25a. וערבית במערב א"ר יוחנן בן נורי עדי שקר הם כשבאו ליבנה קיבלן רבן גמליאל,ועוד באו שנים ואמרו ראינוהו בזמנו ובליל עיבורו לא נראה וקיבלן ר"ג,אמר רבי דוסא בן הורכינס עדי שקר הן היאך מעידים על האשה שילדה ולמחר כריסה בין שיניה אמר לו רבי יהושע רואה אני את דבריך שלח לו ר"ג גוזרני עליך שתבא אצלי במקלך ובמעותיך ביוה"כ שחל להיות בחשבונך,הלך ומצאו ר"ע מיצר אמר לו יש לי ללמוד שכל מה שעשה ר"ג עשוי שנאמר (ויקרא כג, ד) אלה מועדי ה' מקראי קדש אשר תקראו אתם בין בזמנן בין שלא בזמנן אין לי מועדות אלא אלו,בא לו אצל ר' דוסא בן הורכינס אמר לו אם באין אנו לדון אחר בית דינו של ר"ג צריכין אנו לדון אחר כל בית דין ובית דין שעמד מימות משה ועד עכשיו שנאמר (שמות כד, ט) ויעל משה ואהרן נדב ואביהוא ושבעים מזקני ישראל ולמה לא נתפרשו שמותן של זקנים אלא ללמד שכל שלשה ושלשה שעמדו בית דין על ישראל הרי הוא כבית דינו של משה,נטל מקלו ומעותיו בידו והלך ליבנה אצל ר"ג ביום שחל יוה"כ להיות בחשבונו עמד ר"ג ונשקו על ראשו אמר לו בוא בשלום רבי ותלמידי רבי בחכמה ותלמידי שקבלת את דברי:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big תניא אמר להם ר"ג לחכמים כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא פעמים שבא בארוכה ופעמים שבא בקצרה,א"ר יוחנן מ"ט דבי רבי דכתיב (תהלים קד, יט) עשה ירח למועדים שמש ידע מבואו שמש הוא דידע מבואו ירח לא ידע מבואו,רבי חייא חזייא לסיהרא דהוה קאי בצפרא דעשרים ותשעה שקל קלא פתק ביה אמר לאורתא בעינן לקדושי בך ואת קיימת הכא זיל איכסי א"ל רבי לר' חייא זיל לעין טב וקדשיה לירחא ושלח לי סימנא דוד מלך ישראל חי וקים,ת"ר פעם אחת נתקשרו שמים בעבים ונראית דמות לבנה בעשרים ותשעה לחדש כסבורים העם לומר ר"ח ובקשו ב"ד לקדשו אמר להם ר"ג כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא אין חדושה של לבנה פחותה מעשרים ותשעה יום ומחצה ושני שלישי שעה וע"ג חלקים,ואותו היום מתה אמו של בן זזא והספידה ר"ג הספד גדול לא מפני שראויה לכך אלא כדי שידעו העם שלא קידשו ב"ד את החדש:,הלך ר"ע (ומצאו) מיצר כו': איבעיא להו מי מיצר ר"ע מיצר או רבי יהושע מיצר ת"ש דתניא הלך ר"ע ומצאו לרבי יהושע כשהוא מיצר אמר לו [רבי] מפני מה אתה מיצר אמר לו (רבי) עקיבא ראוי לו שיפול למטה י"ב חדש ואל יגזור עליו גזירה זו,א"ל רבי תרשיני לומר לפניך דבר אחד שלמדתני אמר לו אמור אמר לו הרי הוא אומר (ויקרא כג, ב) אתם אתם אתם ג' פעמים,אתם אפילו שוגגין אתם אפילו מזידין אתם אפילו מוטעין בלשון הזה אמר לו עקיבא נחמתני נחמתני:,בא לו אצל רבי דוסא בן הורכינס כו': ת"ר למה לא נתפרשו שמותם של זקנים הללו שלא יאמר אדם פלוני כמשה ואהרן פלוני כנדב ואביהוא פלוני כאלדד ומידד,ואומר (שמואל א יב, ו) ויאמר שמואל אל העם ה' אשר עשה את משה ואת אהרן ואומר (שמואל א יב, יא) וישלח ה' את ירובעל ואת בדן ואת יפתח ואת שמואל ירובעל זה גדעון ולמה נקרא שמו ירובעל שעשה מריבה עם הבעל בדן זה שמשון ולמה נקרא שמו בדן דאתי מדן יפתח כמשמעו | 25a. bandthat same day we saw the new moon bin the evening in the west. Rabbi Yoḥa ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses,as it is impossible to see the new moon so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon. However, bwhen they arrived in Yavne, Rabban Gamliel accepted themas witnesses without concern., bAndthere was banotherincident in which btwowitnesses bcame and said: We sawthe new moon bat itsanticipated btime,i.e., on the night of the thirtieth day of the previous month; however, bon thefollowing bnight,i.e., the start of the thirty-first, which is often the determit of ba full,thirty-day month, bit was not seen. Andnevertheless bRabban Gamliel accepted theirtestimony and established the New Moon on the thirtieth day., bRabbi Dosa ben Horkinasdisagreed and bsaid: They are false witnesses; how canwitnesses btestify that a woman gave birth and the next day her belly is between her teeth,i.e., she is obviously still pregt? If the new moon was already visible at its anticipated time, how could it not be seen a day later? bRabbi Yehoshua said to him: I seethe logic of byour statement;the New Moon must be established a day later. Upon hearing that Rabbi Yehoshua had challenged his ruling, bRabban Gamliel senta message bto him: I decree against you that youmust bappear before me with your staff and with your money onthe day on which bYom Kippur occurs according to your calculation;according to my calculation, that day is the eleventh of Tishrei, the day after Yom Kippur., bRabbi Akiva went and foundRabbi Yehoshua bdistressedthat the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that he maintained was Yom Kippur. In an attempt to console him, Rabbi Akiva bsaid toRabbi Yehoshua: bI can learnfrom a verse bthat everything that Rabban Gamliel didin sanctifying the month bis done,i.e., it is valid. bAs it is stated: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations, which you shall proclaimin their season” (Leviticus 23:4). This verse indicates that bwhetheryou have proclaimed them bat theirproper btimeor bwhetheryou have declared them bnot at theirproper btime, I have only these Festivalsas established by the representatives of the Jewish people.,Rabbi Yehoshua then bcame to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas,who bsaid to him: If we come to debateand question the rulings of bthe court of Rabban Gamliel, we must debateand question the rulings of bevery court that has stood from the days of Moses until now. As it is stated: “Then Moses went up, and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel”(Exodus 24:9). bBut why were the names of theseseventy bElders not specified? Rather,this comes bto teach that everyset of bthreejudges bthat standsas ba court over the Jewish peoplehas the same status bas the court of Moses.Since it is not revealed who sat on that court, apparently it is enough that they were official judges in a Jewish court.,When Rabbi Yehoshua heard that even Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas maintained that they must submit to Rabban Gamliel’s decision, bhe took his staff and his money in his hand, and went to Yavne to Rabban Gamliel on the dayon bwhich Yom Kippur occurred according to hisown bcalculation.Upon seeing him, bRabban Gamliel stood up and kissed him on his head. He said to him: Come in peace, my teacher and my student.You are bmy teacher in wisdom,as Rabbi Yehoshua was wiser than anyone else in his generation, bandyou are bmy student, as you accepted my statement,despite your disagreement., strongGEMARA: /strong bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabban Gamliel said to the Sages,in explanation of his opinion that it is possible for the new moon to be visible so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon: bThis isthe tradition that bI received from the house of my father’s father: Sometimesthe moon bcomes by a longpath band sometimes it comes by a shortone., bRabbi Yoḥa said: What is the reasonfor the opinion bof the house of RabbiYehuda HaNasi, i.e., the house of the heads of the Great Sanhedrin, the source of Rabban Gamliel’s ruling? bAs it is written: “Who appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows its going down”(Psalms 104:19). This verse indicates that bit isonly bthe sunthat bknows its going down,i.e., its seasons and the times that it shines are the same every year. In contrast, bthe moon does not know its going down,as its course is not identical every month.,§ The Gemara relates that bRabbi Ḥiyyaonce bsawthe waning bmoon standingin the sky bon the morningof the btwenty-ninthof the month. bHe took a clumpof earth and bthrewit batthe moon, bsaying: This evening we need to sanctify you,i.e., the new moon must be visible tonight so that we may declare the thirtieth of the month as the New Moon, band you arestill bstanding here? Goand bcover yourselffor now, so that the new moon will be seen only after nightfall. The Gemara further relates that bRabbiYehuda HaNasi once bsaid to Rabbi Ḥiyya: Go toa place called bEin Tav and sanctify theNew bMoonthere, band send me a signthat you have sanctified it. The sign is: bDavid, king of Israel, lives and endures. /b, bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOnce the sky was covered with clouds, and the form of the moon was visible on the twenty-ninth of the month. The people thought to saythat the day was bthe New Moon, and the court sought to sanctify it.However, bRabban Gamliel said to them: This isthe tradition that bI received from the house of my father’s father:The monthly cycle of the brenewal of the moontakes bno less than twenty-nine and a half days, plus two-thirds of an hour, plus seventy-threeof the 1,080 bsubsectionsof an hour.,The ibaraitacontinues: bAnd on that day the mother ofthe Sage bben Zaza died, and Rabban Gamliel delivered a great eulogyon bherbehalf. He did this bnot because she was worthy of thishonor; brather,he eulogized her bso that the people would know that the court had not sanctified the month,as eulogies are prohibited on the New Moon.,§ The mishna taught that bRabbi Akiva went and found him distressedthat the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that he maintained was Yom Kippur. bA dilemma was raised beforethe Sages: bWho was distressed?Was bRabbi Akiva distressed orwas bRabbi Yehoshua distressed?The Gemara answers: bComeand bhear, as it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Akiva went and found Rabbi Yehoshua in a state of distress,and bhe said to him: My teacher, for whatreason bare you distressed?Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him: Rabbi Akiva, it is fitting forone bto fallsick bin bed for twelve months, rather than to have this decree issued against himthat he should have to desecrate Yom Kippur.,Rabbi Akiva bsaid to him: My teacher, allow me to say before you one matter that youyourself once btaught me. He said to him: Speak. He said to him: It stateswith respect to the Festivals: “The appointed seasons of the Lord, which you shall proclaim bthem [ iotam /i]to be sacred convocations (Leviticus 23:2). And it is written: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations; you shall proclaim bthem [ iotam /i]in their season” (Leviticus 23:4). And it is written: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord; you shall proclaim bthem [ iotam /i]to be sacred convocations” (Leviticus 23:37). bThree timesthe verses use the term: Them [ iotam /i], which can also be read as you [ iatem /i], in plural.,This comes to teach: bYou[iatem/b] are authorized to determine the date of the new month, bevenif you bunwittinglyestablish the New Moon on the wrong day; byou, evenif you do so bintentionally; you, evenif you are bmisledby false witnesses. In all cases, once the court establishes the day as the New Moon, it is sanctified, and God grants His consent. After hearing this, Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him in these words: Akiva, you have consoled me; you have consoled me. /b,§ The mishna taught that Rabbi Yehoshua next bcame to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas,who proved to him that the court of Rabban Gamliel has the same legal status as the court of Moses. bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bWhy were the names of theseseventy bElderswho sat together with Moses on his court bnot specified?The reason is so bthat a person not say:Is bso-and-sothe judge in my time, blike Moses and Aaron?Is bso-and-so like Nadav and Avihu?Is bso-and-so like Eldad and Medad?Therefore, the names of the other elders were not specified, so that there is no way of knowing the qualifications of the elders in the time of Moses to compare them to later judges., bAndsimilarly bit says: “And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord Who made Moses and Aaron”(I Samuel 12:6). bAnd it saysfurther: b“And the Lord sent Jerubaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel”(I Samuel 12:11). The Gemara explains: bJerubaal, this is Gideon. And why is he called Jerubaal?The reason is bthat he waged a quarrel against Baal. Bedan, this is Samson. And why is he called Bedan? As he came fromthe tribe of bDan. Jephthah, in accordance with itsregular bmeaning,i.e., this is referring to Jephthah himself and is not a nickname. |