Arakhin 10a (י.) — the Talmud in English

And

the fifth month was

intercalated

of

year thirty

by one day, and as a result Rosh HaShana was delayed by one day.

And

also

the previous year we made both of them full

that is, eight intercalated months; and as a result Rosh HaShana was delayed by another two days.

Subtract three

days by which Rosh HaShana should be delayed because we made three months full

from the three

days by which it should be advanced because of the three deficient months that we made,

and it remains

Rosh HaShana

in its place

which is the day of the molad.

He said to him,

Rabbi:

light of Israel,

you are, for you have illuminated the eyes of the Sages.

That is so,

as you say.

Mishna:

One does not reduce the number of blasts below twenty-one

in the Temple,

each day.

And one does not increase it beyond forty-eight

blasts. This applies to the eve of Shabbat that occurs during the festival. These matters are explained in tractate Sukka, in the chapter Heilil.

There must be no fewer than two lyres

for two Levites, for the song that was performed in the Temple over the offering.

And one may not increase the number beyond six.

There must be no fewer than two flutes

in the Temple,

and one may not increase the number beyond twelve. On twelve days of the year the

flutist

plays

the flute

striking

the flute with his finger, for this is how it is played

before the altar.

[But on the other days they did not perform music except with lyres, harps, and cymbals.]

And these are the occasions: when the first

Paschal offering was slaughtered, when the second Paschal offering was slaughtered, on the first festival day of Pesaḥ, on the festival day of Shavuot, and on the eight days of the festival of Sukkot.

And they did not play with a reed pipe

[a flute]

of copper, but with a reed pipe of reed, because its sound is pleasant.

And they did not conclude

the song

except with a single reed pipe.

That is, one flute continued the melody at the conclusion after the other had become silent

because it produces a beautiful glissando,

more so than if both concluded simultaneously.

And they were servants of kohanim,

those who played the flute,

the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yosei says: They were from the families of Beit Pegarim and Beit Tzipra

and from a place called

Imum.

They were Israelites of unblemished lineage, and for that reason

they would marry

their daughters

to kohanim. Rabbi Hanina ben Antigonus says: They were Levites

who played the flute.

Gemara:

The Mishna is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda. As it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda says: With regard to one who reduces,

on an ordinary day, when the minimum number applies,

he may not reduce it below seven

blasts,

and one who increases,

on a day when the maximum number applies,

may not increase it beyond sixteen

blasts. Yet the Mishna states that the minimum is twenty-one blasts and the maximum is forty-eight.

And we raise the question:

With regard to what do they disagree? The explanation is that everyone agrees that there must be seven cycles of tekia-terua-tekia; they disagree only about what is considered one blast.

Rabbi Yehuda holds: The tekia

beforehand

and the terua and the tekia

following it

are one

act of sounding

and are

counted as a single unit. The seven that he mentions are therefore seven cycles of tekia-terua-tekia.

And the Rabbis hold: The tekia by itself

is to be counted,

and the terua by itself, and the tekia

following it

by itself.

Therefore, seven cycles of tekia-terua-tekia are counted as twenty-one blasts.

What is the reason of Rabbi Yehuda

for considering them all one?

As it is written: “And you shall sound a terua,” and it is written: “They shall sound a terua.”

Thus, the terua is called a tekia, and the tekia is called a terua; they are one.

And the Rabbis: That

verse comes to teach that there must be

a

tekia

before it, a plain blast before

the terua,

and a plain blast after it; that is what

the verse comes to teach.

And what is the reason of the Rabbis

for considering each one separately? From where is this derived? It is

as it is written: “And when you gather the people, you shall sound, but you shall not sound a terua. And if it should enter your mind

that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda,

that the tekia, terua, and tekia are one, would the Merciful One have said: Perform half a mitzva?

That would leave half of the act of sounding.

And Rabbi Yehuda

maintains that this is not proof, because this tekia

is merely a signal,

to gather the congregation, and is not performed for the sake of a mitzva.

And we raise the question:

In accordance with whose view is that which Rav Kahana said: There is no

interruption

between the tekia and the terua

or between the terua

and the tekia at all,

as they must be continuous?

And we answer:

In accordance with whose view? In accordance with Rabbi

Yehuda,

who maintains that it is a single act of sounding.

And we ask:

Is it not obvious that it is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda?

Rav Kahana’s statement was made according to that view, so why is it necessary to explain this?

And we answer:

It might have been said

that Rav Kahana’s statement

can be understood even according to the Rabbis,

and that he did not mean that they must actually be uninterrupted, since according to the Rabbis each is a separate unit. Rather, he intended only

to exclude the view of Rabbi Yohanan, who said: “One who hears nine blasts

[three for kingship verses, three for remembrance verses, and three for shofar verses]

over nine hours has fulfilled his obligation.”

This is so even though he paused for an hour between one blast and the next. Rav Kahana disputes this and says that even according to the Rabbis this is ineffective: although each blast is a separate unit, they must still be close to one another, though a brief interruption is permitted.

It teaches us

that this is not so. Rather, Rav Kahana stated his ruling according to Rabbi Yehuda, and there may not be any interruption at all.

And we ask:

But say that this is indeed so,

that Rav Kahana follows the Rabbis; from where do you know that his statement follows Rabbi Yehuda?

And we answer:

If so, what is the meaning of “and nothing” that Rav Kahana said? Rather, it implies that they must be truly consecutive, in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda.

that Rav Kahana said? Rather, it implies that the intervals must literally be consecutive, in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda.

We learned in the Mishna:

“Twelve days a year the flute is played”;

and we raised the question:

What is different about these days from the song performed throughout the rest of the year?

days from the song that was sung throughout the rest of the year?

And we answer:

Since

on those days

an individual completes the Hallel on them,

whereas on the other days it is not recited at all. Our recitation of Hallel with omissions on Rosh Chodesh and on the last six days of Pesach is only a custom [Tosafot].

As Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak: The eighteen days on which an individual

completes

the Hallel

are: the eight days of Sukkot, the eight days of Hanukkah, the first day of Pesach, and the festival day of Shavuot; and in the Diaspora, twenty-one.

For three days are added on account of the second festival days observed in the Diaspora:

nine days of Sukkot, and eight

days of Hanukkah

38 , and the two festival days of Pesach, and the two festival days of Shavuot.