Rosh Hashanah 32a (לב.) — the Talmud in English

And his teacher established it in his name.

And his teacher [of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] established it in his name, so that this enactment should be counted among the other enactments of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. Therefore, we learned that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai instituted nine enactments.

Mishna:

Our Mishna details the order of the Musaf prayer of Rosh HaShana, in which the Sages instituted that one should sound the shofar, as follows:

This is

the order

of the

blessings

in the Musaf prayer:

One recites

the blessing of

Patriarchs, “Shield of Abraham,”

“Shield of Abraham,”

and the blessing of Might,

the blessing “You are mighty,” in which God’s might in bringing rain and resurrecting the dead is mentioned,

and

the blessing of

the Sanctity of the Name,

“You are holy.”

And he includes

verses of

Kingship,

in which God’s kingship is mentioned,

with them,

in the blessing “You are holy.”

But he does not sound the shofar.

Afterward, he recites the blessing of

the Sanctity of the Day,

“You chose us” through “Who sanctifies Israel and the Day of Remembrance,”

and he sounds the shofar.

He then adds and recites the verses of

Remembrances

in a blessing of its own,

and he sounds the shofar.

He then adds and recites the verses of

Shofarot

in a blessing of its own,

and he sounds the shofar.

Because it is a mitzva to sound the shofar three times, and each time three blasts are sounded, as explained below [33a].

And he recites

the blessing of

Temple service,

which is the blessing “Favor,” in which he mentions “And restore the Temple service.”

And

the blessing of

Thanksgiving,

“We give thanks.”

And the Priestly Blessing,

“Grant peace.”

These are

the words of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: If he does not sound the shofar for Kingship—

why does he mention

them? And in the Gemara we ask: The Torah commanded that the verses of Kingship be recited, so why does Rabbi Akiva say that if the shofar is not sounded for them, there is no point in mentioning them?

Rather, he recites Patriarchs, Might, and the Sanctity of the Name.

And

afterward

he includes

the verses of

Kingship with

the blessing of

the Sanctity of the Day, and he sounds the shofar.

Afterward he recites

Remembrances

in a blessing of its own,

and he sounds the shofar.

Afterward he recites

Shofarot

in a blessing of its own,

and he sounds the shofar.

And he recites Temple service, Thanksgiving, and the Priestly Blessing.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Akiva said to him: If he does not

sound the shofar for Kingship—

why does he mention

them?

And we wonder: How can he ask

“Why does he mention them?”

After all,

the Merciful One said: Mention it!

For the Torah obligated one to mention the verses of Kingship, [as follows in the beraita]!

And we answer:

Rather,

this is what Rabbi Akiva asked:

Why

does he mention

ten

verses of Kingship [as explained in the following Mishna]?

Let him recite nine

verses בלבד,

since, as it has changed, it has changed.

Since the order of Kingship differs from Remembrances and Shofarot in that the shofar is not sounded during it, it would have been appropriate for it to differ from them also in the number of verses recited in it!

The Sages taught: From where do we know that one recites

in the prayer the blessing of

Patriarchs?

As it is stated [

Psalms 29]:

“Ascribe to the Lord

—mention before the Lord

the sons of the mighty,”

the mighty ones, that is, the Patriarchs, who are called “the mighty.”

And from where do we know that one recites Might,

the blessing “You are mighty,” in which God’s might in bringing rain and resurrecting the dead is mentioned?

As it is stated

later in the psalm:

“Ascribe to the Lord

—mention before the Lord

glory and strength.”

And strength means might.

And from where do we know that one recites Sanctities [

“You are holy”]?

As it is stated

later in the psalm:

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name; bow down to the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

And from where do we know that one recites Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofarot?

Rabbi Eliezer says: As it is written [

Leviticus 23] concerning Rosh HaShana:

“A solemn rest, a remembrance of terua, a sacred convocation”:

“A solemn rest”—

this is the Sanctity of the Day

of Rosh HaShana.

“A remembrance”—

these are Remembrances.

“Terua”—

these are Shofarot.

“A sacred convocation”—

sanctify it through refraining from labor

[so that one does not perform labor on it].

Rabbi Akiva said to him: Why is it not stated

—why should we not expound

“a solemn rest”

as meaning

cessation

from labor,

which is where the verse began initially,

since it would first be appropriate to warn against performing labor, because this is the primary commandment of the Festival!

Rather,

this is how we should expound the verse:

“A solemn rest,”

from the language of cessation—

sanctify it through refraining from labor.

“A remembrance”—

these are Remembrances.

“Terua”—

these are Shofarot.

“A sacred convocation”—

this is the Sanctity of the Day

[the blessing “You chose us”].

Neither Rabbi Eliezer nor Rabbi Akiva expounded Kingship from this verse.

And

from where do we know that one recites Kingship?

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi says:

The Torah states adjacent to the passage concerning Rosh HaShana [Leviticus 23:22]:

“I am the Lord your God.”

And it is written

immediately afterward: “And the Lord spoke,”

“In the seventh month

on the first day of the month shall be a solemn rest, a remembrance of terua.” [And this refers to Rosh HaShana.]

And

“I am the Lord your God” is Kingship,

that is, I am your master.

From here it follows that Kingship is mentioned on Rosh HaShana.

Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says:

This verse

is not needed

to teach us that one recites Kingship, for

it itself

[the verse]

says

[Numbers 10]: “And you shall sound the trumpets,

and they shall be for you as a remembrance before your God,

I am the Lord your God”:

For it need not say

—the verse need not say “I am

the Lord your God,”

since this is already known!

And what does it teach

—for what purpose is

“I am the Lord your God” stated?

This establishes a principle,

teaching

that wherever Remembrances are mentioned,

there shall be,

that one should recite verses of

Kingship with them.

Just as it is stated here, “And they shall be for you as a remembrance,” and immediately afterward, “I am the Lord your God,” that is, Kingship.

And where does he recite it, the Sanctity of the Day?

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi says: He recites it together with Kingship,

in a single blessing that includes both.

For

what,

just as

we find everywhere,

in all the Festivals in which a blessing concerning the Sanctity of the Day is recited—that it is recited

in the

blessing

fourth!

So too here,

in the Musaf prayer of Rosh HaShana, the Sanctity of the Day is recited in the fourth blessing, which is Kingship!

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: He recites it together with Remembrances,

that is,

in the

blessing

fifth.

For

what,

just as

we find everywhere

that the Sanctity of the Day is recited

in the middle,

since in the other prayers of the Festivals there are seven blessings—three introductory blessings, three concluding blessings, and the Sanctity of the Day in the middle!

So too here,

in the Musaf prayer of Rosh HaShana, he recites the Sanctity of the Day

in the middle.

And since there are nine blessings in the Musaf prayer of Rosh HaShana, the fifth is in the middle.

And when the court sanctified the year in Usha, Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka went down

before the ark,

in the presence of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

And he acted according to

the words of

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri,

mentioned in our Mishna, who included Kingship in the blessing “You are holy.”

Rabban Shimon

ben Gamliel said to him:

They did not conduct themselves this way

when the Sanhedrin was

in Yavne,

during the time of Rabban Gamliel, my father!

On the second day [

this will be explained below]

Rabbi Hanina, the son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, went down before the ark and acted in accordance with Rabbi Akiva,

mentioned in our Mishna, who included Kingship with the Sanctity of the Day in one blessing.

Rabban Shimon

ben Gamliel said:

This is how they used to conduct themselves in Yavne.

And we wonder:

Does this mean

that it is possible to say

that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel held in accordance with Rabbi Akiva?!

But Rabbi Akiva said: Kingship—

he recites them together with the Sanctity of the Day,

the prayer leader recites them.

And

if

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: the Sanctity of the Day—

he recites them together with Remembrances,

the prayer leader recites them!

How, then, could Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel say concerning Rabbi Akiva’s order of prayer that this is how they used to conduct themselves in Yavne?

Rabbi Zeira said:

Indeed, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel did not agree with Rabbi Akiva in all his statements.

Rather, he intended

to say

to Rabbi Hanina

that they sound the shofar for Kingship,

as he did, and not in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, who holds that the shofar is sounded after the blessing of the Sanctity of the Day, and that the shofar is not sounded after Kingship.

But as for Rabbi Akiva’s statement that the Sanctity of the Day is recited together with Kingship, Rabban Shimon did not agree with this; in his view, the Sanctity of the Day is mentioned together with Remembrances.

We learned in a beraita:

On the second day Rabbi Hanina,

the son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, went down before the ark.

And we discuss it:

What is meant by “second”?

If you say,

that the reference is to the

second Festival day

of Rosh HaShana—that is, that in that year witnesses did not come to Usha to sanctify the new month throughout that entire day, and therefore the court extended the month, and they observed the laws of the Festival on the second day as well—then there is a difficulty:

But Rabbi Hanina bar Kahana said in the name of Rav: From the time of Ezra onward, we have not found Elul to have been extended!

Rav Hisda said: What is meant by “second”?

For the second day,

that is, the Rosh HaShana Festival day that followed it,

the following year.

Mishna:

One does not recite fewer than ten

verses of

Kingship.

And

ten

verses of

Remembrances, and ten

verses of

Shofarot.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri says: If one recited three from each category, he has fulfilled his obligation.

The Gemara will explain his statement.

Gemara:

And we discuss it:

These,

the

ten

verses of

Kingship—

corresponding to what

were they instituted?

Rabbi Levi said: They correspond to the ten expressions of praise that David said in the Book of Psalms.

Ten times that David used the expression hallelu or halleluya in the Book of Psalms.

And we wonder:

“Expressions of praise”

in the Book of Psalms—

there are many!

David used the expression of praise in Psalms many more than ten times! And we answer: Rabbi Levi referred to

those that are written in connection with,

those expressions of praise that were said in the psalm

“Praise Him with the sounding of the shofar.”

That is Psalm 150, in which the expression of praise is used ten times in connection with “the sounding of the shofar,” which is Rosh HaShana.

Rav Yosef said:

The ten verses of Kingship are

corresponding to the Ten Commandments that were said to Moses at Sinai.

And the sound of the shofar was exceedingly strong at that event; therefore, ten expressions of praise concerning Kingship are recited as well at the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShana.

Rabbi Yohanan said: They correspond to the ten utterances

of the Holy One, blessed be He,

with which the world was created,

on Rosh HaShana.

And we challenge this:

Which are they,

these ten utterances with which the world was created?

For when we count the instances of

“And God said

”—

“And God said

”—

four

are mentioned in the account of Creation; only

nine there were,

not ten!

And we answer: The verse

“In the beginning

God created the heavens and the earth”—

also

through a

utterance

of the Lord

it was

, and it completes the number of the ten utterances.

And although it does not say in it, “And God said: Let there be heavens,” it can be demonstrated that they were created through the utterance of God and not by His “hands.”

As it is written [

Psalms 33]:

“By the word of the Lord—

the heavens were made.”

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri says: If one recited three from each category, he has fulfilled his obligation.

Below, in the following Mishna, it is explained that according to the Sages, who said that there must be ten verses, they begin with verses from the Torah, then continue with verses from the Writings, and conclude with verses from the Prophets.

They raised a dilemma before them:

a question was asked of the members of the academy:

How is it taught,

what did Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri mean when he said, “three from each category”?

Did he mean

three from the Torah, three from the Prophets, and three from the Writings,

which would be,

a total of

nine

verses?

That is, if one recited nine verses for Kingship, nine for Remembrances, and nine for Shofarot, he has fulfilled his obligation.

And

according to this,

there is one difference between them,

the difference between his view and the view of the Sages concerns only the recitation of one verse: According to the Sages, if one did not recite ten verses, he has not fulfilled his obligation, whereas according to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, if he recited nine, he has fulfilled his obligation.

Or perhaps,

“three from each category” means three for the order of Kingship, three for the order of Remembrances, and three for the order of Shofarot.

And in each order he recited

one from the Torah, one from the Prophets, and one from the Writings.

So that there would be,

a total of

three

verses for each order.

And

according to this,

there is a difference between them,

the difference between his view and the view of the Sages is

much,

a major difference.

For according to the Sages, they recited ten verses, whereas according to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, they recited only three verses.

Come and hear

a proof that according to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, one who recites one verse from the Torah, one from the Prophets, and one from the Writings has fulfilled his obligation:

For it was taught in a beraita: One does not recite fewer than ten verses of Kingship, ten verses of Remembrances, or ten verses of Shofarot. But if one recited seven from all of them, he has fulfilled his obligation.

And those seven correspond

to the seven firmaments,

as an allusion that on Rosh HaShana the Holy One, blessed be He, ascends to the seventh firmament to judge the world [Maharsha].

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri says: One who reduces

should not reduce

as an initial matter

from seven.

And if he recited three from each, he has fulfilled his obligation.

And those three are

corresponding to the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.

And some say

[there are those who say]:

corresponding to priests, Levites, and Israelites.

And if we explain that Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said that one who recites three from the Torah, three from the Prophets, and three from the Writings has fulfilled his obligation, then even what we learned at the beginning of his statement, “One who reduces may not recite fewer than seven,” means seven from the Torah, seven from the Prophets, and seven from the Writings. It would thus emerge that he adds to the verses stated by the Rabbis, whereas our Mishna implies that he comes to reduce!

It follows from here that Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri holds that if one recites three verses from each section, he has fulfilled his obligation.

Rav Huna said that Shmuel said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri.

Mishna:

a.

One does not mention

verses concerning

kingship,

concerning

remembrances, or

concerning

shofar blasts,

when they are verses

of calamity.

b. In each section,

one begins with

verses from

the Torah.

And one continues with verses from the Writings.

And one concludes

[and ends]

with

verses from the

Prophets.

Rabbi Yosei says: If one concluded

[ended]

with

verses from the

Torah—

he has fulfilled his obligation.