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Daf Ditty Eruvin 39-Yoma Aruchta

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Daf Ditty Eruvin 39: Yoma Arichta Reb Nachman says, the Heilege Reb Nachman says, you know why people hate each other? Because deep, deep, deep down they don’t really believe that God created them. And they hate each other. If it would be clear to them that there is only one G-d, and G-d created them, they’d love each other. Reb Shlomo on Rosh Hashana 1 MISHNA: During the time period when the Jewish calendar was established by the court according to the testimony of witnesses who had seen the new moon, Rosh Hashanah would be observed for only one day if witnesses arrived on that day, and for two days if witnesses failed to arrive and the month of Elul was declared to be an extended, thirty-day month. Rabbi Yehuda says: 2 With regard to Rosh Hashanah, if one feared that the month of Elul might be extended, and he wanted to travel in two different directions on the two days that could be Rosh Hashanah, this person may establish two eiruvin and say: My eiruv on the first day shall be to the east and on the second day to the west, or alternatively: On the first day it shall be to the west, and on the second day to the east. Similarly, he may say: My eiruv shall apply on the first day, but on the second day I shall be like the rest of the inhabitants of my town, or alternatively: My eiruv shall apply on the second day, but on the first day I shall be like the rest of the inhabitants of my town. And the Rabbis did not agree with him that the two days of Rosh Hashanah can be divided in such a manner. And Rabbi Yehuda said further, with regard to the two days of Rosh Hashanah that one observes because he does not know which is the real day of the Festival: A person may make a condition with regard to a basket of tevel produce on the first day of the Festival and say as follows: If today is the Festival and tomorrow is an ordinary weekday, I will separate the teruma and tithes tomorrow, and I have performed nothing today; if today is an ordinary weekday, I hereby separate the appropriate teruma and tithes now. He may then eat the produce on the second day of the Festival, since one of his two acts of tithing was certainly performed on an ordinary weekday. Introduction to the doubt as to exact day: In the previous mishnayot we learned that the sages and Rabbi Judah debate whether or not one day of Rosh Hashanah is the real day and the other is only observed because we don’t know which day Rosh Hashanah really is, or whether both days of Rosh Hashanah are treated as one extended day, neither of which is considered to be of doubtful status. In the final Mishnah of this chapter we see that this debate has ramifications for the prayers recited as well. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas says: the person who goes in front of the ark on [the first day of] of Rosh Hashanah says: “Strengthen us, o Lord our God, on this first day of the month, whether 3 it be today or tomorrow”; and on the following day he says: ‘[Strengthen us...] whether it be today or yesterday.” But the sages did not agree with him. According to Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas, in the prayers themselves one must include a mention of the fact that it is uncertain which day Rosh Hashanah really is. The prayer to which the Mishnah refers is the Amidah, also called the Shmonah Esrei (the Eighteen). On the first day he must mention “whether it be today or tomorrow” and on the second day “whether it be today or yesterday.” Again, the sages disagree because they hold that we don’t treat the two days as if one was certain and one was doubtful but rather, we treat them as one long extended holiday. In the Talmud it teaches that this debate is not only about Rosh Hashanah but Rosh Hodesh (the first of the new month) as well. The sages hold that prayer is not the time for making legal stipulations. While the status of these two days may indeed be somewhat doubtful, at least to certain sages, it doesn’t seem appropriate to mention this doubt in prayer, at the point where a person is pouring one’s heart out to God and asking for strength. The expression of such doubts during prayer might lead to doubts concerning the rabbis’ ability in general to dictate when holidays are, or at least lead to doubts concerning the efficacy of the community’s prayers. Steinzaltz (OBM) writes Months on the Jewish calendar are based on the lunar cycle, and are therefore made up of either 29 or 30 days. While today the calendar is set based on rules and calculations from the time of the amoraim, during Temple times the beginning of the month was dependent on witnesses who would testify that they saw the new moon. The tradition that has Diaspora Jews keeping an extra day of Yom Tov stems from the inability of the messengers in those days to bring this information in time for the beginning of the holiday. Rosh Hashanah is an interesting holiday as far as Jewish law is concerned. While the Torah commands to keep the holiday – which includes the restrictions of a normal Yom Tov – on the first day of the month of Tishrei, already in the time of the Temple it was often celebrated for two days, since even in Jerusalem where the Sanhedrin sat, they could not be sure when the new moon would be seen. Were the witnesses to come first thing in the morning on the 30th day of Elul, that day would be established as the single day of Rosh Hashanah. If they were to come late in the day – or not at all – then the next day would be announced as Rosh Hashanah, as well. The Mishna (39a) relates to this situation as it affects the rules of eiruvin. Can a person who is concerned that Rosh Hashanah will be two days, arrange an eiruv tehumin in one direction for the first day and in another direction for the second day? Rabbi Yehuda rules that each day of Rosh Hashanah would be considered a separate holiday, so separate eiruvin could be made. The hakhamim (identified in the Gemara as Rabbi Yose) argue that the two days must be 4 considered kedusha ahat – as sharing “one holiness” – and the eiruv can only be made in one direction for both days. Rabbi Yose argues that the case where the witnesses came late in the day, after we have already determined that the first day will not really be Rosh Hashanah, and yet both days are declared Rosh Hashanah, proves that the two days share, in effect a single kedusha. Those who argue with him say that the two days do not have equal holiness, as only one of the days is really Yom Tov. We treat both of them as having kedusha so that people will not come to treat the day lightly – d’lo le-zilzulei bei. The traditional explanation is that in the case when the witnesses arrive in court late in the day, their testimony is not accepted, and the “true” day of Rosh Hashanah is established as the second day. We are concerned that in future years people will not take the first day seriously, so we announce both days as Rosh Hashanah. The Ra’avad understands this Gemara in the opposite way. According to him, since there were witnesses who saw the new moon on the first day and arrived in the court to testify, really the first day is the “true” Rosh Hashanah. The Sages added a second day to accommodate the witnesses whose testimony is accepted on that day. [The day beginning the New Year, as well as the respective days beginning the months of the year, was determined and announced in Jerusalem after the court heard, and were satisfied with the necessary testimony regarding the time the new moon appeared in the respective month. People 5 who lived in the diaspora, too far from Jerusalem, were not able to ascertain in time which day was fixed as the New Year.] Rabbi Yehudah said: If on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, it was feared that the preceding month of Elul might be intercalated (and it would be declared to consist of thirty, instead of twenty nine days; if the witnesses were in time, only the day following the twenty-ninth of Elul was announced as Rosh Hashanah, but if they were late, that day was added to Elul and Rosh Hashanah was announced for both that day - the thirtieth of Elul, and the day following it - the first of Tishrei), he (if he wishes to go on the two days respectively in two opposite directions of the town) may prepare two eiruvs and make the following declaration: “My eiruv for the first day shall be to the east (of the city), and the one for the second day shall be to the west,” or, “The one for the first day shall be to the west, and the one for the second day shall be to the east.” [If he only needs the eiruv for one of the days, he declares as follows:] “My eiruv shall be effective for the first day, and for the second day, I shall retain the same rights as the residents of my town (who did not make an eiruv),” or, “My eiruv shall be effective for the second day, and for the first day, I shall retain the same rights as the residents of my town.” [R’ Yehudah maintains that since two days are observed out of doubt, and in essence, one day is holy and the other is an ordinary weekday, they are independent of each other, and each day’s techum does not affect the other.] The Sages, however, did not agree with him (maintaining that both days are in fact one entity of holiness).
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    1 BERURIAH AND RACHEL: TWO WOMEN IN THE TALMUD BERURIAH It is not very often that we find the name of a woman mentioned in the Talmud. Beruriah was one such exception, a great Jewish woman whose wisdom, piety, and learning inspire us to this day. Beruriah lived about one hundred years after the destruction of the Second Temple, which occurred in the year 70 CE. She was the daughter of the great Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion, who was one of the "Ten Martyrs" whom the Romans killed for spreading the teachings of the Torah among the Jewish people. Beruriah was not only the daughter of a great man but was also the wife of an equally great sage, the saintly Rabbi Meir, one of the most important teachers of the Mishnah. The Talmud tells us many stories about Beruriah. She studied three hundred matters pertaining to Halachah (Jewish law) every day, which would be quite an amazing feat for any scholar. Thus, the Sages frequently asked her views regarding matters of law, especially those laws which applied to women. For instance, the Sages had different opinions about the law of purity and asked Beruriah for her opinion. Rabbi Judah sided with her and recognized her authority. There was another case where there was a dispute between Beruriah and her brother. One of the greatest authorities was asked to judge the case and he said: "Rabbi Chananiah's daughter Beruriah is a greater scholar than his son." Beruriah was very well versed in the Holy Scriptures and could quote from them with ease.
  • Summer Halachos Part 3

    Summer Halachos Part 3

    Volume 12 Issue 11 TOPIC Summer Halachos Part 3 SPONSORED BY: KOF-K KOSHER SUPERVISION Compiled by Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits Reviewed by Rabbi Benzion Schiffenbauer Shlita Edited by: Rabbi Chanoch Levi HALACHICALLY SPEAKING Halachically Speaking is a Website Management and Emails: monthly publication compiled by Heshy Blaustein Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits, a former chaver kollel of Yeshiva SPONSORED Torah Vodaath and a musmach of Harav Yisroel Belsky zt”l. Rabbi לזכר נשמת מורי ורבי Lebovits currently works as the הרה"ג רב חיים ישראל Rabbinical Administrator for ב"ר דוב זצ"ל בעלסקי the KOF-K Kosher Supervision. Dedicated in memory of Each issue reviews a different area of contemporary halacha ר' שלמה בן פנחס ע"ה with an emphasis on practical applications of the principles SPONSORED discussed. Significant time is spent ensuring the inclusion of לז"נ מרת רחל בת אליעזר ע"ה all relevant shittos on each topic, SPONSORED as well as the psak of Harav Yisroel Belsky, zt”l on current לעילוי נשמת .issues מרת בריינדל חנה ע"ה בת ר' חיים אריה יבלח"ט גערשטנער WHERE TO SEE HALACHICALLY SPEAKING Halachically Speaking is distributed to many shuls. It can be seen in Flatbush, Lakewood, Five Towns, Far Design by: Rockaway, and Queens, The Flatbush Jewish Journal, baltimorejewishlife.com, The SRULY PERL 845.694.7186 Jewish Home, chazaq.org, and frumtoronto.com. It is sent via email to subscribers across the world. SUBSCRIBE To sponsor an issue please call FOR FREE 718-744-4360 and view archives @ © Copyright 2016 www.thehalacha.com by Halachically Speaking Summer ח.( )ברכות Halachos Part 3 בלבד..