עירובין 39:1 — Soncino English Talmud

no man shall walk about the gate of a province in order that he might enter a bath house as soon [as the holy day terminates],’ he would have changed his view. This however is not correct. He did in fact hear of this ruling but did not change his view, since there the motive is obvious while here it is not at all obvious. For if the person is a scholar people would assume that he might have been absorbed in his studies, and if he is an ‘am ha-arez, it would be said that he might have lost his ass. [To turn to] the main text: Rab Judah ruled: If a man prepared an ‘erub for the first day with his feet he must also prepare it for the second day with his feet and if he prepared the ‘erub for the first day with bread he must also prepare it for the second day with bread; if he prepared his ‘erub for the first day with bread [and it was lost] he may prepare it for the second day with his feet, but if he prepared it for the first day with his feet he may not prepare it for the second day with bread because It is not allowed [on a festival day] to prepare for the first time an ‘erub [for the Sabbath] with bread. ‘If he prepared the ‘erub for the first day with bread he must also prepare it for the second day with bread’. Samuel explained: But only with the same bread. R. Ashi remarked: Logical deduction from our Mishnah also [leads to the same conclusion]. For it was stated: HOW DOES HE ACT? HE ARRANGES [FOR THE ‘ERUB] TO BE CARRIED [TO THE REQUIRED SPOT] ON THE FIRST DAY [BY A DEPUTY] WHO, HAVING REMAINED THERE WITH IT UNTIL, DUSK, TAKES IT UP AND GOES AWAY. ON THE SECOND [DAY THE ‘ERUB IS AGAIN CARRIED THERE AND] KEPT UNTIL DUSK WHEN [THE DEPUTY] EATS IT AND GOES AWAY. And the Rabbis? — There we might merely have been given a piece of good advice. MISHNAH. R JUDAH RULED: [IF ON THE EVE OF THE] NEW YEAR A MAN FEARS THAT [THE PRECEDING MONTH OF ELUL.] MIGHT BE INTERCALATED, HE MAY PREPARE TWO ‘ERUBS AND MAKE THIS DECLARATION: ‘MY ‘ERUB FOR THE FIRST [DAY SHALL BE] TO THE EAST AND THE ONE FOR THE SECOND DAY TO THE WEST’; ‘THE ONE FOR THE FIRST DAY TO THE WEST AND THE ONE FOR THE SECOND DAY TO THE EAST’; ‘MY ‘ERUB [SHALL BE EFFECTIVE] FOR THE FIRST DAY, AND FOR THE SECOND [I SHALL RETAIN THE SAME RIGHTS] AS THE PEOPle OF MY TOWN’ OR ‘MY ‘ERUB [SHALL BE EFFECTIVE] FOR THE SECOND DAY, AND) FOR THE FIRST [I SHALL RETAIN THE SAME RIGHTS] AS THE PEOPLE OF MY TOWN. THE SAGES, HOWEVER, DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM. R. JUDAH FURTHER RULED: A MAN MAY CONDITIONALLY [SET ASIDE TERUMAH] FOR A BASKET [OF PRODUCE] ON THE FIRST FESTIVAL DAY [OF NEW YEAR] AND MAY THEN EAT IT ON THE SECOND DAY, AND SO ALSO IF AN EGG WAS LAID ON THE FIRST [FESTIVAL] DAY IT MAY BE EATEN ON THE SECOND; BUT THE SAGES DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM. R. DOSA B. HARKINAS RULED: THE PERSON WHO ACTS AS CONGREGATIONAL READER ON [THE FIRST DAY OF] THE FESTIVAL OF THE NEW YEAR SAYS: ‘FORTIFY US, O LORD OUR GOD, ON THIS FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, WHETHER IT BE TODAY OR TOMORROW’; AND ON THE FOLLOWING DAY HE SAYS: ‘[FORTIFY US ETC.] WHETHER IT BE TODAY OR YESTERDAY’. THE SAGES, HOWEVER, DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM. GEMARA. Who [is it that] DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM? Rab replied: It is R. Jose; for it was taught: The Sages agree with R. Eliezer that if on [the eve of] the New Year a man fears that [the preceding month of Elul] might be intercalated, he may prepare two ‘erubs and make this declaration: ‘My ‘erub for the first [day shall be] to the east and the one on the second day to the west’, ‘The one for the first day to the west and the one for the second day to the east’, ‘My ‘erub [shall be effective] for the first day, and for the second [I shall retain the same rights] as the people of my town’, or ‘My ‘erub [shall be effective] for the second day, and for the first [I shall retain the same rights] as the people of my town’; but R. Jose forbids this. Said R. Jose to them: Do you not agree that, if witnesses came after the [offering of the] minhah both that day and the day following are observed as holy [days]?35^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ

^ᵃnote:On the Sabbath or a festival.
^ᵇnote:Aliter: ‘Shall take a walk to’ (cf. Rashi and Gold.).
^ᶜnote:That is nearby.
^ᵈnote:Because, from this Baraitha it is obvious that, on a holy day’ even a walk is forbidden if the purpose is to facilitate some forbidden act. Similarly in the case of ‘erub, if the utterance of the formula would constitute an infringement of the law of preparation the silent occupation of the required spot for the same purpose would equally constitute an infringement.
^ᵉnote:The walks in the Baraitha cited.
^ᶠnote:No one would ordinarily walk on a holy day to the end of his field or to the gate of a province unless he intended, in the former case, to carry’ out some work in the field or, in the latter case, to enter a bath house as soon as the day ended.
^ᵍnote:Lit., ‘it drew him’.
^ʰnote:And absentmindedly walked on to the Sabbath limit.
^ⁱnote:V. Glos., who does not engage in study.
^ʲnote:And he went to make enquiries about it. Such enquiries as well as the return of the animal to its stable are permitted even on a holy day.
^ᵏnote:Since the ‘erub would have to be Named on the festival day the prohibition against performing an act on a festival for the Sabbath would be infringed.
^ˡnote:That only bread that was on the eve of a festival named as ‘erub may be used for the Sabbath ‘erub but no new bread that would have to be named as ‘erub on the festival day.
^ᵐnote:Abaye and Rabbah b. Hanin who argued supra against Rabbah's ruling which forbids the naming of an ‘erub on a festival for the Sabbath. How could they maintain their views against the deduction from our Mishnah?
^ⁿnote:In our Mishnah.
^ᵒnote:Which does not preclude the naming of new bread as ‘erub if the man is inclined to do so.
^ᵖnote:Living in the diaspora, too far from Jerusalem (the seat of the Sanhedrin or supreme court) to ascertain in time which day was fixed as the New Year. The day beginning [he new year, is well as the respective days beginning the months of the year, was determined and announced in Jerusalem after the authorities heard, and were satisfied with the necessary evidence on the time the new moon appeared in the respective month.
^ᵠnote:I.e., declared to consist of thirty, instead of twenty-nine days. If the witnesses were in time only the day following the twenty-ninth of Elul was announced as New Year's day, but if they were late, that day’ was added to Elul and the New Year festival was announced for both that day (the thirtieth of Elul) and the day following it (the first of Tishri), though in fact the latter only was the holy day.
^ʳnote:If he wishes to go on the two days respectively in two opposite directions of the town (as in the case in the Mishnah supra 38a).
^ˢnote:Depositing them in the two opposite directions of the town respectively at distances of two thousand cubits.
^ᵗnote:For further notes v. Mishnah supra 38a.
^ᵘnote:They regard both days as one entity of holiness.
^ᵛnote:This is explained infra 39b.
^ʷnote:Though the setting aside of the priestly dues is forbidden on a day that is definitely known to be a holy day.
^ˣnote:Cf. supra n. 3.
^ʸnote:Lit., ‘he who passes before the (reading) chest’.
^ᶻnote:The point at issue between the Sages and R. Dosa is explained infra in the Gemara.
^ᵃᵃnote:Though they disagree with him where one of the two days in question was a Sabbath and the other a festival since both days are holy beyond doubt.
^ᵃᵇnote:Since only one of the day's, viz., the actual first day of the year, whichever of the two it may be, is holy while the other is definitely not holy. The two day's are kept as a festival for the sole reason that it is impossible to ascertain which of the two is actually the first day of the year.
^ᵃᶜnote:For notes on the passage cf. the notes on our Mishnah.
^ᵃᵈnote:His reason emerges from the argument he advances presently.
^ᵃᵉnote:The Sages.
^ᵃᶠnote:Who saw the appearance of the new moon.
^ᵃᵍnote:Lit., ‘from the minhah and onward’, vjbn denoting the continual daily evening sacrifice which was offered as a rule from the sixth and half hours after sunrise (the day being divided into twelve hours).
^ᵃʰnote:Lit., ‘that they lead’, ‘behave’.
^ᵃⁱnote:Tosef. ‘Er. IV. So that the reason why the New Year festival is kept in the diaspora for two days is not only on account of doubt as to which of these days was declared to be the first day of the New Year but also on account of the possibility that both were actually kept in Jerusalem as holy days.