Rosh Hashanah

But [is the word of] one person to be taken? Has it not been taught, ‘On one occasion he came accompanied by the witnesses1 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,2 seeing that the word judgment3 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’?4 — 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.5 R. Ashi said: In R. Nehorai's case there was [already] another witness in Usha,6 and R. Nehorai went to join his testimony with his. If that is the case, what is the point of the statement?7 — You might think that we do not allow the Sabbath to be profaned [by one witness] where there is any doubt [about the other].8 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 Boethusians9 adopt? Once the Boethusians sought to mislead the Sages.10 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 Adumim11 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?12 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,13 and the man who hired you shall be laid out on the post.14 There and then they ordained that testimony should be received only from persons who were known to them. MISHNAH. ORIGINALLY THEY USED TO LIGHT15 BEACONS.16 WHEN THE CUTHEANS [SAMARITANS] ADOPTED EVIL COURSES,17 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.18 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 DIASPORA19 BEFORE HIM LIKE ONE BONFIRE.20 GEMARA. How do we know that the word massi'in21 connotes ‘burning’? — Because it is written in the Scripture, wa-yisa'em, David and his men,22 and we translate23 ‘and David burnt them’. Our Rabbis taught ‘Beacon fires are lit only for the new moon which has been seen at its proper time,24 [to announce that] it has been sanctified. When are they lit? On the night following its announcement.25 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 delivered only on the evidence of at least two witnesses. man who has seen it. V. Tosaf. s.v. trvx . 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). 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.] 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].