Rosh Hashanah

If one heard part of the blast in the pit and part of the blast on the edge of the pit,1 he has performed his religious duty. If he heard part of the blast before the dawn2 and part of the blast after dawn he has not performed his religious duty. Said Abaye to him: Why this difference? Because in the latter case we require the whole of the blast [which he hears] to be obligatory and this requirement is not fulfilled?3 In the former case also we require the whole of the blast to be obligatory, and this requirement is not fulfilled!4 — Are the two cases parallel? In the latter, night is a time to which the obligation does not apply at all, but in the former, the pit is a place to which the obligation does apply for those who are in the pit.5 I infer from this that Rabbah was of opinion that if one heard the end of a blast without the beginning he has performed his religious duty,6 and that from this it follows that if he heard the beginning without the end, he has likewise performed his religious duty. Come now and hear [an objection to this]: ‘If one blew a teki'ah at the beginning [of the series] and prolonged the second one so as to be equal to two, it still counts as only one’. Why should this be? Let it be counted as divided into two? — We do not divide teki'ahs.7 Come and hear [another objection]: ‘If one blows into a pit or a cistern or a barrel, if he hears the sound of the shofar [pure] he has performed his religious duty, but if he hears the echo he has not performed his religious duty’. Why should this be? Let him have performed his religious duty with the beginning of the blast, before the sound is confused [with the echo?] — Rabbah was speaking of one who blows [for himself] and as he blows steps out of the pit.8 If that is so, what is the point of his remark?9 — You might argue that sometimes he puts his head out while the shofar is still in the pit and so the sound is confused. We are therefore told [that this makes no difference]. Rab Judah said: One should not blow with a shofar taken from a burnt-.offering,10 but if he did so hie has performed his religious duty. One should not blow with a shofar taken from a peace-offering, and if he did so he has not performed his religious duty. What is the reason? A burnt-offering is subject to the rule of trespass,12 and once trespass has been committed with it, it becomes unhallowed. Peace-offerings, on the other hand, not being subject to the rule of trespass,13 are still saddled with their prohibition,14 (and do not become unhallowed).15 Raba strongly demurred to this. When [he said], is the trespass committed? After he has blown; but when he blows, he does so with something prohibited.16 No, said Raba: alike in one case and the other, he has not performed his religious duty. Later, however, he said: Alike in one case and in the other he has performed his religious duty, because religious precepts are not meant to provide physical enjoyment. 17 11 Rab Judah said: One should not blow with a shofar which has been used for idolatrous purposes,18 but if he does so, he has performed his religious duty.19 One should not blow with a shofar from a devoted city,20 and if he does so he has not performed his religious duty. What is the reason? In a devoted city nothing is [presumably] left of proper size.21 Raba said: If one is interdicted by vow to have any benefit22 from his neighbour, the other may yet perform the ritual blowing of the shofar for him.23 One, too, who is interdicted by vow to have any enjoyment from a shofar may yet perform with it the ritual blowing. Raba further said: If one is interdicted by vow to have any benefit from his neighbour, the other may yet sprinkle on him the water of the sin-offering24 in the rainy season, but not in the summer time. One who has vowed to have no enjoyment from a fountain may take a ritual bath in it in the rainy season25 but not in the summer time. They sent to inform the father of Samuel: If a man is compelled by force to eat unleavened bread [on Passover], he thereby performs his religious duty.26 Compelled by whom? Shall I say, by an evil spirit? But has it not been taught, ‘If a man is sometimes in his sound senses and sometimes crazy, when he is in his senses he is regarded as a sane man in all particulars, and when he is crazy he is regarded as insane in all particulars’?27 — R. Ashi said: [It means], if the Persians compelled him. Said Raba:28 This would imply that if one blew the shofar simply to make music, he has performed his religious duty. Is not this obvious?29 This is just what has been said!30 — You might argue that in the previous case the All-Merciful has prescribed that unleavened bread should be eaten, and he has eaten31 and the blood thereof sprinkled the law of trespass does not apply to its horns, v. infra. portions of the flesh assigned for the altar. for such purposes. not of Rab Judah; perhaps therefore we should read here ‘Raba said’, not ‘Rab Judah said’. V. Tosaf. s.v. vsuvh cr rnt .