Rosh Hashanah 3b (ג:) — the Talmud in English

Perhaps:

it refers to another reckoning!

Rav Pappa said:

Since in both verses “the twentieth year” is stated, we learn

“the twentieth year, the twentieth year” by means of a gezeira shava.

This teaches you that both are counted according to the same reckoning:

Just as there—

just as in the second verse, the years are counted

for Artaxerxes,

so here—

in the first verse, the reckoning is

for Artaxerxes.

And we challenge this:

From where

do we know

that the event of Kislev

mentioned in the first verse

preceded

the event in Nisan, mentioned in the second verse?

Perhaps

it is possible that

the event of Nisan preceded it!?

Accordingly, it is indeed possible that the years of kings are counted from Nisan: one verse refers to Nisan of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, while the other refers to a later time, in Kislev.

And we answer:

This cannot enter your mind

—it is not reasonable to say so!

As it was taught in a beraita: The matters that Hanani told Nehemiah in Kislev—

Nehemiah told them to the king in Nisan.

And it proceeds to explain:

What were the matters that Hanani told Nehemiah in Kislev

?

As it is stated

in Nehemiah 1:1 and onward. The additions within the verses, in brackets, are based primarily on the commentary of the Metzudot:

“The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

And it came to pass in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, and I

Nehemiah

was in Shushan the capital.

And Hanani, one of my brothers

of my associates,

he

and men from Judah, came, and I asked them about the Jews, the remnant

of the Jews

who remained

in Jerusalem

from the captivity

of Babylon,

and about Jerusalem

about the construction of its walls.”

“And they said to me

Hanani and the men who had come with him from Judah:

The survivors who remained from the captivity there in the province

in Jerusalem, they are

in great distress and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is breached, and its gates have been consumed by fire.”

And from where do we know that he

told these matters to the king in Nisan?

As it is stated

there, Nehemiah 2:1 and onward:

“And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes

Darius

the king,

they brought

wine before him. And I lifted up the wine

I, Nehemiah the cupbearer, carried the wine from the courtyard

and gave it to the king. And I had not been

accustomed generally to appearing

sad

with a sad countenance

before him.

And the king said to me: Why is your face sad, though you are not ill?

This is nothing but sadness of heart

that there is in your heart an evil desire to kill me with poison in this cup,

and I became exceedingly afraid”

of the king’s accusation.

“And I said to the king: May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad

at the time

when the city

Jerusalem

the place of my ancestors’ graves is desolate, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

“And the king said to me: What is it that you request?”

“And I prayed to the God of heaven

that He fulfill my request, and after my prayer

I said to the king”:

“If it is good to the king, and if your servant is pleasing before you—

this is my request:

that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it!”

“And the king said to me, while the queen

was

sitting beside him:

How long will your journey be

how long will the journey you take to Jerusalem last,

and when will you return

here?

And it pleased the king

that I should go to Jerusalem,

and I gave him a time”

when I would return.

From all this we learn that the event in Kislev preceded the event in Nisan, and that both occurred in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.

It follows that the New Year for the kings of the nations is not in Nisan, but in Tishrei.

Rav Yosef raised an objection

contradicting what we learned above, that the New Year for the kings of the nations is in Tishrei:

It is stated in the book of Haggai [1:15]:

“On the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth

month, which is Elul,

in the second year of Darius,”

they began preparing the materials needed for the construction of the Second Temple, at the command of the prophet Haggai.

And it is written

in the following verse:

“In the seventh

month, which is Tishrei,

on the twenty-first day of the month

the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet, saying.”

This indicates that it is speaking of the same year mentioned in the preceding verse, namely, the second year of Darius.

And if it is so,

if the years of the kings of the nations are indeed counted from Tishrei, then

“in the seventh month, in the third year” should have been stated,

as ought to have been said! For in Tishrei a new year begins for the reckoning of the years of the kings of the nations!

He said

in explanation,

Rabbi Abbahu:

Cyrus—

he was a righteous king,

for he was called Cyrus because he was righteous [the word “Cyrus” is understood as the letters of the word “righteous” rearranged], and his name testifies concerning him.

Therefore—

they counted for him

his years from Nisan,

like the kings of Israel.

But for all the other kings of the nations, their years are counted from Tishrei.

Rav Yosef challenged

the Gemara’s explanation with two objections:

One

the first objection:

For if so,

if they counted Cyrus’s years from Nisan,

the verses contradict one another

the verses contradict one another:

For it is written

in the book of Ezra [6:15]:

“And this House was completed

the construction of this House—that is, the Second Temple—was completed,

by the third day of the month of Adar, which was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius

on the third of Adar, in the sixth year of King Darius.”

And it was taught in a beraita: At that same time, the following year, Ezra went up from Babylon, with his exile

that is, one year after the completion of the Temple work mentioned in the preceding verse, Ezra and his exiles departed from Babylon .

And it is written

there, Ezra 7:9:

“And he came

Ezra

to Jerusalem in the fifth month,

Av,

which was the seventh year of the king.”

Now this is difficult:

And if it is so,

if Cyrus’s years were indeed counted from Nisan,

“the eighth year” should have been stated!

It should have said, “the eighth year”! For the Temple was completed in Adar of the sixth year. Ezra left Babylon one year later [in the seventh year], and arrived in Jerusalem in the Av that followed. Since a new year begins in Nisan, Av would consequently be in the eighth year!

And furthermore,

Rav Yosef asks:

Although Rabbi Abbahu said that Cyrus was a righteous king,

are they comparable?

Can this prove anything about Darius [who, as is evident from the verses above, was counted from Nisan], that he too was righteous?!

For

there,

in Rabbi Abbahu’s statement,

Cyrus is mentioned,

whereas

here

in the verses Rav Yosef cited above,

Darius is mentioned!

And we answer the second objection:

It was taught: He is

Cyrus—

he is Darius ,

and

he is Artaxerxes!

Darius, son of Ahasuerus and Esther, who reigned after Ahasuerus, was also called Cyrus. [Rashi.]

And why was he called by these three names?

“Cyrus”—

because

he was a righteous king [“Cyrus,” with the letters rearranged, is “righteous”].

“Artaxerxes”—

on account of his sovereignty.

And what was his name—

“Darius” was his name.

This resolves Rav Yosef’s second objection: Darius too was called Cyrus because he was a righteous king, and therefore his years were counted like those of the kings of Israel.

But

nevertheless,

the first objection

remains difficult

—the objection in which Rav Yosef proved from the verses in the book of Ezra that Darius’s years were not counted from Nisan.

And we answer:

Rav Yitzhak said: It is not difficult: Here,

in the verses in Haggai, which prove that Darius’s years were not counted from Tishrei, the reference is to the period

before he became corrupt,

before he became wicked; therefore his years were counted from Nisan, like those of the kings of Israel.

Whereas

here,

when Ezra went up to Jerusalem [as is proved by the verse in Ezra 7:9, which indicates that his years were not counted from Nisan], it was

after he became corrupt,

after he became wicked. Therefore his years were counted from Tishrei, like those of the kings of the nations.

Rav Kahana challenged this: Did he become corrupt!?

Did Darius become wicked?!

But it is written

in the book of Ezra [6:9] that Darius sent a scroll to the gentile authorities in Jerusalem. And this is what was written in it: