Rosh Hashanah 31a (לא.) — the Talmud in English

And we explain the view of the residents of Babylonia: Indeed, when there is uncertainty as to which song should be recited at the afternoon prayer, they do not recite the song of the day at all. This is because the weekday song of the day has no connection whatsoever to Rosh HaShana, whereas the song of Rosh HaShana has no connection whatsoever to a weekday.

However,

the song recited at the morning prayer on Rosh HaShana that falls on Thursday differs from the songs of the other days.

For even if it is possible that the day is Rosh HaShana, one may recite on it the ordinary weekday song for Thursday, as usual,

because

it is the song of that day.

Since it is the song of the day, as it begins: “Sound the joyous song to God, our strength.”

And the reason that when Rosh HaShana falls on Thursday they change the song of the day is only so that they will not repeat that same song at the additional offering.

Therefore, in a case of uncertainty, they do not cancel the weekday song of the day, since it is also appropriate for Rosh HaShana. The possibility of repetition is not sufficient reason to cancel the song of the daily offering.

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

On

the

first

day

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” [Psalms 24], 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 [by creating them],

and acquired

the world for those who dwell in it.

That is to say, God acquired [created] the world in order to give it as an acquisition to its inhabitants.

And

at that time He was

the sole ruler

of

His world,

as the angels had not yet been created until the second day. Therefore it says of that day: “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 highly praised

in the city of our God, His holy mountain” [Psalms 48].

Because He divided

the Holy One, blessed be He,

His works,

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

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

and dwelled there, just as He dwells in His city and on His holy mountain.

Therefore, on that day they recite the psalm: “Great is the Lord and highly praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain.”

On the third day they would recite: “God stands in the divine congregation”

[Psalms 82].

Because He revealed the land through His wisdom

on the third day.

As it is stated [Genesis 1] concerning the third day: “Let the waters gather, and let the dry land appear.”

And He prepared the world for His congregation.

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

on the fourth day

the sun and the moon, and He will in the future

punish

—take retribution

from those who worship them.

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

[Psalms 81].

Because He created

on the fifth day

birds and fish, to praise His Name.

For when a person sees birds and fish that differ 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 donned grandeur”

[Psalms 93].

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

raised the following difficulty:

He said: Why

should

Rabbi Akiva have seen fit to distinguish between these sections?

Why did Rabbi Akiva distinguish his 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 events in the past, whereas concerning Shabbat he explained that the section is recited because of an event in the future.

Rather, all of them are recited because of events in the past:

On weekdays, it is as Rabbi Akiva said:

On the first day

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

He acquired it, gave it as an acquisition, and ruled over His world.

On the second day

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

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

And He dwelled there, just as He dwells in His city and on His holy mountain.

On the third day

they recite “God stands in the divine congregation,” because

He revealed the land through His wisdom,

in which His congregation stands,

and prepared the world for His congregation.

On the fourth day

they recite “God of retributions, Lord,” because

He created the sun and the moon, and in the future He will punish 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 donned grandeur,”

because He completed His work and reigned over them.

But concerning Shabbat, the explanation differs from that of Rabbi Akiva:

On the seventh day

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

because He rested

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

It follows that all the sections recited on the seven days are alike, and all are recited concerning what took place in the past.

And

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Nehemiah, who disagree as to whether the song of Shabbat is recited because of the future,

disagree

on the basis of the following principle:

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 years it will be destroyed.

As it is stated

[Isaiah 2]:

“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: For two

thousand years the world will be

destroyed.

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

As it is stated

[Hosea 6]:

“He will revive us after two days

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

Rabbi Akiva, who interpreted 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 Ha’azinu, dividing it into six sections in the following order:

a.

“Give ear,

etc.”

b.

“Remember

the days of old,” etc.”

c.

“He set him astride

the high places of the earth,” etc.”

d.

“And the Lord saw

and spurned,” etc.”

Until this point, each section contained six verses from the Song of Ha’azinu. From this point onward, each section contained eight verses:

e.

“Were it not for the anger

of the enemy,” 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.

On each Shabbat they recited one section of the song, until they completed it after six Shabbatot. Then they returned and began again from the beginning of the song [as the Gemara concludes below].

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

of the Song of Ha’azinu are divided

here,

in the song recited by the Levites—

so

are they

divided

in the Torah reading

in the synagogue.

Six people ascend to read from the Torah, according to the division of these passages, and they read the Song of Ha’azinu according to this division.

The seventh person who ascends to the Torah 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 daily 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 began with

“Then Moses sang,”

and continued until “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?”

And

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

“Who is like You

among the gods, O Lord?” until the end of the song.

And

on the third Shabbat they recited:

“Then Israel sang

this song: Spring up, O well, sing to it,” until the end of that song [Numbers 21:17–20].

They raised a dilemma

in the academy:

These, all of them,

all those sections of the Song of Ha’azinu—did they

recite them on one Shabbat,

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 recited one

section בלבד, 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:

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

song, the Song of Ha’azinu [mentioned first],

says one,

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

The second,

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

is repeated twice!

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

And the Gemara infers:

Infer from this,

from the words of this beraita you can learn that

on each and every Shabbat they recited one

section בלבד.

And we conclude: Indeed,

infer from this

that this is how it was.

Our Mishna [and the preceding Mishna] records enactments instituted by Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai in Yavne.

And now the Gemara cites a statement of Rabbi Yohanan, from which we learn that the Sanhedrin was exiled from Jerusalem during the time of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and sat in Yavne.

Rav Yehuda bar Idi said that Rabbi Yohanan said: The Divine Presence traveled ten stages,

withdrawing from Israel stage by stage, little by little.

This matter is learned

from verses,

from the verses cited below.

Corresponding to them—

the Sanhedrin was exiled,

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

a tradition,

for Rabbi Yohanan received it from his teachers.

And Rabbi Yohanan explains his statement:

The Divine Presence traveled ten stages—

from verses;

these are they:

a.

From

the

kapporet

that was on the Ark, the Divine Presence withdrew

to the cherub

above the kapporet.

b.

And from the cherub

the Divine Presence withdrew

to the threshold

of the Temple.

c.

And from the threshold

of the Temple the Divine Presence withdrew and traveled

to the courtyard,

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

d.

And from the courtyard

the Divine Presence withdrew

to the altar,

the outer altar.

e.

And from the altar,

the outer altar,

to the roof

of the Sanctuary.

f.

And from the roof

of the Sanctuary

to the wall—

the wall of the azara.

g.

And from the wall

[the wall of the azara]

to the city,

Jerusalem.

h.

And from

the

city,

Jerusalem,

to the Mount

of Olives.

i.

And from the Mount

of Olives

to the wilderness.

j. And

from

the

wilderness it ascended and settled in its place

in the firmament.

As it is stated

[Hosea 5]:

“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 cites the verses from which he learned these ten stages:

a.

From the kapporet to the cherub.

b.

And from the cherub to the threshold

of the Temple—this we learn from the following verses:

As it is written

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

“I will meet with you there and speak with you from above the kapporet,”

from which it follows that initially the Divine Presence was upon the kapporet.

And it is written

in the Book of Ezekiel [chapter 9]:

“And the glory of the God of Israel rose up from above the cherub upon which it had been, to the threshold of the Temple.”

From here it follows 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 rested upon the threshold of the Temple.

And from here we learn that the Divine Presence withdrew from the kapporet to the cherub, and from the cherub to the threshold of the Temple.

c.

And from the threshold

of the Temple

to the courtyard

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

as it is written

in the Book of Ezekiel, after this verse [chapter 10, verse 4]:

“And the cloud filled the Temple, and the courtyard was full of 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 altar,

as it is written

in the Book of Amos [chapter 9]:

“I saw the Lord standing upon the altar.”

Although Amos lived before Ezekiel, nevertheless, since the withdrawal of the Divine Presence proceeded stage by stage outward, it necessarily follows that Amos prophesied concerning the future: from the courtyard the Divine Presence would withdraw and rest upon the altar.

e.

And from the altar

the outer altar

to the roof

of the Sanctuary,

as it is written

[Proverbs 21]:

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

than with a contentious woman and in a shared house.”

And Solomon said this verse concerning the Divine Presence: It is better for the Divine Presence to withdraw to the roof than to remain with the congregation 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

[the wall of the azara],

as it is written

[Amos 7]:

“And behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made with a plumb line

[the wall being built with a “plumb line,” that is, a weight attached to a cord, with which the construction is straightened. Commentators of the Prophets].

g.

From the wall to the city

of Jerusalem,

as 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, as it is written

[Ezekiel 11]:

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

[to the east]

of the city,”

which is the Mount of Olives, situated east of Jerusalem.

i.

And from the Mount

of Olives

to the wilderness, as it is written

[Proverbs 21]:

“It is better to dwell in a wilderness

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 settled in its place

in the heavens,

as it is written

[Hosea 5]:

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

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

Rabbi Yohanan said: For six months

after the destruction, and after the Divine Presence had departed from Israel,

the Divine Presence lingered for Israel in the wilderness,

and did not ascend to heaven, because it awaited them,

perhaps they would repent.

When they did not repent, He said

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“May their souls perish!”

As it is stated

[Job 11]:

“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 source of despair.”

And now Rabbi Yohanan explains what he said:

“Corresponding to them, the Sanhedrin was exiled

also through ten stages, and this matter is learned

from tradition.”

These stages of the Divine Presence occurred during the First Temple, whereas the stages of the Sanhedrin listed below occurred during the Second Temple.

The Maharsha wrote that the Sanhedrin traveled through corresponding stages during the First Temple.

Initially, the Sanhedrin sat in the Chamber of Hewn Stone, half of which was in the azara and half outside the azara [Middot 4:4], and the Sanhedrin sat in the portion that was non-sacred [Yoma 25a].

And these are the ten stages of the Sanhedrin:

a.

From the Chamber of Hewn Stone—

to Hanuyot.

This was a place on the Temple Mount called “Hanuyot.” Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the Sanhedrin was exiled there.

This was because murderers had become numerous, and the judges could not try them all. Therefore they left the Chamber of Hewn Stone, since capital cases may be adjudicated only when the Sanhedrin sits in the Chamber of Hewn Stone.

b.

And from Hanuyot

the Sanhedrin was exiled

to Jerusalem,

outside the Temple Mount.

c.

And from Jerusalem to Yavne.

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