Rosh Hashanah 31a — the Talmud in English

And we answer the position of the people of Babylonia: Indeed, when there is uncertainty which song they must recite at Minhah, they do not recite the song of the day at all. This is because the weekday song of the day has no relevance at all on Rosh HaShanah, whereas the Rosh HaShanah song has no relevance at all on a weekday.

However,

the case there is different

, for the morning song of Rosh HaShanah that falls on Thursday of the week differs from the other days.

For even if it is possible that today is Rosh HaShanah, one may recite on it the ordinary weekday song of Thursday,

because

it is the song of its day.

Since it is the song of the day, for it begins, “Sound the trumpet to God our strength.”

And the fact that when Rosh HaShanah falls on Thursday they change the song of the day is only in order not to repeat that same song also in the additional offering.

Therefore, in a case of uncertainty, they do not abolish the weekday song of the day, since it too is appropriate for Rosh HaShanah. Because of the uncertainty of duplication, they do not abolish the song of the regular daily offering.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehudah says in the name of Rabbi Akiva:

On

the

first

day of the week,

what did

the Levites

recite

in their song over the offering?

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it,

the world and those who dwell in it,” until the end of the psalm.

And they recited this psalm on the first day

because He acquired

the heavens and the earth on the first day [through their creation],

and acquired

the world for those who dwell in it.

That is to say, the Lord acquired [created] the world in order to give it over to its inhabitants.

And

He was then

the sole ruler

alone

in His world,

for the angels had not yet been created until the second day. Therefore it says concerning it, “The earth and all that fills it belong to the Lord [alone].”

On

the

second day, what did they recite?

“Great is the Lord and exceedingly praised

in the city of our God, His holy mountain.”

Because He divided

the Holy One, blessed be He,

His works,

separating them by making the firmament between the upper waters and the lower waters.

And He reigned over them, became exalted, and sat in the heights,

and dwelled there in the manner in which He dwells in His city and on His holy mountain.

Therefore they recite on it the psalm, “Great is the Lord and exceedingly praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain.”

On the third day they would recite: “God stands in the assembly of God

.”

Because He revealed the land through His wisdom

on the third day.

As it is stated on the third day: “Let the waters be gathered, and let the dry land appear.”

And He prepared the world for His assembly.

For the earth is the place where the Holy One, blessed be He, established His congregation. And concerning this it is stated in this psalm: “God stands in the divine congregation.”

On the fourth day they would recite: “God of retributions, Lord.”

[Psalms 94]

Because He created

the sun and the moon

on the fourth day, and in the future

He

will exact retribution

—to take vengeance

on those who worship them.

On the fifth day they would recite: “Sing joyfully to God our strength,”

.

Because He created

on the fifth day

on the fifth day birds and fish, to bring praise to His Name.

For when a person sees birds and fish differing from one another, he praises the One who created them.

And concerning this we say: “Sing joyfully to God.”

On the sixth day they would recite: “The Lord reigns; He has clothed Himself with majesty,”

.

Because He completed His work

on the sixth day,

and reigned over them.

On the seventh day they would recite: “A psalm, a song for the day of Shabbat.”

For the day that is entirely Shabbat!

For the world is destined to be destroyed in the seventh millennium. And one thousand years are regarded as one day before the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated: “For one thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday” [Rashi, Sanhedrin 97a].

At that time there will be no human being, and all labor will cease; and concerning that day they recite the song of Shabbat.

Rabbi Nehemiah said

and objected

: Rabbi Nehemiah:

But

what did Rabbi Akiva see to distinguish between these sections?

Why did Rabbi Akiva divide the explanation between the sections [psalms] recited on the six weekdays and the section recited on Shabbat? For concerning the six weekdays he explained that the sections are recited because of the past, whereas concerning Shabbat he explained that the section is recited because of the future?

Rather, everything is said because of the past:

On the weekdays it is in accordance with the words of Rabbi Akiva:

On the first day

they recite, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it,” because

He acquired it, gave it over, and was ruler in His world.

On the second day

they recite, “Great is the Lord and exceedingly praised,” because

He divided His works and reigned over them, became exalted, and sat in the heights.

And dwelled there in the manner in which He dwells in His city and on His holy mountain.

On the third day

they recite, “God stands in the assembly of God,” because

He revealed the land through His wisdom,

in which His assembly stands,

and prepared the world for His assembly.

On the fourth day

they recite, “God of retributions, Lord,” because

He created the sun and the moon, and in the future He will exact retribution from those who worship them.

On the fifth day

they recite, “Sing joyfully to God our strength,” because

He created birds and fish

that differ from one another, and this causes a person

to praise His Name.

On the sixth day

they recite, “The Lord reigns; He has clothed Himself with majesty,”

because He completed His work and reigned over them.

But concerning Shabbat, the explanation is different from Rabbi Akiva’s explanation:

On the seventh day

they recite, “A psalm, a song for the day of Shabbat” \-

because He ceased

from His works in creating the world, which occurred in the past, on the seventh day of His creation.

It follows that all the sections recited on the seven days are equal, and all are said concerning what occurred in the past.

And

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Nehemiah, who dispute whether the song of Shabbat is said because of the future,

dispute

over this: the foundation of their dispute is

in the

words of

Rav Ketina.

For Rav Ketina said: The world will exist for six thousand years, and for one it will be destroyed.

The world will endure for six thousand years, and for one thousand it will be destroyed.

As it is stated:

“

And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.”

And one day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is one thousand years.

But

Abaye said: Two

thousand years

it will be destroyed.

The world will be destroyed for two thousand years in the future.

As it is stated:

“

After two days He will revive us

[after two thousand years in which the world will be destroyed]; on the third day He will raise us up [for revival], and we shall live.”

And Rabbi Akiva, who expounded the verse “A psalm, a song for the day of Shabbat” as referring to the future, holds in accordance with Rav Ketina, that the world will be destroyed and cease for only one thousand years.

But Rabbi Nehemiah holds in accordance with Abaye, that the world will be destroyed for two thousand years. And according to him, it is impossible to say that this psalm refers to one day that will be entirely Shabbat in the future, since according to him there will be two days, as two thousand years are equivalent to two days of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And now the Gemara explains what the Levites would recite during the offering of the additional offerings of Shabbat:

At the additional offerings of Shabbat, what would they recite?

Rav Hanan bar Rava said that Rav said:

They would recite the Song of Haazinu, and divided it into six parts in the following order:

a.

“Give ear,

etc.”

b.

“Remember

the days of old,” etc.”

c.

“He made him ride

on the high places of the earth,” etc.”

d.

“And the Lord saw

and spurned,” etc.”

Until here, each and every section contained six verses from the Song of Haazinu. From here onward, each section contained eight verses:

e.

“Were it not that the anger

of the enemy was stored up,” etc.”

f.

“For the Lord will judge

His people,” etc., until the end of the song.

And the mnemonic for remembering the division of the song is

HaZiV LaKh.

And on every Shabbat they recited one section from the song, until they completed it after six Shabbatot. Then they returned and began from the beginning of the song [the conclusion of the Gemara below].

And Rav Hanan bar Rava said that Rav said: Just as the sections are divided

in the Song of Haazinu

here,

in the song that the Levites recite—

so

they are

divided

in the Torah reading

in the synagogue.

For six people ascend to the Torah according to the division of these portions, and they read the Song of Haazinu according to this division.

And the one who ascends to the Torah as the seventh reads from after the song until the end of the portion.

And now the Gemara explains the song that the Levites would recite during the afternoon regular offering of Shabbat:

At the afternoon offering of Shabbat—

what would

the Levites

recite?

Rabbi Yohanan said:

There was a cycle of three Shabbatot:

On the first Shabbat they recited half of the Song at the Sea. They would begin

“Then he sang,”

until “Who is like You among the mighty, Lord?”

And

on the second Shabbat, they recited the second half of the Song at the Sea:

“Who is like You

among the mighty, Lord?” until the end of the song.

And

on the third Shabbat they recited:

“Then Israel sang

this song: Rise up, well, answer it,” until the end of that song.

They raised a question before them

—a question was asked of the members of the academy:

These all,

all those sections of the Song of Haazinu—do they

recite them on one Shabbat, meaning that they recited them all on a single Shabbat and divided them among themselves by changing the melody of the song, and likewise changing the musical instruments and altering the sounding of the trumpets?

reciting them all on a single Shabbat and dividing them by changing the melody of the song, changing the musical instruments, and altering the trumpet blasts?

Or perhaps

maybe

on each and every Shabbat they recite one.

On every Shabbat they recited only one section, and when they completed the cycle of all six sections, they returned and began again from the beginning of the order.

Come and hear,

come and hear a proof to resolve the uncertainty:

For it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yosei said: Until the first

—the Song of Haazinu [mentioned first]—

says one,

it is recited over the additional offerings in its entirety, once in a cycle of six Shabbatot.

The second,

the song of the afternoon offering, which is recited in a cycle of three Shabbatot—

returns twice!

For in a cycle of six Shabbatot there are two cycles of three Shabbatot.

And the Gemara infers:

Learn from it,

from the words of this beraita you learn that

on each and every Shabbat they recite one,

for on each Shabbat they recited only one section.

And we conclude: Indeed,

learn from it

that this is how it was.

In our Mishna [and in the preceding Mishna] regulations instituted by Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai in Yavneh were taught.

And now the Gemara brings a statement of Rabbi Yohanan, from which we learn that the Sanhedrin was exiled from Jerusalem in the days of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and sat in Yavneh.

Rav Yehudah bar Idi said that Rabbi Yohanan said: The Divine Presence made ten journeys,

and withdrew from Israel degree by degree, little by little.

This matter is learned

from verses,

from the scriptural passages below.

And corresponding to them—

the Sanhedrin was exiled,

and moved away from the Temple in ten stages, little by little; and this matter is

from tradition,

for Rabbi Yohanan received it in this manner from his teachers.

And Rabbi Yohanan explains his statement:

The Divine Presence made ten journeys—

from verses;

these are they:

a.

From

the

cover of the Ark, which is upon the Ark, the Divine Presence withdrew

that was on the Ark, the Divine Presence withdrew

to the cherub

that is above the cover.

b.

And from the cherub

the Divine Presence withdrew

to the threshold

of the Temple.

c.

And from the threshold

of the House the Divine Presence withdrew and journeyed

to the courtyard,

to the section of the courtyard between the Hall and the altar, which is holier than the rest of the courtyard, as explained in tractate Kelim.

d.

And from the courtyard

the Divine Presence withdrew

to the altar,

the outer one.

e.

And from the altar

the outer one

to the roof

of the Sanctuary.

f.

And from the roof

of the Sanctuary

to the wall—

to the wall of the courtyard.

g.

And from the wall [from the wall of the courtyard]

[the wall of the azara]

to the city

of Jerusalem.

h.

And from

the

city

of Jerusalem

to the mountain

of Olives.

i.

And from the mountain

of Olives

to the wilderness.

j. And

from

the

wilderness it ascended and sat in its place

in the firmament.

As it is stated:

“

I will go and return to My place,”

which is the firmament.

And the reason that the Divine Presence withdrew little by little is that it was difficult for the Holy One, blessed be He, to withdraw from Israel. Therefore He withdrew slowly, hoping that perhaps they would repent [Rashi].

And Rabbi Yohanan brings the scriptural passages from which he learned these ten journeys:

a.

From the cover of the Ark to the cherub.

b.

And from the cherub to the threshold

of the House—this we learn from the following passages:

As it is written

in the context of the Ark in the Temple [Exodus 25]:

“And I shall meet with you there and speak with you from above the cover,”

from here it follows that initially the Divine Presence was upon the cover.

And it is written

in the Book of Ezekiel:

“And the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherub upon which it was, to the threshold of the House.”

From here we learn that in the days of Ezekiel the “glory of the Lord” [the Divine Presence] remained upon the cherub for several days, and afterward withdrew from there and dwelled upon the threshold of the House.

And from here we learned that from the cover the Divine Presence withdrew to the cherub, and from the cherub to the threshold of the House.

c.

And from the threshold

of the Temple

to the courtyard [to the section of the courtyard between the Hall and the altar]—this we learn from

[the section of the azara between the Hall and the altar]—this we learn from

for it is written

in the Book of Ezekiel after this verse:

“And the House was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the radiance of the glory of the Lord.” [“

The radiance of the glory of the Lord”—this is the Divine Presence.]

d.

From the courtyard

the Divine Presence withdrew

to the altar

the outer one,

for it is written

in the Book of Amos:

“I saw the Lord standing upon the altar.”

And although Amos lived before Ezekiel, nevertheless, since the withdrawal of the Divine Presence was degree by degree, outwardly, it is necessarily the case that Amos prophesied concerning the future: that from the courtyard the Divine Presence would withdraw and dwell upon the altar.

e.

And from the altar

the outer one

to the roof

of the Sanctuary,

for it is written:

[Proverbs 21]:

“It is better to sit on the corner of a roof

than with a contentious woman and a house of companionship.”

And Solomon said this verse concerning the Divine Presence: it is better for the Divine Presence to withdraw to the roof than to sit with the Assembly of Israel, which is compared to a contentious woman because it placed an image in the Sanctuary. [“

“And in a shared house” refers to the Temple, in which Israel joined the image together with the Divine Presence. Solomon prophesied concerning the future, just as Amos did.

f.

From the roof

of the Sanctuary

to the wall [to the wall of the courtyard],

[the wall of the azara],

for it is written:

[Amos 7]:

“And behold, the Lord was standing upon a wall of a plumb line

[the wall being built with a “plumb line,” namely, a weight tied to a cord, with which the construction is straightened. The interpreters of the Prophets].

g.

From the wall to the city

of Jerusalem,

for it is written:

[Micah 6]:

“The voice of the Lord calls to the city.”

h.

And from the city

of Jerusalem

to the Mount of Olives, for it is written:

[Ezekiel 11]:

“And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain that is east

[to the east]

of the city,”

and this is the Mount of Olives, which stands to the east of Jerusalem.

i.

And from the mountain

of Olives

to the wilderness, for it is written:

[Proverbs 21]:

“It is better to dwell in a wilderness land

than with a contentious and angry woman.” The contentious and angry woman is the congregation of Israel, which angered the Holy One, blessed be He. Solomon said that it is better for the Divine Presence to dwell in the wilderness than to dwell near the congregation of Israel on the Mount of Olives.

j.

And from the wilderness it ascended and sat in its place

in the heavens,

for it is written:

[Hosea 5]:

“I will go and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt

[until Israel considers itself guilty and confesses its guilt] and seeks My face.”

Rabbi Yohanan said: For six months

after the destruction, and after the Divine Presence was exiled from Israel,

the Divine Presence tarried for Israel in the wilderness,

and did not ascend to heaven, because it waited for them,

in case they might repent.

When they did not repent, He said

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“May their souls perish!”

As it is stated:

“

The eyes of the wicked shall fail, and refuge

—the Holy One, blessed be He, who is their hope—

shall perish from them

[from them].

And their hope

shall become for them

a vexation of spirit.”

And now Rabbi Yohanan explains what he said:

“And corresponding to them the Sanhedrin was exiled

also in ten journeys, and this matter is learned

from tradition.”

These journeys of the Divine Presence occurred in the days of the First Temple, whereas the journeys of the Sanhedrin below occurred in the days of the Second Temple. [

And the Maharsha wrote that corresponding to those journeys the Sanhedrin journeyed in the First Temple.]

Initially, the Sanhedrin sat in the Chamber of Hewn Stone, when half of the chamber was in the courtyard and half outside the courtyard, and the Sanhedrin sat in the half that was non-sacred.

And these are the ten journeys of the Sanhedrin:

a.

From the Chamber of Hewn Stone—

to the shops.

For this was a place on the Temple Mount, and its name was “Shops.” And forty years before the destruction of the House the Sanhedrin was exiled there.

Because murderers had increased and they were unable to judge them. Therefore they were exiled from the Chamber of Hewn Stone, since capital law is applied nowhere except while the Sanhedrin sits in the Chamber of Hewn Stone.

b.

And from the shops

the Sanhedrin was exiled

to Jerusalem,

outside the Temple Mount.

c.

And from Jerusalem to Yavneh.

There Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, who was the president, resided.