Rosh Hashanah 8a — the Talmud in English

And we object:

But what about the Jubilee years

, which begin only through the act of sounding the shofar, and nevertheless were taught in the Mishna! And from here we must say that the tanna counted also the new years that take effect through an act.

And we answer: Our Mishna is according to the view of

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka

, who holds that the Jubilee year takes effect automatically on Rosh Hashanah, and not through the sounding of the shofar on Yom Kippur.

Thus far the Gemara has discussed the answer of Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi, who said that the reason that the sixteenth of Nisan and the sixth of Sivan were not mentioned in our Mishna is that their laws take effect only through an act. [The offering of the omer and the two loaves].

Rav Ashi said

another reason why only four new years, and no more, were mentioned in our Mishna:

For this is what the Mishna says:

There are four new years, which

take effect

on four new moons.

And the fifteenth of Nisan was not taught in our Mishna as the new year for Festivals, nor the sixteenth of Nisan for the omer, nor the sixth of Sivan for the two loaves, because none of all these takes effect on a new moon.

And according to Rav Ashi, these are the four new years: (a) the first of Nisan; (b) the first of Elul; (c) the first of Tishrei; (d) the first of Shevat.

And therefore we object: Did the tanna teach at the beginning of our Mishna

on the first of Shevat

that this is

like

the words of

Beit Shammai?!

But it is not the way of the tanna to teach an unattributed Mishna according to the words of Beit Shammai, for the halakha is not according to their words! And we answer: The tanna who taught at the beginning of our Mishna that there are four new years did not intend to establish this as a definitive halakha. Rather,

this is what he says

, he immediately explained his words and said:

What I initially said, that there are four new years, is not a definitive halakha, but

three

of them

according to everyone

are so.

And the fourth, which is

on the first of Shevat

, is dependent on the

dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel.

And what we said, “three according to everyone,” does not mean according to all the tannaim, for Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon disputed what we taught: “On the first of Elul is the new year for animal tithe,” and they said: on the first of Tishrei. Rather, the Gemara refers here only to the dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai.

We learned in the Mishna: On the first of Elul is the new year for animal tithe [for one does not bring together the sheep born from this point onward with the sheep born in the previous year, to tithe them together]. These are the words of Rabbi Meir, for our Mishna was left unattributed according to his words.

Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon say

: The new year for animal tithe is

on the first of Tishrei.

And now the Gemara explains the reasons of Rabbi Meir and of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon:

Rabbi Yohanan said: And both of them

, Rabbi Meir and also Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon,

expounded one verse

, but they disagreed as to how to expound it:

as it is stated

[Psalms 65]:

“The sheep have clothed themselves in flocks

— the ewes became pregnant [and it appears as though they serve as clothing for the lambs brought as an offering, and the lambs are called karim. R. H.];

and the valleys are covered with grain,”

they become covered with grain.

That is, the seeds begin to grow and become clearly recognizable on the ground, until the valleys appear as though covered with them.

And when the grain grows,

“they shout, they also sing,”

the wind blows through it, and then the ears knock against one another, and their sound is heard in the manner of singing, and the ears appear as though they are singing.

And everyone agrees that one must derive the ewes mentioned at the beginning of the verse from the grain mentioned at its end, as follows:

Rabbi Meir held

that the verse said as follows:

When do “the sheep clothe themselves in flocks

— become pregnant —

the ewes”?

At the time when “the valleys are covered with grain,”

when the grain begins to grow.

And when are “the valleys covered with grain”?

In Adar

, for then the seeds grow and become clearly recognizable on the surface of the ground.

And from here, the ewes

become pregnant in Adar

. The gestation period of ewes is five months.

And

it follows that they

give birth in Av

, which is five months after Adar.

And therefore,

their new year

is

Elul.

Because the Gemara below derives that “close to its completion is its tithing”: on the new moon after the offspring have been completed [born], then the new year for animal tithe takes effect.

Whereas

Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon say

, the verse said as follows:

When do “the sheep clothe themselves in flocks

[become pregnant]

the ewes”?

At the time when

the ears

“shout, they also sing.”

And

when do the ears sing

, when the stalks have been filled with kernels of grain?

In Nisan.

And from here, the ewes

become pregnant in Nisan

, and the gestation period of ewes is five months,

and

it follows that they

give birth in Elul.

And therefore,

their new year

is

Tishrei

[which is close to the time when the offspring were completed, that is, born].

And since two times concerning the grain were mentioned in the verse:

a. “The valleys are covered with grain,” which is in Adar.

b. “They shout, they also sing,” which is in Nisan.

And Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon disputed to which period of the grain the pregnancy of the ewes should be compared. The Gemara now explains why each of the disputing tannaim chose his comparison:

And the other

, Rabbi Meir,

also: is it not written, “they shout, they also sing,”

which is in Nisan! And why did Rabbi Meir say that the ewes become pregnant in Adar?

The Gemara explains:

That

verse speaks

of the late ones

, of ewes that are late to become pregnant,

which are in Nisan.

And the verse says that they become pregnant in Nisan, when the grain has ripened, and when the wind blows through it, it appears as though it is singing.

But most ewes had already become pregnant in Adar, as we learned from “the valleys are covered with grain.”

And now the Gemara explains the words of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon:

And the other, also, is it not written

as well:

“And the valleys are covered with grain,”

which is in Adar! And why did they say that the ewes become pregnant in Nisan?

And we answer:

That

verse speaks

of the early ones

, those that become pregnant early,

which come from Adar

. Indeed, the ewes also become pregnant in Adar, but these are only the early ones, whereas most ewes do not become pregnant until Nisan.

Still, there is an objection to each of the tannaim: Two times were stated in the verse, Adar and Nisan. From where did each one know at which time most ewes become pregnant, and at which time only a minority become pregnant?

It is understandable according to

the view of

Rabbi Meir

, who learned his words from the order of the verse,

as it is written:

a.

“The sheep have clothed themselves in flocks”

—

at the time when “the valleys are covered with grain,”

in Adar.

And there is also

, and there are also ewes that become pregnant at the time when the ears

“shout, they also sing,”

in Nisan.

From here Rabbi Meir learned that the primary time for the pregnancy of the ewes is in Adar, when the valleys are covered with grain.

But according to Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon

, who hold that the primary time for the pregnancy of the ewes is in Nisan, when the ears sing, there is an objection:

For according to their words,

the opposite should have been required

, should have been written and said.

It would have been fitting to write and say their words in the opposite order:

a.

“The sheep have clothed themselves in flocks”

—

at the time when the ears

“shout, they also sing,”

in Nisan.

b.

And there is also

, and there are also ewes that become pregnant earlier, in the month of Adar, at the time of

“the valleys are covered with grain”!

Rather, said Rava

: Indeed,

everyone

agrees that the verse said as follows:

“The sheep have clothed themselves in flocks,

most of

the ewes,” at the time when “the valleys are covered with grain,”

that is,

in Adar.

And here

, concerning the new year for animal tithe,

they disagree over this verse

, they disputed how to expound the following verse:

It is stated [Deuteronomy 14]:

“You shall surely tithe

your seed’s produce.”

And from the repetition of the expression “you shall surely tithe,” the Sages expounded:

This verse speaks

of

two tithes: one

—

animal tithe. And one —

grain tithe

[produce].

And the verse came to juxtapose them to one another. And the tannaim disputed how to juxtapose them:

Rabbi Meir held: The verse juxtaposes

десятину

animal tithe to grain tithe:

Just as

grain tithe,

close to its completion

—

is its tithing! For the new year for grain tithe is on the first of Tishrei [as will be explained in the beraita below, 12a], and it is the new moon close to the completion of the labor of the grain. The grain remains in the fields throughout the summer so that it will dry. And from here we learn:

Also animal tithe, close to its completion

—

is its tithing.

For the new year for animal tithe also takes effect close to its completion. That is, close to the birth of the offspring, which are born in the month of Av, the fifth month from Adar, and in it the gestation of the ewes ends.

And from here Rabbi Meir learned that the new year for animal tithe is on the first of Elul.

And Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon hold: The verse juxtaposes

десятину

animal tithe to grain tithe:

Just as

grain tithe,

its new year

is one in

Tishrei

—

also animal tithe, its new year

is one in

Tishrei.

We learned in the Mishna:

On the first of Tishrei is the new year for years.

And we inquire about it:

For what halakhic purpose

, concerning which halakha does the new year “for years” begin on Tishrei?

Rav Pappa said: For

the counting of the years of kings in

documents.

For they were accustomed to write the date in a document according to the counting of the king’s years: “In such-and-such a year of the king’s reign.”

And once the first of Tishrei arrived, a year was completed for the king. Even if he had begun to reign on the twenty-ninth of Elul, nevertheless, once Tishrei arrived they would write: “In the second year of the king.”

As we learned

[in tractate Sheviit 10:5]:

Promissory notes dated in advance

, whose date written in them is before the time of the loan,

are invalid

. The document is invalid, and the loan is considered an oral loan and not a loan by document.

And

promissory notes

dated afterward

, whose date written in them is after the date of the loan,

are valid.

And in order to know whether the document before us is dated in advance or dated afterward, they established a fixed day on which the king’s year begins. Through this we can know in which year of the king we are. This matter was explained at length at the beginning of the chapter.

And we object:

But we learned

, for we learned at the beginning of our Mishna:

On the first of Nisan is the new year for kings.

And we said

about this above:

For what halakhic purpose

, for what need did they establish a fixed day for their new year?

And Rav Hisda said: For documents.

For a king who began [to reign] in Adar, immediately when the first of Nisan arrived, they count for him in documents a second year!

And how did Rav Pappa say that the first of Tishrei is the new year for documents?

And we answer:

It is not difficult.

Here

, at the beginning of the Mishna, where we learned that the first of Nisan is the new year for kings, it is speaking of a person who wrote in his document a date

for

the years of

the kings of Israel.

Their new year is in Nisan.

Whereas

here

, later in the Mishna, where we learned that the first of Tishrei is the new year for documents, it is speaking of a person who wrote in his document a date

for

the years of

the kings of the nations of the world,

and their new year is in Tishrei.

And we object to the words of Rav Pappa, who said, “On the first of Tishrei is the new year for years,” meaning for documents.

Rather

, from now there is an objection:

This that Rav Hisda said

above, concerning the beginning of the Mishna, that the first of Nisan is the new year for kings:

They taught

that the first of Nisan is the new year for kings

only for

the matter of

the kings of Israel.

But for the kings of the nations of the world

—

we count from Tishrei.

But

Rav Hisda

—

did he come to teach us the Mishna?!

Did he come to teach us something that is written in the Mishna itself?! For the Mishna itself already states that the new year for documents is in Tishrei. Necessarily, one must distinguish between the kings of Israel and the kings of the nations, as above!

And we answer:

No.

Rav Hisda did not come to teach us the words of the Mishna.

Rather,

Rav Hisda

—

he came to teach us verses.

To teach us the verses from which the Sages learned that for the kings of the nations one counts from Tishrei, as the Gemara brought above [3a] the continuation of Rav Hisda’s words, in which he brought proof for this matter from the verse.

And if you wish, say

, if you wish, say that Rav Hisda did not come only to teach us the verses from which the Sages learned that for the kings of the nations one counts from Tishrei, but he also came to teach us the law itself, that for the kings of the nations one counts from Tishrei.

For Rav Hisda holds that our Mishna did not say that the first of Tishrei is the new year for the kings of the nations.

And

Rav Hisda

disagrees with Rav Pappa, who explained that what we learned, “On the first of Tishrei is the new year for years,” refers to documents.

Rather

he teaches it according to Rabbi Zeira,

explaining our Mishna in accordance with the words of Rabbi Zeira, as follows:

For Rabbi Zeira said:

That which we learned, “On the first of Tishrei is the New Year for years,” means

for the seasons,

that according to the first of Tishrei they calculate the time of the creation of the sun and the moon at the time of the creation of the world, and the calculation of the sun’s season, namely, the four seasons of the year [the season of Tishrei, the season of Tevet, the season of Nisan, and the season of Tammuz]. And likewise the calculations of the new moons of the months of the year.

And

our Mishna is in accordance with the view of

Rabbi Eliezer, who said: In Tishrei the world was created.

And all the calculations of the seasons and the new moons are based upon the fact that the beginning of the course of the sun and the moon was in Tishrei.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said

another explanation:

That which we learned, that the first of Tishrei is “the New Year for years,” means

for judgment,

for the Holy One, blessed is He, judges on the first of Tishrei all who come into the world, and decrees upon them everything that will happen to them until the following Tishrei.

For it is written [Deuteronomy 11:12]: “Always the eyes of Hashem your God are upon it [the Land of Israel]

Deuteronomy 11:12]: “The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it [the Land of Israel]

from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.”

And we expound:

“From the beginning of the year”—

it is judged what will be at its end,

at “the end of the year.”

And Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak continues to explain:

And

from where is it that “the beginning of the year,”

is the first of

Tishrei!?

For it is written [Psalms 81:4]:

Psalms 81:4]:

“Sound the shofar on the new moon,

on the new moon

shofar, at the covering,

when the moon is covered,

for our festival day.” [According to Radak]

According to Radak]