סוכה 54 — Soncino English Talmud

¹— [No.] As it might have been said that it is also in agreement with the view of the Rabbis, and that its purpose was to exclude the view of R. Johanan who laid down that if a man heard the nine Teki'ahs in nine hours during the day he has still fulfilled his obligation, therefore he informed us [that it agrees only with the view of R. Judah]. Might it not be suggested that it is indeed so? — If it were so, what could be meant by ‘no interval whatever’? ON THE EVE OF THE SABBATH IN THE INTERMEDIATE DAYS OF THE FESTIVAL etc. But [the sounding of the trumpet] on the tenth step he does not mention. In agreement with whose view then is our Mishnah? — It is in agreement with that of R. Eliezer b. Jacob, for it has been taught: Three blasts on the tenth step. R. Eliezer b. Jacob ruled, Three at the altar. He who ruled three on the tenth step omits the three at the altar; and he who ruled three at the altar omits the three upon the tenth step. What is the reason of R. Eliezer b. Jacob? — Since one sounded the trumpet for the opening of the gates, why should one sound it on the tenth step? Is it not a gate! It is, therefore, preferable that the trumpet should be sounded at the altar. The Rabbis, however, are of the opinion that since one sounds the trumpet for the Water-Drawing, why should one sound it at the altar? It is, therefore, preferable to sound it upon the tenth step. When R. Aha b. Hanina came from the South, he brought a Baraitha with him [which read:] And the sons of Aaron the priests shall blow with trumpets. Surely there was no need to state explicitly ‘shall blow’, since it is already written, Ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings. Why then was it stated, ‘shall blow’? [To teach you that] the sounding of the trumpets is throughout in accordance with the number of the additional offerings. He taught this [Baraitha] and he also explained it to mean that the trumpet is to be sounded for every single additional offering. We have learnt, ON THE EVE OF THE SABBATH IN THE INTERMEDIATE DAYS OF THE FESTIVAL THERE WERE [THEREFORE] FORTY-EIGHT BLASTS. Now if it were so, why was it not stated that on the Sabbath of the Festival it was possible to have fifty-one blasts? — R. Zera answered, Because the trumpet was not sounded at the opening of the gates on the Sabbath. Who is this, Raba exclaimed, who is not concerned about the flour [he grinds out]? [The answer is untenable], firstly, because we have learnt EVERY DAY and, secondly, even if there were the same number, it should still have been stated that ‘on the Sabbath of the Festival they blew forty-eight blasts’ since from this statement one could make two deductions, that of R. Eliezer b. Jacob and that of R. Aha b. Hanina. The fact, however, is, Raba explained, [that the reason is] because the trumpet was not sounded for the Water-Drawing on the Sabbath, so that the number was diminished much. But why was not the New Year that fell on a Sabbath mentioned seeing that on it there are three additional sacrifices: The additional offering of the New Year, the additional offering of the New Moon, and the additional offering of the Sabbath? — It was necessary to teach the instance of the eve of the Sabbath in the Intermediate Days of the Festival in order to inform us that the law is in agreement with R. Eliezer b. Jacob. Was it then asked why the one was not mentioned instead of the other? [The question in fact is] why is not the one mentioned as well as the other? — [The Tanna of our Mishnah] might have mentioned some and omitted others. But what else did he omit to justify this omission also? — He omitted the instance of the eve of Passover.40^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^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ

^ᵃnote:In stating that there must be ‘no interval’.
^ᵇnote:Of the New Year (v. R.H. 34b).
^ᶜnote:I.e., at long intervals.
^ᵈnote:That R. Kahana's statement agrees also with the view of the Rabbis and excludes only that of R. Johanan.
^ᵉnote:That in agreement with the Rabbis, short intervals are permitted.
^ᶠnote:Of the Temple court; v. Mishnah supra 51b.
^ᵍnote:Sc. the Rabbis.
^ʰnote:R. Eliezer.
^ⁱnote:Of course it is.
^ʲnote:The rejoicing at which is the real cause of all the extra soundings of the trumpet on the Festival (Rashi).
^ᵏnote:I.e.,where the sounding might appear to be due to the willow-branch ceremony.
^ˡnote:Which makes it more evident that it is specially sounded on account of the Water-Drawing, as no other rite is connected with the tenth step.
^ᵐnote:Num. X, 8.
^ⁿnote:Num. X, 10.
^ᵒnote:This is explained presently.
^ᵖnote:R. Aha b. Hanina.
^ᵠnote:The prescribed number of blasts.
^ʳnote:If the day is, for instance, both a Sabbath and a Festival, the prescribed number of nine blasts must be sounded for each of the two additional offerings.
^ˢnote:As R. Aha b. Hanina interpreted.
^ᵗnote:In giving the maximum number possible.
^ᵘnote:Since there are two additional sacrifices, that of Sabbath and that of the Festival.
^ᵛnote:Three more than on the Sabbath eve (according to R. Judah) on account of the second additional offering, after deducting the special six sounded on Sabbath eve.
^ʷnote:So that there were three less than on the Sabbath eve.
^ˣnote:A criticism of R. Zera: ‘He does not care what answer he gives’.
^ʸnote:Including the Sabbath day. If on the Sabbath no blasts were sounded at the opening of the gates the number on that day would have been less than the number so given in our Mishnah.
^ᶻnote:On the Sabbath and on the Sabbath eve.
^ᵃᵃnote:Forty-eight.
^ᵃᵇnote:That the blowing of the trumpets was upon the altar and not on the tenth step, as our Mishnah goes on to explain.
^ᵃᶜnote:That the trumpet was sounded for every additional offering.
^ᵃᵈnote:Why the Sabbath was not mentioned.
^ᵃᵉnote:Since the water was drawn on the Sabbath eve (v. supra 48b).
^ᵃᶠnote:On the Sabbath.
^ᵃᵍnote:Those of the upper gates and the lower gates and the altar, besides those that served as a sign to cease work and to mark the distinction between the holy and the profane.
^ᵃʰnote:According to R. Aha who maintains that each additional offering was accompanied by additional blasts.
^ᵃⁱnote:Among the maxima in our Mishnah.
^ᵃʲnote:Making a total of forty-eight: The twenty-one daily blasts and the twenty-seven for the three additional sacrifices.
^ᵃᵏnote:As stated supra, that no blasts were sounded on the tenth step.
^ᵃˡnote:Lit., ‘let him teach this and let him teach that’.
^ᵃᵐnote:The answer that he mentioned some and omitted others is valid only if it can be shown that other instances beside the one under discussion have also been omitted.
^ᵃⁿnote:The sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb was performed by three groups of the people, each one reading the Hallel three times and sounding three blasts on the trumpet each time, making a total of twenty-seven blasts (cf. Pes, 64a). which added to the twenty-one blasts sounded daily, amounts to forty-eight.

²If [the omission is to be justified] on account of the omission of the eve of the Passover, [the latter, it may be pointed out], is no omission, for this statement is made according to R. Judah who stated, Never in the life of the third group did they reach the verse, I love the Lord, for he heareth my voice, since the people composing the group were few in number. But did you not say that the earlier part of our Mishnah is not in agreement with R. Judah? — Is it not possible that our Tanna agrees with R. Judah on one point though he disagrees with him on another point? What else then was omitted that we might say that this also was similarly omitted? — The other omission was the eve of the Passover which fell on the eve of a Sabbath, when six blasts are to be subtracted and six are to be added. AND NEVER MORE THAN FORTY-EIGHT. No? But is there not the eve of the Passover which falls on the Sabbath, on which, if the statement is in agreement with R. Judah, there were fifty-one blasts, and if it is in agreement with the Rabbis there were fifty-seven? — [Our Mishnah] mentioned only those which recur annually, but does not mention the case of the eve of the Passover which falls on the Sabbath, since it does not occur every year. Does then the eve of the Sabbath in the Intermediate Days of a Festival occur every year? May it sometimes not happen at all, this being the case when, for instance, the first day of the Festival coincides with the eve of the Sabbath? — No, when the first day of the Festival would coincide with the eve of the Sabbath, the Festival is postponed. What is the reason? — Because if the first day of the Festival were to fall on the eve of the Sabbath, when would the Day of Atonement [of that year] be? On the [previous] Sunday. Therefore it is postponed. But do we postpone it? Have we not in fact learnt, The fats [of offerings performed on] the Sabbath may be offered on the Day of Atonement; and R. Zera furthermore stated, When I was in the school of Rab in Babylon I used to say that that which has been taught, ‘If the Day of Atonement fell on the eve of the Sabbath, they did not sound the trumpet, and if it fell at the conclusion of the Sabbath they did not recite the Habdalah’ is agreed to by all, but when I came up to Palestine I found R. Judah the son of R. Simeon b. Pazzi that he sat at his studies and taught that it was in agreement with R. Akiba only? — This is no difficulty since the one statement is according to the Rabbis and the other according to ‘the Others’, for it has been taught, ‘Others’ say, There cannot be more than four weekdays’ difference between the Pentecost of one year and the next, and between one New Year and the next, and if the year was prolonged, there would be five days. An objection was raised: If New Moon fell on the Sabbath, the Psalm of the New Moon supersedes the Psalm of the Sabbath. Now if the law were [as R. Aha stated], why should not one say both that of the New Moon and that of the Sabbath? — R. Safra replied: What is meant by ‘supersedes’? That it supersedes it in the sense of taking precedence over it. But why? [Does not then] that which is constant take precedence over that which is not constant? — R. Johanan answered, [The New Moon Psalm was given precedence] in order that people should know that the New Moon has been fixed at its proper time. Do we then use this as a distinguishing sign? Do we not in fact use another distinguishing sign, as we have learnt: ‘The fats of the Daily Morning offering were placed on the lower half of the Ascent [of the altar] on its east side, while those of the additional offerings were placed on the lower half of the Ascent on its west side; while those of the New Moon were placed beneath the rim of the altar below,’51^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ^ᵃˣ^ᵃʸ^ᵃᶻ^ᵇᵃ^ᵇᵇ^ᵇᶜ^ᵇᵈ^ᵇᵉ^ᵇᶠ^ᵇᵍ^ᵇʰ^ᵇⁱ^ᵇʲ^ᵇᵏ^ᵇˡ^ᵇᵐ^ᵇⁿ^ᵇᵒ^ᵇᵖ^ᵇᵠ^ᵇʳ^ᵇˢ^ᵇᵗ^ᵇᵘ^ᵇᵛ^ᵇʷ^ᵇˣ^ᵇʸ^ᵇᶻ^ᶜᵃ^ᶜᵇ^ᶜᶜ^ᶜᵈ^ᶜᵉ^ᶜᶠ^ᶜᵍ^ᶜʰ^ᶜⁱ^ᶜʲ^ᶜᵏ^ᶜˡ^ᶜᵐ

^ᵃᵒnote:The maximum of forty-eight blasts on the eve of the Passover.
^ᵃᵖnote:Lit., ‘this according to whom’.
^ᵃᵠnote:Ps. CXVI,1; sc. they did not complete the Hallel even once. The number of blasts in their case was, therefore, no more than three.
^ᵃʳnote:Pes. 64a; most of the people having joined the first, or the second group. Only in the case of these two groups, the offering of whose sacrifices took longer than the singing of the Hallel, owing to their large number, it was necessary to read it a second and a third time.
^ᵃˢnote:For the reading cf. Rashal. Cur. edd., ‘surely we have established’.
^ᵃᵗnote:Who, contrary to our Mishnah, enumerates a minimum of seven and a maximum of sixteen (v. supra 53b). Now is it likely that the latter clause will be in agreement with his view while the earlier one is not?
^ᵃᵘnote:As regards the Passover eve.
^ᵃᵛnote:The number of blasts. As this is, of course, possible the instance of the eve of the Passover could not obviously have been cited and, consequently, could not be regarded as an omission.
^ᵃʷnote:From the blasts for the third group, in agreement with R. Judah's statement.
^ᵃˣnote:Of the blast common to every Sabbath eve, the three for ceasing work and the three that served as a mark of distinction between the holy and the profane.
^ᵃʸnote:Who, contrary to R. Judah's statement, maintain that the Hallel was recited three times by the last group also.
^ᵃᶻnote:Six more, three for each repetition of the Hallel.
^ᵇᵃnote:Lit., ‘and how is this to be imagined?’
^ᵇᵇnote:The Water-Drawing does not override the first day of the Festival if it is a Sabbath, and the following Sabbath is already the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly on which the Water-Drawing ceremonial no longer took place.
^ᵇᶜnote:By one day. The previous month of Ellul is made to have thirty days instead of twenty-nine, so that the Friday which would have been the fourteenth of Tishri is the thirteenth of the month.
^ᵇᵈnote:For the postponement of the first day of the Festival, and consequently, the first of Tishri by one day.
^ᵇᵉnote:Since the first day of the Festival is on the fifteenth of Tishri and the Day of Atonement is on the tenth of that month.
^ᵇᶠnote:The Day of Atonement was not allowed to fall on a Sunday on account of the difficulties involved. (V. R.H. 20a).
^ᵇᵍnote:Sc. the daily evening sacrifice.
^ᵇʰnote:Which immediately follows it. (Shab. XV, 5).
^ᵇⁱnote:[So MS.M. V. Shab. 114b, cur. edd. ‘we were’.]
^ᵇʲnote:R. Zera was a Babylonian who emigrated to Palestine.
^ᵇᵏnote:To warn the people to cease work, since in any case no work was done on that Friday on account of the sanctity of the Day of Atonement.
^ᵇˡnote:Since the Day of Atonement is no less holy than the Sabbath day.
^ᵇᵐnote:The prayer of ‘distinction’ between a holy day and a weekday and between one holy day and another.
^ᵇⁿnote:Sc. by R. Ishmael and R. Akiba.
^ᵇᵒnote:Lit., ‘there’.
^ᵇᵖnote:Shab. 114b. Now in any case both the Mishnah and the Baraitha cited prove that the Day of Atonement may fall on a Sunday. How then could it be maintained that if it were to fall on a Sunday it must be postponed?
^ᵇᵠnote:Our Mishnah which implies that there is no Intermediate Sabbath every year.
^ᵇʳnote:Who allow the addition of an extra day to Ellul to meet certain exigencies. Hence the postponement.
^ᵇˢnote:The Baraitha which implies that the Day of Atonement can fall on a Sunday.
^ᵇᵗnote:Sc. R. Meir who allows no addition of any extra day to a month to meet certain exigencies and, consequently, no postponement.
^ᵇᵘnote:I.e., if in one year it falls on a Sunday, in the next it must be on a Thursday, since the twelve months consist of 29 and 30 days alternately or 6 x (29 +30) = 354 days =354/7 weeks= 50 weeks and 4 days.
^ᵇᵛnote:By the addition of an extra month.
^ᵇʷnote:The additional intercalated month being always twenty-nine days, R.H. 6b.
^ᵇˣnote:Against R. Aha's view (supra p. 54a) that the trumpet was sounded separately for every additional offering of the day.
^ᵇʸnote:Ps. CIV.
^ᵇᶻnote:Ps. XCII.
^ᶜᵃnote:Since the sounding of the trumpet accompanied the singing of the Psalms.
^ᶜᵇnote:I.e., a separate Psalm for each additional offering, in the same manner as there was a separate sounding of the trumpet.
^ᶜᶜnote:The Psalm for the New Moon.
^ᶜᵈnote:The Sabbath Psalm.
^ᶜᵉnote:It is a general principle that that which has the more common incidence takes precedence over that of the less common occurrence. Why then should not the Sabbath Psalm take precedence over that of the New Moon?
^ᶜᶠnote:By the Great Beth din in Jerusalem.
^ᶜᵍnote:Not every one can see the birth of the New Moon, and the fact that its Psalm was given preference served as an assurance of the official recognition of the date.
^ᶜʰnote:The precedence of the Psalm.
^ᶜⁱnote:Cur. edd. in parenthesis, ‘it was taught’.
^ᶜʲnote:The term here refers to all parts of the sacrifice.
^ᶜᵏnote:Var. lec. ‘west side’.
^ᶜˡnote:Var. lec. ‘east side’. So also Maimonides.
^ᶜᵐnote:Var. lec. ‘on the rim of the altar above’. V. Shek. VIII, 8.