Rosh Hashanah

He is shooting arrows [at those who do not worship him].1 HOW HIGH WAS IT AND IN WHICH DIRECTION WAS IT INCLINED. One Tanna taught: [If he says], To the north, his evidence is accepted; [if he says], To the south, his evidence is rejected.2 But it has been taught to the opposite effect: ‘[If he says], To the south, his evidence is accepted; [if he says], To the north, his evidence is rejected’? — There is no contradiction; one statement speaks of the dry season,3 the other of the rainy season.4 The Rabbis taught: If one5 says that it was two ox-loads high6 and the other three,7 their evidence is accepted. If one, however, says that it was three and the other five, their evidence is nullified, only each of them can be joined with another witness.8 Our Rabbis taught: ‘[If they say], We saw it in water, we saw it in a mirror, we saw it through the clouds, they are not allowed to testify concerning it. [If they say], We saw half of it in water, half of it through the clouds, half of it in a mirror, they are not allowed to testify concerning it’. Since you disallow them [when they see] the whole, can there be any question [when they see] only half? — In fact the statement should run as follows: ‘[If they say they saw] half of it in water and half in the sky, half of it through the clouds and half in the sky, half of it in a mirror and half in the sky, they are not allowed to testify.’ Our Rabbis taught: [If they say], We saw it [once], but did not see it again, they are not allowed to testify concerning it. [Why so?] Are they to go on seeing it the whole time? — Abaye replied: What is meant is this. [If they say], We saw it by chance,9 but when we came to look for it deliberately10 we could not see it, they are not allowed to testify concerning it. What is the reason? Because I might say, they saw only a circular disc in the clouds. MISHNAH. THE HEAD OF THE BETH DIN SAYS, SANCTIFIED’, AND ALL THE PEOPLE REPEAT AFTER HIM, SANCTIFIED, SANCTIFIED. WHETHER THE NEW MOON IS SEEN AT ITS PROPER TIME11 OR NOT AT ITS PROPER TIME, IN EITHER CASE [THE NEW MOON] IS SANCTIFIED.12 R. ELEAZAR B. ZADOK, HOWEVER, SAYS THAT IF IT IS NOT SEEN AS ITS PROPER TIME [THE NEW MOON] IS NOT [FORMALLY] SANCTIFIED, BECAUSE HEAVEN HAS ALREADY SANCTIFIED IT. GEMARA. THE HEAD OF THE BETH DIN etc. What is the Scriptural warrant for this? — R. Hiyya b. Gamda said in the name of R. Jose b. Saul, who had it from Rabbi: The Scripture says, And Moses declared the appointed seasons of the Lord;13 from this we learn that the head of the Beth din says, ‘sanctified’. AND ALL THE PEOPLE REPEAT AFTER HIM, ‘SANCTIFIED, SANCTIFIED’. Whence do we learn this? — R. Papa said: Scripture says, which ye shall proclaim [them].14 [For otham] read attem.15 R. Nahman b. Isaac said, [we learn it from here]: Even these [hem] are my appointed seasons;16 [which implies], they shall say, my seasons.17 SANCTIFIED, SANCTIFIED: why twice? — Because it is written, holy convocations.18 R. ELEAZAR B. ZADOK SAYS THAT IF IT IS NOT SEEN AT ITS PROPER TIME IT IS NOT SANCTIFIED. It has been taught: Polemo says: If seen at its time is is not sanctified,19 if seen out of its time it is sanctified. R. Eleazar b. Simeon says: in either case it is not sanctified, since it says, And ye shall sanctify the fiftieth year,20 which shows that you are to sanctify years, but are not to sanctify months. Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel: The halachah is as laid down by R. Eleazar b. Zadok. Abaye said: We have also learnt to the same effect: ‘If the Beth din and all Israel saw it,21 and if the witnesses had been tested, but they had no time to say ‘sanctified’ before it grew dark, the month is prolonged’, which implies that it is prolonged22 but that [the new month] is not sanctified [later in the day]. [This is not conclusive, since] there was a special reason for mentioning the prolonging. You might think that since the Beth din and all Israel saw it [the new moon] everyone knew that it had appeared and therefore the month should not be prolonged. Therefore we are told [that this is not so]. MISHNAH. R. GAMALIEL USED TO HAVE A DIAGRAM OF PHASES OF THE MOON ON A TABLET [HUNG] ON THE WALL OF HIS UPPER CHAMBER, AND HE USED TO SHOW THEM TO THE UNLEARNED AND SAY, DID IT LOOK LIKE THIS OR THIS? GEMARA. Is this allowed, seeing that it is written, Ye shall not make with me,23 which we interpret, ‘Ye shall not make the likeness of my attendants’? — Abaye replied: The Torah forbade only those attendants of which it is possible to make copies,24 as it has been taught: A man may not make a house in the form of the Temple, or an exedra in the form of the Temple hall,25 or a court corresponding to the Temple court, or a table corresponding to the [sacred] table or a candlestick corresponding to the [sacred] candlestick, but he may make one etc. This is very difficult to understand, and it is much more natural to suppose that the words to be supplied are ‘that he saw it’, and that this sentence is to be connected with the words in the Mishnah TO THE NORTH OF IT OR TO THE SOUTH. So apparently it is taken by Rashi. V. Maharsha, ad loc. of the sun, and similarly in the winter months north of the sun. which is another reason for transferring the last Mishnah heading to the beginning of this paragraph. V. n. 1. fourth side of the Temple hall had a very wide entrance it is not counted. V. Tosaf. a.l.