Rosh Hashanah 10b — the Talmud in English

And is it not

obvious

that it is said:

that one day [בסוף שנה ראשונהat the end of the first year]

counts

for it as the count of a year, even

at its beginning, at the beginning of the allotment of the years, by a kal va-chomer?!

For the beginning of the count is more lenient than its end, as we learned concerning a menstruant.

Rather, necessarily, according to the view of Rabbi Meir, who holds that one day of a year is considered a year at the end of the years, even at their beginning one day of a year is considered a year.

And from now, necessarily, the beraita above [which said that one who plants less than thirty days before Rosh HaShana has not gained a year] is not in accordance with the view of Rabbi Meir.

And we wonder:

But if so, what is it?

According to whose view, then, will you establish the beraita?

If according to the view of

Rabbi Elazar [הסובר ששלשים יום בשנה חשובים שנהwho holds that thirty days of a year are considered a year]? הרי לדעת רבי אלעזר צריךAccording to Rabbi Elazar’s view, one needs

then according to Rabbi Elazar it is necessary to have

thirty

days for the seedling to take root in the ground,

and

another

thirty

additional days

are required [צריך]in order to consider them a year. For as long as the seedling has not taken root in the ground, it is like something placed in a house. [ואין מתחילים למנות את השנה הראשונה אלא לאחר שהזרע נקלטAnd the first year is counted only after the seedling takes root.]

Therefore, one who plants less than sixty days before Rosh HaShana has not gained a year according to Rabbi Elazar. And how is it possible to establish the above beraita according to his view?

For we learned [שביעית ב ו שאין הנטיעה נקלטת בקרקע בפחות משלשים יוםShevi'it 2:6, that a planting does not take root in the ground in less than thirty days]:

One may not plant

saplings,

nor layer, one may not bend a branch from the tree into the ground [על מנת שיגדל עץ חדשin order that a new tree grow],

—that is, bend a branch from the tree into the ground [so that a new tree will grow]—

nor graft

a tree onto the trunk of another tree, in

the eve of the Sabbatical year—

less than thirty days before Rosh HaShana,

since the time required for the planting to take root is thirty days.

And if one planted, layered, or grafted

within those thirty days—

he must uproot it!

Rabbi Yehuda says: Any grafting that does not take root within three days—

will no longer take root

even within thirty days.

Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon say:

the time required for it to take root is

two weeks [ארבעה עשר יוםfourteen days].

And Rav Nachman said that Rabba bar Avuha said: According to the words of

the

tannai who says

that a planting takes root in

thirty

days—the one who plants before the Sabbatical year

needs

to precede it by

thirty

days for it to take root,

and

another

thirty

days for the addition of the Sabbatical year.

And

according to the one who says

that a planting takes root in

three

days, one who plants on the eve of the Sabbatical year

needs

to precede it and plant

thirty-three

days before the Sabbatical year.

And

according to the one who says

that a planting takes root in

two weeks,

one who plants before the Sabbatical year

needs

to precede it by

two weeks and

another

thirty days.

And according to this, if we say that the above beraita [that one who plants less than thirty days before Rosh HaShana has not gained a year] follows Rabbi Elazar’s view, that thirty days of a year are considered a year, then even if he planted more than thirty days before Rosh HaShana, he has not gained a year, for he must precede it by another thirty days for it to take root, [according to the first tannai in the Mishna in Shevi'it mentioned above].

Or alternatively,

and even if we say that Rabbi Elazar

holds like Rabbi Yehuda, that the planting takes root within three days, [and not within thirty days], the difficulty still remains: for

that a planting takes root within three days [and not thirty days], the difficulty still remains:

three

days for taking root

and

another

thirty

days

are required! And why did we learn in the beraita that one who plants thirty days before Rosh HaShana has gained a year?

And necessarily, it is impossible to establish the above beraita [that one who plants less than thirty days before Rosh HaShana has not gained a year] according to Rabbi Elazar’s view.

Rather, actually,

necessarily, the beraita was taught by

Rabbi Meir,

who holds that one day of a year is considered a year.

And when he says,

and what Rabbi Meir said [in the beraita], that one must precede planting by

thirty

days before Rosh HaShana, this is because according to Rabbi Meir thirty days are needed

for it to take root.

And we object: Since we have said that according to Rabbi Meir’s view the planting takes root only after thirty days.

If so,

why did we learn in the beraita that one who plants thirty days before Rosh HaShana has gained a year?

For

thirty-one are required!

He must precede it by thirty-one days before Rosh HaShana: thirty days for taking root, and another day so that it will be considered the first year of orla [since one day of a year is considered a year]!

And we answer:

He holds,

Rabbi Meir, that

the thirtieth day counts [נחשב]is considered

as

for here and for here, both for the end of the days required for taking root and with regard to the principle that one day of a year is considered a year.

both as the end of the days required for it to take root and with regard to the principle that one day of a year is considered a year.

And the Gemara explains the rationales of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar [who disputed how many days of a year are considered a year]:

Rabbi Yohanan said: And both of them [רבי מאיר ורבי אלעזרRabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar]

Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar

expounded one verse:

It is said [Genesis 8] concerning the Flood:

“And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year [לחיי נחof Noah’s life]

of Noah’s life

in the first [בחדש הראשוןin the first month]

month

on the first of the month

the waters dried up from upon the earth.”

And Rabbi Yohanan explains Rabbi Meir’s view:

Rabbi Meir holds: Since as yet

since only

one day has entered

entered

the year

the six hundred and first,

and it calls

and calls

it

the verse

“a year” —

derive from this that

that

one day of a year is considered a year.

And the other, Rabbi Elazar [who holds that one day of a year is not considered a year], rejects Rabbi Meir’s proof and answers him:

Rabbi Elazar [who maintains that one day of a year is not considered a year], rejects Rabbi Meir’s proof and responds:

Indeed,

if it had been written, “in the six hundred and first year,”

there would indeed have been a proof from here

as you say,

that one day of a year is considered a year.

But

now,

now

that it is written, “in the six hundred and first year,”

it can be explained that

“year”

”—

refers to the six hundred.

That is, the word “year” refers only to “six hundred” [which is written adjacent to it], and not to “one.”

And what is “one”

”?—

the beginning of “one”!

That is, after six hundred years, at the beginning of the first year.

And now Rabbi Yohanan explains Rabbi Elazar’s view:

And Rabbi Elazar,

who holds that thirty days of a year are considered a year—

what is his reason?

Because

it is written

in this verse:

“in the first [בחדש הראשוןin the first month]

month

on the first of the month.”

Since as yet

since only

one day has entered [שנכנסthat entered]

the month, and it calls it

the verse

“a month”—

derive from this that

that

one day of a month is considered a month.

And from

this

that one day of a month is considered a month—

we learn that even

thirty days of a year are considered a year.

And

that is, just as we find that one day is considered

“a month”

” \-

for its counting,

for a time unit of one day, by which the month is defined and counted—for the month is the total count of thirty days [as it is said [Numbers 11], “until a month of days”]—is considered as the entire month.

And

from here, also with regard to

a year,

one

for its counting

is considered a year. And the year is counted through the counting of the months, as it is said [Exodus 12]: “For the months of the year.”

And from here Rabbi Elazar learned that thirty days [a month] of a year are considered a year.

By inference, both of them,

Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar,

hold that the world was created in Nisan.

It was taught in a beraita:

Rabbi Eliezer says:

a.

In Tishrei was created

the world.

b.

In Tishrei the forefathers were born—

Abraham and Jacob.

c.

In Tishrei the forefathers died—

Abraham and Jacob.

d.

In Passover Isaac was born.

e.

On Rosh HaShana Sarah was remembered

favorably before the Holy One, blessed be He, and pregnancy was decreed for her. And Rachel and Hannah were likewise remembered:

Rachel and Hannah.

f.

On Rosh HaShana Joseph went out of the prison.