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Week 41 - Shabbat - 9 September 2000

ROSH HASHANAH: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 2

And further, Jerusalem surpassed Yavneh in this, that in every town that could see and hear, and was close, and could come - they blew. And in Yavneh they would not blow, save in the Court.

Kehati

This mishnah deals with the advantages Jerusalem possessed over Yavneh regarding the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah that fell on Shabbat. One advantage, which is not explained in the mishnah, was that in Jerusalem they would blow in as well as outside the Court, whereas in Yavneh they would blow only in the Court. The mishnah relates one more advantage. This mishnah can be best understood according to the interpretation of Rambam, that all of Jerusalem is called the "Temple," (mikdash) and, "In the Temple they would blow" stated in the preceding mishnah, refers to all of Jerusalem, and this mishnah teaches that during the time of the Temple Jerusalem enjoyed advantages over Yavneh after the destruction of the Temple.

And further - in addition to the advantage mentioned above (in the introduction to this mishnah), Jerusalem surpassed Yavneh in this - Jerusalem also possessed this advantage over Yavneh, that in every town that could see Jerusalem but not a town located in the lowlands, from which Jerusalem is not visible, although it is close to the city, and hear - the sound of the shofar blown in Jerusalem, but not a town on a hilltop, which can see Jerusalem but not hear), and was close - to Jerusalem, located within its boundary, and whose populace could come - to Jerusalem on foot, and was not hindered by any river separating them; in any town in which these four conditions were fulfilled, they blew - in it, on Rosh Hashanah which fell on Shabbat, as in Jerusalem.

And in Yavneh they would not blow, save in the Court - i.e., in the presence of the Court (see the introduction to the mishnah).

We have already explained that this mishnah can be best understood according to the interpretation of Rambam, that during the time of the Temple they would blow on Rosh Hashanah which fell on Shabbat in all of Jerusalem, and that this mishnah teaches that they would blow, not only in Jerusalem, but also in all the places close to Jerusalem, which were near and from which they could see, hear, and come to Jerusalem. So also Rashi: "And a further advantage Jerusalem, before its destruction, enjoyed over Yavneh." This interpretation by Rashi is surprising, since in the preceding mishnah, he interpreted "but not in the medinah" to mean, "neither in Jerusalem nor in any part of Eretz Yisrael outside Jerusalem." According to the opinion of Rashi, therefore, on Rosh Hashanah which fell on Shabbat they blew only in the Temple; how, then, can this be reconciled with the current mishnah, which teaches, "every town that could see, and hear, and was close, and could come - they blow" - when even in Jerusalem itself (outside the Temple) they did not blow? Tosafot therefore interprets the mishnah as referring to Jerusalem between the destruction of the Temple and the establishment of the Sanhedrin in Yavneh. And so also Ravad who writes: "When the Temple stood they blew only in the Temple, but after its destruction, they blew in all places close to it (to Jerusalem)" (Glosses on Rambam, Hil. shofar 2:8). But Tosefot Yom Tov writes: "I do not know of a good reason for distinguishing between Jerusalem after the destruction and Yavneh…" Moreover, Rashi explains in the mishnah: "And further, Jerusalem before its destruction surpassed Yavneh in this." It therefore seems that when Rashi interpreted "but not in the medinah" in the preceding mishnah as "neither in Jerusalem nor in all of Eretz Yisrael outside Jerusalem," he did not mean that they did not blow at all in Jerusalem, but that there was a difference between the Temple and the rest of Jerusalem, as elaborated in the current mishnah, i.e., in the Temple they would blow on Rosh Hashanah which fell on Shabbat even when the Court was not in session, because Rabbinic Shabbat restrictions (shevut) do not apply in the Temple, while in the rest of Jerusalem they would blow only when the Court was in session in the Temple, i.e., until noon. However, Jerusalem surpassed Yavneh, for in Jerusalem they would blow while the Court was in session, and not only in the presence of the Court and the same applied to any town which could see and hear, etc. However, in Yavneh after the destruction of the Temple, they would blow on Shabbat only in the presence of the Court.

ROSH HASHANAH: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 3

Originally the lulav was taken up in the Temple seven and in the medinah one day. After the Temple was destroyed Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai enacted that the lulav should be taken up in the medinah seven, in remembrance of the Temple, and that on the whole Day of waving - it should be forbidden.

Kehati

This entire mishnah is taught in Tractate Sukkot (3:12). It is taught here incidental to the preceding mishnah, in order to list Rabban Yohanah ben Zakkai's other enactments.

Originally - when the Temple was still in existence, the lulav was taken up in the Temple - on all the - seven - days of Sukkot, as it is written regarding the Four Species, "and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days" (Lev. 23:40); the Sages interpreted "before the Lord your God" - as referring to the Temple, where it was commanded to rejoice with the Four Species all the seven days of Sukkot, and in the medinah - i.e., outside the Temple, and according to Rambam, in the other towns outside Jerusalem, for the term "Temple" includes all of Jerusalem (see the preceding mishnayot), the lulav was taken up one day - on the first holy day of the Festival, as it is written, "And you shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees…" (ibid.). Regarding the overriding of the Shabbat, however, the Temple and the medinah were equal, in that if the first holiday of the Festival fell on Shabbat, the taking up of the lulav would override the Shabbat, even in the medinah, while on the other days of the Festival, it would not override the Shabbat, not even in the Temple.

After the Temple was destroyed Rabban Yohanah ben Zakkai enacted that the lulav should be taken up in the medinah all the seven - days of the Festival of Sukkot, in remembrance of the Temple - as it is written, "She is Zion, there is none that cares for her" (Jer. 30:17), from which it is learned that a remembrance of the Temple must be instituted. The Sages prohibited, however, the taking up of the lulav on Shabbat, even on the first day of the Festival, lest people should carry it four amot in the public domain, and Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai also enacted that on the whole Day of waving - of the omer, on the sixteenth day of Nisan, it should be forbidden - to eat on it from the new produce, as it is written, "When you come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then you shall bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest…And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until you have brought the offering of your God" (Lev. 23:10-14); hence it is prohibited to eat from the new produce before the sacrifice of the omer is offered, on the sixteenth day of Nisan. When the Temple existed, however, it was permitted to eat of the new produce immediately after the omer had been offered up, for it is written, "until you have brought the offering of your God," implying that after the offering of the omer the new produce was permitted immediately. But after the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Yohanah ben Zakkai forbade to eat of the new produce the entire day of the sixteenth, the day of the waving of the omer (see Suk. 3:12 for a detailed explanation.)

There was a difference between the obligation of lulav and that of shofar during the time of the Temple, for the taking up of the lulav on the first day overrode the Shabbat, even in the medinah, while the blowing of the shofar overrode the Shabbat only in the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple, there is also a difference between lulav and shofar, for the taking up of the lulav does not override Shabbat, not even on the first day, while concerning the shofar, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai enacted that it should be blown on Shabbat in Court. The following are the reasons for these differences: (1) The reason for the difference during the time of the Temple is that the blowing of the shofar takes place on the first day of the month of Tishrei, and only in the Temple (and in Jerusalem) was this date known; in the medinah, however, where they were not certain when Rosh Hashanah was, and they celebrated the holiday in doubt, the blowing of the shofar did not override Shabbat, since the date was dubious. But by the time the festival of Sukkot arrived, the day of the first of Tishrei had already been made known throughout the entire medinah, and everyone knew the definite first day of Sukkot, the proper day on which to fulfill the obligation of taking the lulav, by Torah law; the mitzvah of the lulav on the first day would therefore override Shabbat, even in the medinah (Tosafot; Baal Hame'or; Hameiri). (2) The reason for the difference after the destruction of the Temple is that one person may blow the shofar on behalf of others who thus fulfill their obligation; therefore, the Sages did not prohibit this in places where there were Courts, because the Court is scrupulous (see 4:1, above). The obligation of the lulav, however, is incumbent upon each individual. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai therefore enacted that the shofar should be blown wherever there is a Court. Regarding the lulav, the Sages ruled that it does not override the Shabbat at all. Another reason for this difference is that the lulav is taken up also on the other Festival days, while regarding the mitzvah of the shofar, if not blown, it might be forgotten. Though there are two days of Rosh Hashanah, by Torah law, however, it is only one day. Another reason may be because the shofar serves as a remembrance more so than the lulav (Rabbeinu Nissim; Tosafot; Tosefot Yom Tov).

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