ראש השנה 22 — Soncino English Talmud

¹IT HAPPENED ONCE THAT MORE THEN FORTY PAIRS [OF WITNESSES] WERE ON THEIR WAY [TO JERUSALEM] AND R. AKIBA DETAINED THEM etc. It has been taught: R. Judah said: Far be it from us to think that R. Akiba detained them. It was Shazpar the head of Geder who detained them, and Rabban Gamaliel thereupon sent and they deposed him from his office. MISHNAH. IF A FATHER AND A SON HAVE SEEN THE NEW MOON, THEY SHOULD BOTH GO [TO JERUSALEM], NOT THAT THEY CAN ACT AS JOINT WITNESSES BUT SO THAT IF ONE OF THEM IS DISQUALIFIED THE OTHER MAY JOIN WITH SOME OTHER WITNESS. R. SIMEON, HOWEVER, SAYS THAT A FATHER AND SON AND ALL RELATIVES ARE ELIGIBLE TO TESTIFY TO THE APPEARANCE OF THE NEW MOON. R. JOSE SAID: IT HAPPENED ONCE WITH TOBIAH THE PHYSICIAN THAT HE SAW THE NEW MOON IN JERUSALEM ALONG WITH HIS SON AND HIS EMANCIPATED SLAVE, AND THE PRIESTS ACCEPTED HIS EVIDENCE AND THAT OF HIS SON AND DISQUALIFIED HIS SLAVE, BUT WHEN THEY APPEARED BEFORE THE BETH DIN THEY ACCEPTED HIS EVIDENCE AND THAT OF HIS SLAVE AND DISQUALIFIED HIS SON. GEMARA. R. Levi said: What is the reason of R. Simeon? — Because it is written, and the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months, which implies, ‘this testimony shall be valid [when given] by you’. And the Rabbis? — [It implies], this evidence shall be entrusted to you. R. JOSE SAID, IT HAPPENED ONCE WITH TOBIAH THE PHYSICIAN etc. R. Hanan b. Raba said: The law is as stated by R. Simeon. Said R. Huna to R. Hanan b. Raba, We have R. Jose and an incident [on the other side], and you say that the law is as stated by R. Simeon! — He replied: Many times I said in the presence of Rab, ‘The law is as stated by R. Simeon’, and he did not correct me. He then asked him, How did you repeat [the Mishnah]? — He [R. Hanan] replied [I repeated it to him with the names] reversed. He [R. Huna] thereupon said to him, That was the reason why Rab did not correct you. Tabi said in the name of Mari Tabi who had it from Mar ‘Ukba: The law is as stated by R. Simeon. MISHNAH THE FOLLOWING ARE INELIGIBLE: GAMBLERS, USURERS, PIGEON-FLYERS, THOSE WHO TRAFFIC IN PRODUCE OF THE SABBATICAL YEAR, AND SLAVES. IT IS A GENERAL RULE THAT FOR ANY TESTIMONY FOR WHICH A WOMAN IS DISQUALIFIED THESE ALSO ARE DISQUALIFIED. GEMARA. I infer from this that any testimony which a woman is qualified to give they are also qualified to give. R. Ashi said: This is equivalent to saying that one who is Rabbinically accounted a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman. MISHNAH. IF ONE WHO HAS SEEN THE MOON IS NOT ABLE TO GO ON FOOT, HE MAY BE BROUGHT ON AN ASS OR EVEN IN A LITTER [ON SABBATH]. IF THEY [THE WITNESSES] ARE LIKELY TO BE WAYLAID, THEY MAY TAKE CUDGELS [TO DEFEND THEMSELVES]. IF THE DISTANCE IS GREAT [TO JERUSALEM], THEY MAY TAKE PROVISIONS WITH THEM, SINCE FOR AS MUCH AS A NIGHT AND A DAY'S JOURNEY THEY WERE ALLOWED TO PROFANE SABBATH AND GO FORTH TO TESTIFY TO THE APPEARANCE OF THE NEW MOON, AS IT SAYS: THESE ARE THE APPOINTED SEASONS OF THE LORD . . . WHICH YE SHALL PROCLAIM IN THEIR APPOINTED SEASON. MISHNAH. IF THAT ONE IS NOT KNOWN TO THEM [THE BETH DIN IN JERUSALEM], THEY [THE BETH DIN OF HIS OWN PLACE] SEND ANOTHER WITH HIM TO CERTIFY HIM [AS RELIABLE]. ORIGINALLY TESTIMONY WITH REGARD TO [THE APPEARANCE OF] THE NEW MOON WAS RECEIVED FROM ANYONE. WHEN, HOWEVER, THE BOETHUSIANS ADOPTED EVIL COURSES, IT WAS ORDAINED THAT TESTIMONY SHOULD BE RECEIVED ONLY FROM PERSONS KNOWN [TO THE BETH DIN]. GEMARA. What is meant by ANOTHER? [I would naturally suppose], one other person.^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ

^ᵃnote:[Gederah in Judah. V. Josh. XV, 36].
^ᵇnote:Lit., ‘greatness’.
^ᶜnote:Near relatives being disqualified from offering evidence together.
^ᵈnote:I.e., found by the Beth din to be unreliable.
^ᵉnote:Ex. XII, 1, 2.
^ᶠnote:Even if you are near relatives.
^ᵍnote:The communal leaders, to sanctify the month on the strength of it. Nothing, however, is implied about relatives.
^ʰnote:[MS.M. ‘the Halachah’ and so in all other cases in this passage].
^ⁱnote:Lit., ‘he did mot say anything to me’.
^ʲnote:I.e., saying that R. Jose declared a father and son to be eligible, and that R. Simeon related the incident.
^ᵏnote:Lit., ‘those who play with dice’.
^ˡnote:For wagers.
^ᵐnote:V. Sanh., Sonc. ed. p. 142, nn. 3-5.
^ⁿnote:E.g., to testify the death of a husband so as to enable the widow to remarry.
^ᵒnote:Like those mentioned above, who are not accounted robbers according to the strict letter of the Pentateuch, since although they acquire money wrongfully they do not take anything by force: v. Yeb. 25a
^ᵖnote:Lit., ‘if there are lyers-in-wait for them’.
^ᵠnote:Although it was forbidden to carry on Sabbath.
^ʳnote:If the distance was much larger there would be no point in their evidence since in the absence of witnesses the New Moon is on the first day.
^ˢnote:Lev. XXIII, 4. V. supra, p. 89. n. 5.
^ᵗnote:V. Gemara, infra.
^ᵘnote:The followers of a certain Boethus, who seems to have lived in the second century B.C.E. Like the Sadducees, they rejected the Oral Law and opposed the Rabbis. [MS.M. ‘Minim’ (v. Glos. s.v. Min.)]

²But [is the word of] one person to be taken? Has it not been taught, ‘On one occasion he came accompanied by the witnesses who were to testify to his bona fides’? — R. Papa replied: What is meant by ANOTHER? Another pair. This view too is borne out by an examination [of the language of the Mishnah]. For should you hold otherwise, [consider the words] IF THAT ONE [OTHO] IS NOT KNOWN TO THEM. Now what is referred to by THAT ONE? Shall I say, a single person? But is [the word of] one person accepted, seeing that the word judgment is used in connection with it? But in fact what is meant by THAT ONE? That pair. So here, what is meant by ANOTHER? Another pair. But is not the word of one witness taken [in this matter]? Has it not been taught, ‘On one occasion R. Nehorai accompanied the witness to testify to his bona fides on Sabbath in Usha’? — I can reply that there was another witness along with R. Nehorai, and the reason why he was not mentioned was out of respect for R. Nehorai. R. Ashi said: In R. Nehorai's case there was [already] another witness in Usha, and R. Nehorai went to join his testimony with his. If that is the case, what is the point of the statement? — You might think that we do not allow the Sabbath to be profaned [by one witness] where there is any doubt [about the other]. Hence we are told [that this is not so]. When ‘Ulla came [to Babylon], he announced that they had sanctified the New Moon [on a certain day] in the West [Palestine]. Said R. Kahana: Not only [in such a case] do we take the word of ‘Ulla who is a great man, but we take the word of any ordinary man. What is the reason? Because whenever a thing is bound to come to light later on, men do not lie about it. It has been taught to the same effect: If a man comes from the other end of the world and says, The Beth din have sanctified the New Moon, his word is taken. ORIGINALLY TESTIMONY WITH REGARD TO THE APPEARANCE OF THE NEW MOON WAS RECEIVED FROM ANYONE. Our Rabbis taught: What evil course did the Boethusians adopt? Once the Boethusians sought to mislead the Sages. They hired two men for four hundred zuzim, one belonging to our party and one to theirs. The one of their party gave his evidence and de parted. Our man [came and] they said to him: Teil us how you saw the moon. He replied: I was going up the ascent of Adumim and I saw it couched between two rocks, its head like [that of] a calf, its ears like [those of] a hind, and its tail lying between its legs, and as I caught sight of it I got a fright and fell backwards, and if you do not believe me, why, I have two hundred zuzim tied up in my cloak. They said to him: Who told you to say all this? He replied: I heard that the Boethusians were seeking to mislead the Sages, so I said [to myself], I will go myself and tell them, for fear lest untrustworthy men should come and mislead the Sages. They said: You can have the two hundred zuzim as a present, and the man who hired you shall be laid out on the post. There and then they ordained that testimony should be received only from persons who were known to them. MISHNAH. ORIGINALLY THEY USED TO LIGHT BEACONS. WHEN THE CUTHEANS [SAMARITANS] ADOPTED EVIL COURSES, THEY MADE A RULE THAT MESSENGERS SHOULD GO FORTH. HOW DID THEY LIGHT THE BEACONS? THEY USED TO BRING LONG POLES OF CEDAR AND REEDS AND OLIVE WOOD AND FLAX FLUFF WHICH THEY TIED TO THE POLES WITH A STRING, AND SOMEONE USED TO GO UP TO THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN AND SET FIRE TO THEM AND WAVE THEM TO AND FRO AND UP AND DOWN UNTIL HE SAW THE NEXT ONE DOING THE SAME THING ON THE TOP OF THE SECOND MOUNTAIN; AND SO ON THE TOP OF THE THIRD MOUNTAIN. WHENCE DID THEY CARRY THE [CHAIN OF] BEACONS? FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES [IN JERUSALEM] TO SARTABA, AND FROM SARTABA TO GROFINA, AND FROM GROFINA TO HAURAN, AND FROM HAURAN TO BETH BALTIN. THE ONE ON BETH BALTIN DID NOT BUDGE FROM THERE BUT WENT ON WAVING TO AND FRO AND UP AND DOWN UNTIL HE SAW THE WHOLE OF THE DIASPORA BEFORE HIM LIKE ONE BONFIRE. GEMARA. How do we know that the word massi'in connotes ‘burning’? — Because it is written in the Scripture, wa-yisa'em, David and his men, and we translate ‘and David burnt them’. Our Rabbis taught ‘Beacon fires are lit only for the new moon which has been seen at its proper time, [to announce that] it has been sanctified. When are they lit? On the night following its announcement. This means to say that we light beacons for defective months but not for full months. What is the reason? — R. Zera said: It is a precaution on account of a defective month which ends on Friday. [In that case] when do we light? On the termination of Sabbath; and if you were to insist that we should light up also for full months, this might give rise^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ

^ᵛnote:This would show that at least two were required.
^ʷnote:In giving evidence regarding the New Moon.
^ˣnote:In the verse, For it is a statute for Israel, a judgment for the God of Jacob. Ps. LXXXI, 5. ‘Judgment’ could be delivered only on the evidence of at least two witnesses.
^ʸnote:At the time when the Beth din was in Usha.
^ᶻnote:I.e., so as not to put him on the same footing as R. Nehorai. Cf. Git. 5b for a similar incident.
^ᵃᵃnote:This witness may have been either one who had seen the new moon, or one who could testify to the bona fides of the man who has seen it. V. Tosaf. s.v. trvx .
^ᵃᵇnote:What reason was there why R. Nehorai should not have gone on Sabbath, seeing that the Mishnah permits this?
^ᵃᶜnote:Who might disappear in the interval.
^ᵃᵈnote:[MS.M.: Minim, v. supra p. 94, n. 2].
^ᵃᵉnote:By making them believe that the new moon had been seen on the thirtieth of Adar, which was a Sabbath, when in fact it had not, so that the second day of Passover might be on a Sunday and the counting of the ‘Omer might commence literally ‘on the morrow of the Sabbath’, according to their interpretation of the words (Rashi).
^ᵃᶠnote:V. Josh. XV, 7.
^ᵃᵍnote:Lit., ‘who compelled you to all this’.
^ᵃʰnote:Beth din having the right to expropriate. [On the reading Minim, if the reference is to Jewish Christians, their desire to have the first day of Passover fall on Friday and Pentecost on Sunday as was the case in the year of the crucifixion, would supply them with a reason for tampering with the Calendar, V. Herford, Christianity in the Talmud, p. 330.]
^ᵃⁱnote:For a flogging.
^ᵃʲnote:The Hebrew word is massi'in, which literally means ‘raise up’.
^ᵃᵏnote:To convey the news of the New Moon to the diaspora in Babylon.
^ᵃˡnote:And lit beacons on the thirtieth day, so as to mislead the Babylonians.
^ᵃᵐnote:[There is no general agreement about the identification of these places. Obermeyer (p. 17ff) locates them as follows: Sartaba == Karn Sartaba, five km from the western bank of the Jordan; Grofina (or ‘Agrufina, v. D.S.) ‘Arafun, a hill situated among the Gilead range of mountains; Hauran south of Damascus, cf. Ezek. XLVII, 18. Beth Baltin == Beiram (v. infra) some miles N.W. of Pumbeditha. For other views, v. Horowitz Palestine, p. 125].
^ᵃⁿnote:I.e., the district of Pumbeditha. V. Gemara. [Rashi omits ‘the whole of’.]
^ᵃᵒnote:Because, as explained infra in the Gemara, the inhabitants on seeing the beacon fire used to light torches.
^ᵃᵖnote:V. supra p. 96, n. 5.
^ᵃᵠnote:2 Sam,. V, 21 in reference to the idols captured from the Philistines. E.V. ‘took them away’.
^ᵃʳnote:In the authorized Aramaic version.
^ᵃˢnote:I.e., on the thirtieth day of the outgoing month.
^ᵃᵗnote:ruchg ouh , ‘the day of the prolongation’. V. supra, p. 81, n. 1.