ימים או פחות. וכל מקום שבינו לבין ירושלים מהלך עשרה ימים בשוה או פחות שאפשר שיהיו שלוחין מגיעין אליו. רואים אם אותו המקום מארץ ישראל שהיו בה ישראל בשעת הראייה בכבוש שני כגון אושא ושפרעם ולוז ויבנה ונוב וטבריא וכיוצא בהן עושין יום אחד בלבד. ואם אותו המקום מסוריא כגון צור ודמשק ואשקלון וכיוצא בהן. או מחוצה לארץ כגון מצרים ועמון ומואב וכיוצא בהן. עושין כמנהג אבותיהן שבידיהן אם יום אחד יום אחד ואם שני ימים שני ימים:
12
When a place is located within a journey of ten days or less from Jerusalem, and it is part of Syria or the diaspora, and [its inhabitants] have no [established] custom conveyed [from previous generations], they should celebrate two days, as is customary in the world at large. [The same rules apply to] a city that was created in the desert of Eretz Yisrael, or a city first populated by Jews in the present era.26
[At present,] the celebration of the second day of a holiday is always a Rabbinic institution. This applies even to the celebration of the second day of Rosh HaShanah, which is observed by all Jews in the present era.
יב
מקום שבינו ובין ירושלים עשרה ימים או פחות מעשרה והוא סוריא או חוצה לארץ ואין להם מנהג. או שהיא עיר שנתחדשה במדבר ארץ ישראל. או מקום ששכנו בו ישראל עתה. עושין שני ימים כמנהג רוב העולם. וכל יום טוב שני מדברי סופרים ואפילו יום טוב שני של ראש השנה שהכל עושין אותו בזמן הזה:
13
The calculations that we follow in the present era, every individual in his community, to ascertain which day is Rosh Chodesh and which day is Rosh HaShanah, do not determine [the calendar], nor do we rely on these calculations. For we do not institute leap years or establish the monthly calendar in the diaspora. We rely on the calculations of the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael and their establishment of the calendar.
reason we make calculations is merely for the sake of information. For we know that the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael rely on the same calendar. Thus, our calculations are intended to determine the day that the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael establish as Rosh Chodesh or a festival. For it is the establishment of the calendar by the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael that establishes a day as Rosh Chodesh or a festival, not our calculations of the calendar.27
יג
זה שאנו מחשבין בזמן הזה כל אחד ואחד בעירו ואומרין שראש חדש יום פלוני ויום טוב ביום פלוני. לא בחשבון שלנו אנו קובעין ולא עליו אנו סומכין. שאין מעברין שנים וקובעין חדשים בחוצה לארץ. ואין אנו סומכין אלא על חשבון בני ארץ ישראל וקביעתם. וזה שאנו מחשבין לגלות הדבר בלבד הוא. כיון שאנו יודעין שעל חשבון זה הן סומכין אנו מחשבין לידע יום שקבעו בו בני ארץ ישראל אי זה יום הוא. וקביעת בני ארץ ישראל אותו הוא שיהיה ראש חדש או יום טוב. לא מפני חשבון שאנו מחשבין
FOOTNOTES
1.The Ramban [in his gloss on Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 153)] differs and explains that although it was necessary for the judges who established the calendar to have semichah, there was no necessity that this function be carried out by the Sanhedrin or a court deputized by it.
2.This explanation was recorded for posterity in Rosh HaShanah 21b.
3.I.e., to the Sages of the Sanhedrin, who preserve the tradition of the Jewish court as initiated by Moses and Aaron.
4.In the Introduction to his Commentary on the Mishnah, the Rambam defines a halachah communicated to Moses on [Mount] Sinai as a law that is neither explicitly stated nor alluded to in the Written Law, but communicated through the Oral Tradition.
See also the statements of the Ramban (loc. cit.), who objects to the Rambam's statements, and asks which source states that this is a halachah communicated to Moses on Mount Sinai.
5.As explained in Chapter 6, the fixed calendar is based on the mean motion of the sun and the moon - i.e., their average rate of progress in the heavens. As explained in Chapter 11 onwards, the progress of the sun, and to an even greater extent that of the moon, deviates from this mean from time to time. Although ultimately these deviations will balance out, at any given time the day established as Rosh Chodesh may be before or after the day on which the moon can be sighted.
6.As explained in Chapter 18, Halachah 13, in the lands west of Eretz Yisrael the moon is sighted earlier than in Eretz Yisrael.
7.Based on the Rambam's statements in Sefer HaMitzvot (loc. cit.), the Chatam Sofer (Yoreh De'ah, Responsum 234) explains that the Rambam's intent is that, from that time onward, a formal court no longer held sessions in Eretz Yisrael; the land, however, remained populated by Jews. (See the notes on Halachah 5.)
8.This concept is derived from Rosh HaShanah 21a, which states that Ravvah fasted two days on Yom Kippur, because he did not know which day was established by the court in Eretz Yisrael.
9.This refers to the establishment of the fixed calendar by Rabbi Hillel (Hillel II), approximately two generations after the composition of the Jerusalem Talmud.
Most commentaries assume that the Rambam's intent is that until the time of Rabbi Hillel (not Hillel the Great, but a descendant of his, who lived several hundred years afterwards), the court sanctifiede moon based on the testimony of witnesses. Rav Kapach objects to this interpretation, noting that the sanctification of the moon required judges with semichah, and it appears that the practice of semichah had been nullified prior to this time.
Noting the precise words used by the Rambam, "[The people] would rely on the establishment [of the calendar] in Eretz Yisrael," Rav Kapach explains that the sanctification of the moon based on the testimony of witnesses had ended several generations previously, with the cessation of the practice of semichah. Nevertheless, the international Jewish community would look to the court in Eretz Yisrael for the establishment of the calendar. For the family of the Nesi'im had a private tradition regarding the calculation of the calendar. Nevertheless, at the time of Rabbi Hillel, this practice was also discontinued, and a fixed calendar was established that did not require the authority of any particular court.
10.See Chapter 3, Halachot 11-13.
11.Implicit in the Rambam's words is a concept explained in greater detail in Halachah 13: The determination of the calendar depends on the establishment of the calendar by the court in Eretz Yisrael.
12.As prescribed by the Torah. Once the date on which the festivals should be celebrated could be universally known because of the fixed calendar, the safeguard of celebrating the holidays for two days was no longer necessary.
13.Beitzah 4b explains that this rule was ordained lest the gentile authorities oppress the Jewish people and prevent the inhabitants of the diaspora from communicating the tradition of the calendar to their descendants. They would then have to rely on information conveyed from Eretz Yisrael again.
14.See, however, Halachot 11 and 12.
15.I.e., originally, the second day of the holidays was observed because of the doubt of the day on which to observe the Torah's commandment. In the present era there is no longer any doubt, and the observance of the second day of a holiday has the status of a Rabbinic ordinance.
16.To explain: Generally, the court would endeavor to structure the calendar so that the moon would be sighted on the thirtieth night of Elul. In expectation of the probability that the following day would be declared Rosh HaShanah, the people would observe all the holiday prohibitions and sound the shofar on the thirtieth day. Nevertheless, since it was possible that the moon had not been sighted, the people outside the immediate surroundings of Jerusalem would observe the following day as well.
See the Jerusalem Talmud (Eruvin 3:9) which states that the observance of Rosh HaShanah for two days was ordained by "the prophets of the earlier generations." Sotah 48b states that this term refers to the prophets of the First Temple era.
17.See Chapter 3, Halachah 8.
18.As mentioned above, except for the offering of the Rosh HaShanah sacrifices, the thirtieth day following Rosh Chodesh Elul was always observed as Rosh HaShanah in expectation of the arrival of witnesses.
19.For it would actually be observed as Rosh HaShanah.
20.Including even the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
21.As the Rambam continues to explain, the determining factor is not the geographic distance of a place from Jerusalem, but rather the custom followed in this place at the time when the High Court sent out messengers.
22.See Bava Batra 38a and Ketubot 17b, which tell of a time when a blockade prevented communication between Jerusalem and the Galilee.
23.For the messengers were forbidden to travel on Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and the two Sabbaths between Rosh HaShanah and Sukkot. In the years when Rosh HaShanah is observed on the Sabbath, the messengers could proceed a further day. Nevertheless, since this is not so in the majority of the years, a ten-day journey is accepted as the standard measure.
24.Note Hilchot Terumah 1:3, which defines Syria as referring to lands conquered by King David before the entire territory of Eretz Yisrael proper had been conquered. Therefore, it was not considered part of the Holy Land with regard to most ritual questions according to the Torah itself. Nevertheless, the Rabbis extended many of the laws applying to Eretz Yisrael to this territory as well.
25.The inclusion of Ashkelon, which is located to the southwest of Eretz Yisrael, in Syria clearly indicates that the Rambam is referring to the halachic conception of the latter term, and not the geographic one, since Syria is to the northeast of Eretz Yisrael.
There is, however, a slight difficulty with the Rambam's statements: In Hilchot Terumah 1:9, he describes Ashkelon as being part of the diaspora.
26.Based on this halachah, according to the Rambam, most Jews living in Eretz Yisrael today should celebrate the holidays for two days. Indeed, the Eretz Tzvi, a text that documents the prevailing customs in Eretz Yisrael before the waves of European immigration, states that in cities like Ramlah, that did not have an existing custom dating back to the Talmudic period, the holidays would be celebrated for two days, as the Rambam states.
It was not until the resettlement of Eretz Yisrael in the present era that such cities began observing the holidays for only one day. The source for this practice is the commentary of the Ritba (Rosh HaShanah 16b), who states that, in the present era, it is the geographic definitions of Eretz Yisrael and the diaspora that determine whether or not one should celebrate one day.
[It must be emphasized that even according to the Ritba, it is questionable whether the inhabitants of areas of the Negev below Beersheba should celebrate the holidays for only one day. For these places are also beyond the geographic limits of Eretz Yisrael of the Talmudic period.]
27.The Rambam's statements in this halachah are a reiteration of the principles he expresses in Sefer HaMitzvot, loc. cit. Citing Isaiah 2:3, "Out of Zion shall come forth the Torah," the Rambam emphasizes that the determination of the calendar is solely the province of the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael.
Until the time of Rabbi Hillel, the court of Eretz Yisrael determined the calendar through their independent calculations. Even after the court ceased to function and the fixed calendar was adopted, the determination of the calendar still depends on the establishment of the calendar in Eretz Yisrael. The only difference is that from the time of Rabbi Hillel onward, instead of determining the calendar independently, the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael would rely on the fixed calendar.
For this reason, the Rambam points to a Divine covenant insuring that there will always be Jews living in our Holy Land. For were there not to be any Jews living in Eretz Yisrael, heaven forbid, we would not be able to determine the calendar. (See Chatam Sofer, Yoreh De'ah, Responsum 234).
Hayom Yom:• English Text | Video ClassSunday, Kislev 8, 5778 · 26 November 2017
"Today's Day"
Sunday, Kislev 8, 5704
Torah lessons: Chumash: Vayishlach, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 44-48.
Tanya: We must understand (p. 611)...and the like. (p. 613).
Man should ponder thoughtfully how great are the kindnesses of the Creator: Such a puny insignificant being, Man, can bring great delight to the "Greatest of all great"' of Whom it is written, "There is no delving into His greatness."1 Man ought therefore always be inspired, and perform his avoda with an eager heart and spirit.
FOOTNOTES
1.Tehillim 145:3.
Daily Thought:
Grasping Truth
Blind faith cannot grasp Truth, because it does not grasp anything at all.
Intellect cannot grasp Truth, because intellect is finite and Truth is infinite.
Only the eye of the soul, its inner wisdom, can grasp Truth and know it as she knows her own self.
For she is Truth.
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