Rosh Hashanah 25a (כה.) — the Talmud in English

And

in

the evening

we saw it

in the west.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses,

for it is impossible that within 12 hours the moon should move so far.

When they came to Yavne, Rabban Gamliel accepted them.

The reason for this will be explained below.

And another

incident occurred, in which

two people came and said: We saw it

at its proper time

on the thirtieth day,

but it was not seen on the night on which the month would have been intercalated, and Rabban Gamliel accepted them.

Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas said: They are false witnesses,

for

how can they testify concerning a woman that she gave birth, when the next day her belly is between her teeth!?

That is, how is it possible that after the molad and the renewal of the moon, the moon should return and become hidden from our sight?

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: I see the force of your words.

And that month was Tishrei. It follows that Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua disagreed as to when Yom Kippur would occur.

Rabban Gamliel sent

the Nasi to Rabbi Yehoshua:

I decree upon you that you come to me with your staff and your money

carrying them in your hand,

on the day on which Yom Kippur falls according to your calculation.

Rabbi Akiva went and found

Rabbi Yehoshua, who was

distressed

troubled], because the Nasi had decreed that he desecrate Yom Kippur.

He said to him: I can derive that everything Rabban Gamliel did is valid,

for that is the law even if he made a mistake.

As it is stated

Leviticus 23]:

“These are the appointed times of the Lord, sacred convocations

that you shall proclaim.”

It says, “that you shall proclaim”; from here it follows that the appointed times depend on the proclamation of the court.

Whether

they sanctified them

at their proper time or not at their proper time—

I have only these appointed times.

He came

Rabbi Yehoshua

to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas

whose calculation was identical to Rabbi Yehoshua’s calculation [as above].

Rabbi Dosa

said to him:

If we are to pass judgment on Rabban Gamliel’s court

to determine whether it judged properly, then

we would have to pass judgment on every court that has stood from the days of Moses until now.

Rather, we do not need to pass judgment on any court:

As it is stated

Exodus 24]:

“And Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended.” Why were the names of the elders not specified?

Rather,

the verse came

to teach that every three who stood

who became]

as a court over Israel—

behold, it is like the court of Moses!

For if a person were to come to pass judgment on the court of his time and say: Is this court really like Moses and Aaron, or like Eldad and Medad, whose names were specified?!

They say to him: Perhaps it is as important as three of the other seventy elders, whose names were not specified.

Rabbi Yehoshua took

his

staff and his money in his hand, and went to Yavne to Rabban Gamliel, on the day on which Yom Kippur fell according to his calculation.

Rabban Gamliel stood and kissed him on his head.

He said to him: Come in peace, “my master” and “my disciple.”

For you are

my master

in wisdom,

and my disciple, because you accepted my words.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: There was an incident in which two people came and said: We saw it in the east in the morning and in the west in the evening. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses. When they came to Yavne, Rabban Gamliel accepted them.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabban Gamliel said to the Sages: This is what I have received as a tradition from the house of my father’s father: At times the moon comes

by

way of a

long

route and does not pass from east to west within 12 hours.

And at times it comes by a short route,

and passes from east to west within 12 hours.

Rabbi Yohanan said: What is the reason of “the house of Rabbi,”

his grandfather’s house, who maintain that the moon sometimes comes by a short route?

As it is written

Psalms 104]:

“He made

the Almighty

the moon for appointed times; the sun knows its setting.”

Only

the sun knows

with certainty

its setting,

for the sun’s orbit is constant and precise.

But

the moon—

it does not know its setting.

And this is the meaning of the verse: “He made the moon for appointed times.” “Appointed times” implies occasions, meaning that sometimes it sets here and sometimes there, and its location is not fixed. But the sun knows its setting with certainty [based on Rabbeinu Hananel].

Rabbi Hiyya saw the moon, which was standing in the sky on the morning of the twenty-ninth

Rabbi Hiyya saw the moon from the cycle of the previous month, which was visible in the sky on the morning of the twenty-ninth day of the month.

He took a clod

of earth,

put a note in it,

threw it toward the moon, and

said:

Tonight—

we need to sanctify the new moon through you.

We want to make tonight the festival of Rosh HaShana and shorten Elul, so that Yom Kippur will not be adjacent to Shabbat [because of the ordinance concerning vegetables and the dead, as above, 20a]. And we intend to intimidate the witnesses into saying tomorrow that they saw the renewal of the moon [as above, there].

And

if

you

were still here!?

And you are still here now!?

Go, hide!

Go and conceal yourself before nightfall! For if the moon from the previous month is seen at night, the new month is not sanctified on the following day [as above, there].

And it went away and became hidden—

the moon went away and became concealed.

Rabbi said to Rabbi Hiyya:

Since the moon from the cycle of the previous month was seen today,

go to Ein Tav and sanctify the new moon there.

Go to the place called Ein Tav and sanctify the new month there, but do not sanctify it in our city, since the people of the city saw the moon of the previous month today and will complain that we are sanctifying the new month tomorrow.

And send me

by a messenger

a sign,

so that I will know that you sanctified the new month—

“David, king of Israel, is alive and enduring.”

And through this I will know that you sanctified the new month. He chose this sign because David is compared to the moon, as it is stated concerning him [Psalms 89]: “His throne shall be as the sun before Me; like the moon, established forever.”

The Sages taught: Once the sky became covered with clouds, and the image of the moon was seen on the twenty-ninth day of the month.

They thought

that

the people would say

that

today was the New Moon, and the court sought to sanctify it.

Rabban Gamliel said to them: This is what I have received as a tradition from the house of my father’s father: The renewal of the moon is no less than twenty-nine and a half days [12

hours, which constitute half a day],

two-thirds of an hour, and seventy-three parts [of

the 1080 parts into which an hour is divided].

And on that day,

on which this incident occurred,

the mother of ben Zaza died, and Rabban Gamliel held a great eulogy for her.

And

not because

she was

worthy of it

did he deliver such a eulogy.

Rather, so that the people would know that the court had not sanctified the month,

for eulogizing is prohibited on the New Moon.

From the fact that Rabban Gamliel delivered a eulogy on that day, everyone would understand that they had not sanctified the new month.

We learned in the Mishna: Rabban Gamliel sent him [to Rabbi Yehoshua]: I decree upon you that you come to me with your staff and your money on the day on which Yom Kippur falls according to your calculation.

Rabbi Akiva went and found him distressed.

And so on.

They raised a dilemma

a question was asked in the study hall:

Who

was the one who was

distressed?

Was

Rabbi Akiva

the one who was

distressed

over what had been decreed upon Rabbi Yehoshua?

Or was Rabbi Yehoshua distressed

over the decree that had been issued against him personally?

Come and hear

a proof with which to resolve the uncertainty:

As it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Akiva went and found Rabbi Yehoshua distressed.

He said to him,

Rabbi Akiva said to his master, Rabbi Yehoshua:

My master! Why are you distressed?

He said to him,

Rabbi Yehoshua said:

Akiva! It would have been fitting for him to be afflicted below for twelve months

he referred to himself in the third person, as a way of distancing a curse from himself]; it would have been preferable for me to be ill for twelve months,

but he should not decree upon him

me]

this decree!

Rabbi Akiva said to him:

Rabbi Akiva said:

My master,

may I

be permitted to say one thing before you that you taught me?

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him:

Rabbi Yehoshua said:

Say it!

He said to him: The verse

speaks

of

the appointed times, three times, saying: “That you shall proclaim them.”

The word “them” is written defectively, without the letter vav.

“You,” “you,” “you”—

three times.

This comes to say:

1.

“You,” even

if you are

mistaken,

thinking erroneously that it is appropriate to intercalate the month.

2.

“You,” even

if you are

deliberately wrong.

3.

“You,” even

if you are

misled

by false witnesses.

And

in these words he said to him

Rabbi Yehoshua said to Rabbi Akiva:

Akiva! You have comforted me; you have comforted me.

We learned in the Mishna:

He came to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas.

He said to him: If we are to pass judgment on Rabban Gamliel’s court. As it is stated: “And Moses and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended.” And why were the names of the elders not specified? And so on.

The Sages taught: Why were the names of these elders not specified?

In order

that no person should say

about the judges of his generation: Is

so-and-so

the judge

like Moses and Aaron? Is

so-and-so

the judge

like Nadab and Abihu? Is

so-and-so

the judge

like Eldad and Medad?

Therefore, the names of the other elders were not mentioned, so that they could answer him: Perhaps they are as important as three of the judges whose names were not mentioned.

And

as proof of this, the verse

says:

“And Samuel said to the people: The Lord, who performed

miracles for you,

through Moses and Aaron.”

[through Moses and Aaron].

And

the verse continues in that same passage:

“And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel

[Samuel said this concerning himself].”

Thus the verse lists six elders: Jerubbaal, Bedan, and Jephthah, together with Moses, Aaron, and Samuel.

And who are Jerubbaal, Bedan, and Jephthah who are mentioned in this verse?

Jerubbaal—

this

judge was

Gideon.

And why was

his name

called Jerubbaal?

Because

he made a quarrel with the Baal,

for he demolished the altar of the Baal, as explained in Judges [6:28–32].

Bedan—

this is Samson.

And why was his name called Bedan?

Because he came

from

Dan.

Jephthah—

as its plain meaning indicates.

And these three were mentioned together with Moses, Aaron, and Samuel.