Rosh Hashanah 4b — the Talmud in English

And likewise those liable for

leket, shikhḥa]]gleanings and forgotten produce,

and peah.

All these,

once three pilgrimage festivals have passed over them

and he has not fulfilled his obligation, he

violates “Do not delay.”

And even if the three pilgrimage festivals were not in their order.

Rabbi Shimon says:

He violates “Do not delay” only if

three pilgrimage festivals have passed over him in their order, with the Festival of Matzot first.

For the Festival of Matzot is the first festival in the order of the three pilgrimage festivals.

Rabbi Meir says: Once one pilgrimage festival has passed over it

alone—

he violates “Do not delay.”

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: Once two pilgrimage festivals have passed over it—

he violates “Do not delay.”

Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon says: Once the Festival of Sukkot has passed over it—

he violates “Do not delay” concerning it.

That is, “Do not delay” depends solely on the Festival of Sukkot. And if, after the obligation has taken effect upon a person, the Festival of Sukkot passes and he does not fulfill his obligation, he has violated “Do not delay.”

And we raised it:

What is the reason?

What is the reason of

the first tanna

who says that three pilgrimage festivals cause a person to violate “Do not delay”?

And we answer: In the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 16 [verses 1–15], Scripture detailed the laws of the Festival of Matzot, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Sukkot.

And afterward it is stated [in verse 16]: “Three times in the year every male of yours shall appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose: on the Festival of Matzot, on the Festival of Weeks, and on the Festival of Sukkot. And he shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.”

And this requires explanation:

Granted—

surely

from them it concludes,

since Scripture finished detailing the laws of the three pilgrimage festivals—

why do I need it to return and write,

why did Scripture need to return and write concerning the mitzva of ascending on the pilgrimage

“on the Festival of Matzot, on the Festival of Weeks, and on the Festival of Sukkot”?

For since it says, “Three times in the year every male of yours shall appear,” it is self-evident that the intention is these three pilgrimage festivals.

Rather,

infer from it

that the intention of Scripture is

to

teach concerning

“Do not delay.”

And this is the meaning of the verse: On the Festival of Matzot, on the Festival of Weeks, and on the Festival of Sukkot—he shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed; rather, appear before Him in order to fulfill your vows to Him.

And Rabbi Shimon says:

Scripture

does not need to say “on the Festival of Sukkot,” for

surely

Scripture spoke concerning it.

For in the section of the laws of the Festival of Sukkot the verse “Three times in the year every male of yours shall appear” is stated; if so, it would have been sufficient for Scripture to say, “Three times in the year: on the Festival of Matzot and on the Festival of Weeks.” It is superfluous to say the Festival of Sukkot, since it is self-evident.

If so,

why is it said

also concerning it, “on the Festival of Sukkot”?

To say that this

Festival of Sukkot] is the

last

of the three pilgrimage festivals, and one violates “Do not delay” only if the three pilgrimage festivals passed in this order.

And Rabbi Meir,

who said that if one pilgrimage festival passes over it, he violates “Do not delay”—

what is the reason?

What is his reason?

As it is written

Deuteronomy 12:5–6]

“And you shall come there [to

the Temple]

and there you shall bring

your burnt offerings and your sacrifices.”

Scripture said: when you come on pilgrimage to the Temple, you must fulfill your obligations. From here, if one pilgrimage festival passes over him and he does not fulfill his obligation, he violates “Do not delay.”

And the Sages,

as well as all the tannaim who disagree with Rabbi Meir, hold that one cannot derive “Do not delay” from here. For

that verse—

it comes for a positive commandment

to say that there is a positive mitzva to fulfill his obligation at the first pilgrimage festival.

But with respect to the prohibition of “Do not delay,” if one pilgrimage festival passes and he does not bring it, he does not violate a prohibition.

And from here there is a difficulty against Rabbi Meir. For the verse was stated in the language of a positive commandment, [“And there you shall bring”], so how can one derive from here “Do not delay”?

And Rabbi Meir

will answer:

Since the Merciful One told him, ‘Bring,’ and he did not bring,

since the Torah commanded a person to bring his sacrifices at the first pilgrimage festival and he did not bring them, this is considered delay.

And

automatically,

if he did not bring it,

he stands subject to “Do not delay.”

And Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov,

who said that once two pilgrimage festivals pass over him he violates “Do not delay”—

what is the reason?

As it is written [in

Numbers 29:39, in the section of the appointed times]:

“These you shall perform for the Lord at your appointed times.”

“Your appointed times” is in the plural, and

the minimum of “appointed times”

is

two.

And from here: if two pilgrimage festivals pass over a person and he does not fulfill his obligation, he violates “Do not delay.”

And the Sages,

who disagree with Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, hold that one cannot derive “Do not delay” from “at your appointed times.” For

that verse

is needed to derive from it

that which Rabbi Yona said:

For Rabbi Yona said: They were compared

in this verse

all the appointed times to one another.

To teach

that all of them,

all the sin-offering goats offered on all the appointed times—

atone for the impurity of the Temple and its sacred things.

Just as this atonement was stated concerning the goat of the New Moon.

And Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon,

who said that once the Festival of Sukkot passes over them, he violates “Do not delay” concerning them—

what is the reason?

As

it was taught

in a beraita:

Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon says:

It is stated in the section of the Festival of Sukkot: “Three times in the year: on the Festival of Matzot, on the Festival of Weeks, and on the Festival of Sukkot.”

And it is necessary to explain: even if

Scripture did not say

the

“Festival of Sukkot,”

it would be self-evident that the Festival of Sukkot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals,

for

surely

Scripture spoke concerning it!

If so,

why is it said

“the Festival of Sukkot”?

Rather,

to say that this [the Festival of Sukkot] is the

рабби Элиэзера бен Яакова, который учит, что запрет «не задерживай» нарушается после двух праздников, на основании слов «в ваши праздничные времена», возникает вопрос:

factor

that causes a person to violate “Do not delay.”

And we challenge:

And

according to

Rabbi Meir,

who derives that one violates “Do not delay” at the first pilgrimage festival from “And you shall come there and there you shall bring,”

and

likewise according to

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov,

who derives that one violates “Do not delay” after two pilgrimage festivals from “at your appointed times,” there is a difficulty:

This

verse,

“on the Festival of Matzot and on the Festival of Weeks

and on the Festival of Sukkot,”

which is superfluous—

what did they expound from it?

What did they learn from it?

And we answer: According to them, this verse is not superfluous. For

they need it,

this verse is necessary according to them

for that which Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Oshaya:

For Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Oshaya: From where is it derived concerning Shavuot [the

Festival of Weeks], that if he did not offer on it the peace-offerings of the pilgrimage,

that it has compensation throughout all seven

days,

that it is possible to fulfill his obligation until six days after the Festival of Weeks, so that altogether it is possible to offer the peace-offerings of the pilgrimage for seven days? The verse states: “On the Festival of Matzot, on the Festival of Weeks, and on the Festival of Sukkot.”

Scripture compares

the

Festival of Weeks to the Festival of Matzot,

to teach you:

just as the Festival of Matzot has compensation throughout all

seven

days of the festival—

so too, the Festival of Weeks has compensation throughout seven days.

And we challenge: From where do we know to compare the Festival of Weeks to the Festival of Matzot, so that it has compensation for only seven days, and not to the Festival of Sukkot, so that it would have compensation for eight days!?

And let us compare,

perhaps the Festival of Weeks should be compared

to the Festival of Sukkot:

Just as there,

the Festival of Sukkot has compensation for

eight

days [until the Eighth Day of Assembly],

so too here,

the Festival of Weeks should have compensation for

eight

days!

And why did we say that there is compensation for the Festival of Weeks for only seven days?

And we answer:

The Eighth

Day of Assembly—

it is a pilgrimage festival in its own right

itself,

and it is not part of the Festival of Sukkot. Therefore, there is compensation for the peace-offerings of the pilgrimage of Sukkot for only seven days.

And we reject the answer:

Granted that we say,

all that we said—that

the Eighth

is

a pilgrimage festival in its own right—we said this only

—we said only

with regard to

six laws only, and their mnemonic is

PZR KShB. [See the note ]

But regarding compensatory days -

to

all opinions

the eighth day of assembly

is compensation for the first day.

It is the completion of the first Festival day of Sukkot.

As we learned [

Hagigah 9a]:

One who did not celebrate,

who did not bring his festival offering on

the first Festival day

of Sukkot, -

celebrates throughout the entire Festival.

He brings his festival offering on all the days of the Festival of Sukkot,

and

also on

the last Festival day

on the eighth day of assembly.

And from now, the question returns: Why do we not compare the Festival of Weeks to the Festival of Sukkot, which has compensatory days throughout all eight?

And we answer: Where there is uncertainty whether to increase or to decrease, the Sages said:

You have grasped the greater -

you have not grasped!

If you grasp the greater, it may be that you have grasped unlawfully, for it is possible that you ought to have grasped the lesser.

But if

you have grasped the lesser -

you have grasped!

For there is no doubt that you have grasped lawfully, since within the greater there is also the lesser.

And therefore here, on the Festival of Weeks, since we are uncertain whether to learn from the Festival of Matzot, whose compensatory days are seven, or to learn from the Festival of Sukkot, whose compensatory days are eight, we grasp the lesser and say that the compensatory days of the Festival of Weeks are only seven.

And we object:

Rather,

since we compare the Festival of Weeks to the Festival of Matzot and not to the Festival of Sukkot, if so, this is difficult:

For what halakhic purpose did the Merciful One write the Festival of Sukkot?

For what purpose did the verse repeat and say, “the Festival of Sukkot"?

And we answer: In order

to compare it,

to compare it

to the Festival of Matzot,

and to learn through this comparison: