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Week 42 - Sunday- 10 September 2000

ROSH HASHANAH: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 4

Originally they used to accept testimony about the New Moon the entire day. Once the witnesses tarried in coming, and the Levites went wrong in the song. They then enacted that they should accept only until the Minhah. And if witnesses came after Minhah - they observed that day as sanctified and the following day as sanctified. After the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai enacted that they should accept testimony about the New Moon the entire day. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha said, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai also decreed that wherever the head of the Court might be, the witnesses should go only to the meeting place.

Kehati

This mishnah continues with the enactments of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, discussing in this mishnah the one concerning kiddush ha-hodesh.

Originally they used to accept testimony about the New Moon the entire day - of the thirtieth of the month; even if witnesses came at the end of the day, close to sunset, and they testified that they had seen the New Moon, the Court would effect kiddush ha-hodesh, proclaiming the thirtieth day as Rosh Hodesh, on the basis of their testimony, though the day had almost ended. According to most commentators, the mishnah refers to the thirtieth day of Elul, i.e., if the witnesses came, even at the end of that day and testified that they had seen the new moon, the Court proclaimed the thirtieth day of Elul as Rosh Hodesh and as Rosh Hashanah. Since they were waiting that entire day for the witnesses, they observed it, on account of the doubt, as a holy day from the beginning of the night following the twenty-ninth, since the witnesses might come, and that day would be Rosh Hashanah (Rashi; Hameiri).

Once the witnesses tarried in coming - until close to nightfall, and the Levites went wrong in the song - every day at the time of the offering of the morning tamid sacrifice, and at the time of the offering of the afternoon tamid sacrifice, the Levites would recite the Psalm of the day. There was a special Psalm for Rosh Hashanah, but as long as the witnesses had not come, they would recite the weekday Psalm during the morning tamid sacrifice of the thirtieth of Elul, since they did not know whether that day would be proclaimed as the beginning of the new month and Rosh Hashanah. But if the witnesses to the New Moon had already come, and on the basis of their testimony, the Court had effected kiddush ha-hodesh on the thirtieth of Elul, the Levites would after the afternoon offering recite the Psalm for Rosh Hashanah. It happened on one occasion when the witnesses were late in coming, that the time had arrived for offering the afternoon tamid sacrifice, and the Levites did not know whether to recite the holy day or the weekday Psalm. The Gemara records a difference of opinion regarding the interpretation of "and the Levites went wrong in the song": according to one opinion, they did not recite the holiday Psalm, but the weekday one; according to another opinion, they did not recite any Psalm at all. The witnesses came later while it was still daytime, the Court effected kiddush ha-hodesh and proclaimed this day as Rosh Hashanah, and thus the Levites failed to sing the appropriate Psalm of Minhah. From that time on, they - the Court, then enacted that they should accept testimony regarding the New Moon only until the Minhah - the time for offering the afternoon tamid sacrifice.

And if witnesses came after Minhah - they observed that day as sanctified and the following day as sanctified - i.e., they would intercalate Elul, and declare the following day Rosh Hodesh Tishrei. However, they observed the remainder of the thirtieth day as a holy day, as they had done due to doubt prior to the arrival of the witnesses, lest the people treat this day lightly the following year and perform forbidden activities on it, saying, "Last year we observed it as a holy day unnecessarily, for from Minhah on we treated it as a weekday." They would, however, recite the weekday Psalm at the offering of the afternoon tamid sacrifice, and the practices denoting the sanctity of the day as the blowing of the shofar, the day's sacrifices, and the holy day Psalm, were observed on the following day. This is the meaning in the mishnah of "they observe that and the following day as a holy day."

After the Temple was destroyed - and there no longer existed the question of the day's Psalm, since no sacrifices were offered any longer, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai enacted that they should accept testimony about the New Moon the entire day - of the thirtieth of Elul, and even if the witnesses came close to sunset, the Court effects kiddush ha-hodesh, and proclaims the thirtieth day as Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara (Betz. 4b) concludes that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai agrees that if witnesses come after the Minhah, they observe that day and the following day as sanctified, for his enactment to accept testimony regarding the new moon the entire day, applies only to the matter of Rosh Hodesh, i.e., that the thirtieth day of Elul is determined to be the first day of Tishrei, according to which the other Festivals will be determined. Regarding the holy day of Rosh Hashanah, however, the enactment of the earlier Sages was maintained, and if witnesses came after the Minhah, they would observe the two days as Rosh Hashanah. Hence the fixed rule, observed until this day, to celebrate two days of Rosh Hashanah, on the first and second day of Tishrei, and these two days are regarded as "one long day" (yoma arikhta) and are equally holy.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha said, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai also decreed - concerning kiddush ha-hodesh, that wherever the head of the Court might be - i.e., he is absent from the seat of the Sanhedrin, the witnesses should go only to the meeting place - though the presence of the head of the Court is essential at the proclamation of kiddush ha-hodesh, as it was taught, "The head of the Court says, It is sanctified!" (2:7, above), Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai enacted that they should not trouble the witnesses to go to the place where the head of the Court was, but to "the meeting place," i.e., the seat of the Court, where their testimony would be received and kiddush ha-hodesh effected, without the head of the Court.

ROSH HASHANAH: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 5

Order of the blessings: one recites the Patriarchs, Powers, and the Holiness of the Name, and includes Malkhuyot, but he does not blow; the Sanctity of the Day, and he blows; Zikhronot, and he blows; Shofarot, and he blows; and he recites Service, and Thanksgiving, and the Priests' Blessing; so Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri. Rabbi Akiva said to him, If he does not blow for Malkhuyot, why does he mention? Rather he recites Patriarchs, Powers, and the Holiness of the Name, and includes Malkhuyot in the Sanctity of the Day, and he blows; Zikhronot, and he blows; Shofarot, and he blows; and he recites Service, Thanksgiving, and the Priests' Blessing.

Kehati

This mishnah discusses the Rosh Hashanah Musaf prayer, which includes the blessings of Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot, for which the shofar is blown. The blessings are derived from the Biblical description of Rosh Hashanah, as "a memorial of blowing" (Lev. 23:24): "a memorial [zikhron]" - this is the Zikhronot; "of blowing [teru'ah]" - this is the Shofarot; it is also written, "and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God" (Num. 10:10) - why does the Torah add (in this verse) "I am the Lord your God"? To teach that wherever there are Zikhronot and Shofarot, there must be also Malkhuyot. Thus, also, a baraita cited in the Gemara: "The Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'Recite before Me on Rosh Hashanah Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot. Malkhiyot - so that you will confirm Me as King over you first; Zikhronot - so that your remembrance will come before Me for good. How? With the shofar.'" Thus also Sifrei: "Why did the Sages see fit to recite Malkhuyot first, and afterwards Zikhronot and Shofarot? To set Him as King over you first, and afterwards ask Him for mercy, so that He remember you. And through what? Through the shofar. And the shofar foretokens freedom, as it is written, 'And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great shofar shall be blown' (Isa. 27:13)." This mishnah teaches that Malkhuyot is not a separate blessing, but rather is included in another blessing, and Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri and Rabbi Akiva differ on this. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri holds that Malkhuyot is recited within the blessing of the Holiness of the Name (which concludes with "the Holy King"), for holiness and kingship are interrelated; and Rabbi Akiva holds that it is recited in the blessing of the Sanctity of the Day (which concludes with "Who sanctifies Israel and the Day of Remembrance"), so that the shofar should be blown for Malkhuyot just as it is blown for Zikhronot and Shofarot.

Order of blessings - of the Rosh Hashanah Musaf prayer, during which they blow: one recites the Patriarchs - the blessing that begins, "Blessed are You…the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," and ends "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Shield of Abraham," Powers - "You are powerful…," and ends with "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who revives the dead," and the Holiness of the Name - "You are holy" to "You are sanctified, and Your Name is awesome," and includes Malkhuyot - i.e., he concludes, "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Holy King," only after he recites Malkhuyot (according to our version of the prayer), from Aleinu - "It is incumbent upon us to praise the Master of all" to "the Lord, the God of Israel, King, and His kingdom rules all," but he does not blow - at the conclusion of this blessing, for the shofar is blown only for the three middle blessings;

The Sanctity of the Day - "You chose us…", "You have given us this Day of Remembrance, a day of blowing the horn, a holy convocation," and ends with "Blessed are you, O Lord, Who sanctifies Israel and the Day of Remembrance," and he blows - at the end of this blessing; Zikhronot - according to our version, "You remember the deeds of the world" and ends with "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who remembers the Covenant," and he blows - a second time; Shofarot - according to our version, "You revealed Yourself in the cloud of Your glory…" and ends with "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who hears the sound of His people Israel's blowing with mercy," and he blows - a third time; and he recites - at the end of the prayer, Service - "Be pleased, O Lord our God, with Your people Israel," and ends with "Who returns His Divine Presence to Zion," and Thanksgiving - the blessing, "We give thanks to You," which ends with "Your name the Beneficient One, and to You it is fitting to give thanks," and the Priests' Blessing - and the following blessing, "Grant peace," ending with "Who blesses His people Israel with peace"; so Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri - who holds that Malkhuyot is recited with the Sanctity of the Name, for the two are interrelated (see the introduction to the mishnah).

Rabbi Akiva said to him - to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, If he does not blow for Malkhuyot, why does he mention - it? I.e., since Malkhuyot has been added to the prayer, it certainly is necessary to blow for it, as they blow for Zikhronot and Shofarot. The Gemara elaborates: why does Malkhiyot contain verses as do Zikhronot and Shofarot (see the following mishnah)? I.e., if Malkhuyot is different from the others regarding the blowing of the shofar, then the text of the prayer should also be different; and if the text of the prayer is similar to that of Zikhronot and of Shofarot, then the shofar should be blown for it, just as Zikhronot and Shofarot. Rather - this is the order of the blessings: he recites Patriarchs, Powers, and the Holiness of the Name - he ends the Sanctity of the Name with "You are sanctified, and Your Name is awesome," concluding the blessing with "Blessed are You, O Lord, the Holy King,"

And includes Malkhuyot in the Sanctity of the Day - afterwards he begins "You chose us," and after finishing the passage of the Musaf sacrifice (according to our version of the prayers), he begins Malkhuyot ("It is incumbent upon us…"), and he concludes: "Blessed are You, O Lord, King over all the earth, Who sanctifies Israel and the day of remembrance," and he blows - for Malkhuyot; Zikhronot, and he blows; Shofarot, and he blows; and he recites Service, Thanksgiving, and the Priests' Blessing - as explained above. The halakhah follows Rabbi Akiva.

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