Mishnayos Rosh HaShana with Running Commentary Mishna 1:1 through 3:1

This running commentary is an amalgam of various commentaries, including my own. Text of the Mishna is from Sefaria. Translations and commentaries used include: Sefaria, R"AV, Tosfos Yom Tov, Ram"Bam, Yochin uBoaz, Mishna with commentary by Chanoch Albeck, Artscroll/Yad Avrohom, Mishnat Eretz Yisroel-Safrai, Mishnat Yomi by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Kulp. All mistakes are my own. Any comments and/or questions can be sent to [email protected]. If you would like the accompanying powerpoint presentation please email me as well.

Mesechtas Rosh HaShana concerns itself with two main topics. The first two פרקים (chapters) and the first משנה of the third chapter describe the procedures by which the main Beis Din would declare Rosh Chodesh, the new moon. This process required the input of a number of parties including (i) witnesses who, after observing the New Moon, would provide testimony to the Court, (ii) the Court, who after interrogating the witnesses, would affirmatively declare the start of the new month and (iii) those in charge of spreading the information across the vast expanse of the Jewish nation. The second half of the Mesechta, the third and fourth chapters discuss the mitzvah of Shofar and the Tefilos of Rosh HaShanah.

Chapter 1

Mishna 1

The first two Mishnayos of the Mesechta serve as an introduction-- describing the various new years and days of judgment throughout the year. Our Mishna lists a number of New Years. Even though the Torah calls Nissan the "first month" and for many Halachik purposes, it is, in fact, the first month, for other purposes there are different "new years" (i.e., specific dates) that act as a cut off or demarcation line--separating what happens before and after that date. Most of the the other New Years listed in the Mishna pertain to agricultural laws. Specifically, when grouping animals and produce for Ma'aser purposes you cannot combine items born/grown in different "years" in order to calculate how much Ma'aser to give. Rather, each year must be dealt with separately. So the dates listed in the Mishna act as a cutoff date to prevent mixing and matching. Of course, the most famous "new year" is what we call Rosh HaShana, which is the start of the Jewish New Year.

Mishna 2

Our Mishna highlights four points during the year when Hashem judges mankind. Each of these times reflects a particular need: food, life, health and water. Sometimes, it is overwhelming to focus all at once on the goodness that Hashem provides us. Breaking it down into individual components can help us better appreciate all the good in our lives while, at the same time, providing us with the opportunity to ask Hashem to provide us with what we need.

Mishna 3

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, meaning it follows the phases of the moon as it orbits the earth. This orbit takes approximately 29.5 days. When the first tiny sliver of the moon reappears, it is called the “Molad,” the birth of the new moon. If witnesses testify to having seen the Molad, the Beis Din will declare the day to be Rosh Chodesh. As a result, a Jewish month lasts either 29 or 30 days--so that Rosh Chodesh is either on the 30th or 31st day of the preceding month. Knowing on which day Rosh Chodesh falls is important for many reasons--most importantly, to set the calendar.

While today it is easy to instantaneously disseminate information over the phone, internet and social media, back in the times of the Mishna, communication was much, much slower. The main way of sending information was by messenger--which could take weeks to reach its destination.

And because the Jewish People lived not only in Eretz Yisroel but in many far-away lands, the Beis Din had to make sure the information reached these communities. Our Mishna details how for many of the months of the year the Beis Din would send messengers. (In perek 2 we will see an alternative messaging system for those living in and close to Eretz Yisroel)

Importantly, because these messengers would not necessarily reach the distant communities in time for the Yomim Tovim, these communities would be unsure as to when to observe the holiday. Therefore, the custom became for these communities to keep two days of the Yom Tov (Yom Tov Sheini). This remains the custom for all communities outside of Eretz Yisroel.

Mishnayos 4-6 and 9.

The right to declare the New Moon was reserved for the main Beis Din, the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin would designate a special three-judge panel to officiate. The Nasi, head of court, was in charge of this court and his presence was required in order to declare the day to be Rosh Chodesh.

Because declaring the new moon was the key to setting the Jewish calendar, it was very important that the Beis Din be made aware as quickly as possible when the new moon appeared in the sky. This would allow the Beis Din to declare Rosh Chodesh on the correct day and send out the messengers to the distant communities. In the times of the Beis HaMikdash, there was an additional reason as well: to make sure that the special Korban of Rosh Chodesh was brought on the correct day.

Generally speaking, one is not allowed be מחלל שבת (desecrate Shabbos). This includes not carrying, traveling long distances or riding on an animal. However, because of the importance of maintaining the calendar, witnesses who saw the new moon on Friday night were allowed to be מחלל שבת in order to travel to the Beis Din in order to testify. The following Mishnayos provide some of the parameters and qualifications of this rule.

Mishna 4

Our Mishna describes the months for which the Chachomim allowed witnesses to be מחלל שבת

Mishna 5

Our Mishna sets out a disagreement between the Tana Kama and Rabi Yose as to how far the Chachomim were willing to allow witnesses to be מחלל שבת.

Mishna 6

Our Mishna brings a story in support of the rule allowing witnesses to be מחלל שבת.

The story concerns two Tannaim, Rabi Akiva and Raban Gamliel. Raban Gamliel was the Nasi. As Nasi, it was his Beis Din that was in charge of declaring the new moon (Rosh Chodesh). Here, Rabi Akiva did not want to allow 40 pairs of witnesses to continue traveling to the Beis Din since they would likely be redundant-- and he saw no reason to allow them all to be מחלל שבת.

Raban Gamliel, as Nasi, was of the view that we cannot only consider the current situation but we must think more globally--about future cases as well (when there may not be as many (or any other) witnesses to the event). In Mishna 2:5 we will see another rule enacted to incentivize witness to travel to the Beis Din.

Mishnayos 7 and 8

These mishnayos focus on the type of witnesses that are acceptable for testifying regarding the new moon. As a general rule, you need a pair of witnesses to testify in court. They need to be free men--women and slaves are not allowed to testify, except in limited cases. Witnesses who are related to each other or to one of the parties involved in a case cannot testify. In addition, witnesses engaged in certain behaviors are also barred from testifying.

Mishna 7

Mishna 7 may be connected to Mishna 6 in two ways. First, to teach us that witnesses, even if pasul among themselves (like a father and son) may still travel to the Beis Din on shabbos. Second, like in Mishna 6 where we see Rabi Akiva attempted to screen/block the witnesses from traveling to the Beis Din, Mishna 7 describes how different groups (the Kohanim and the Chachomim) screened the witnesses before they testified in front of the Beis Din.

Mishna 8

Our Mishna lists a number of behaviors and occupations which would render a person Pasul (unfit) to be a witness.

Mishna 9

Our Mishna returns to the topic of Chilul Shabbos and discusses the lengths to which the Chachomim went to to make sure the new moon was declared at the right time. Not only are the witnesses themselves allowed to be מחלל שבת, but, if need be, the people supporting them could do so as well.

Chapter 2

The Second Perek focuses more on the procedures once the witnesses arrive at the Beis Din. How they would interrogate the witnesses, declare Rosh Chodesh and inform the population. As an aside, the Mishna describes two earlier practices associated with the Rosh Chodesh process that, over time, were changed.

Mishna 1

Towards the second half of the second Beis HaMikdash a number of different groups (sects) of Jews developed, including the Tziddukim (Saducees), Boethusians and Essenes. The Chachomim were known as Peirushim (Pharisees). Throughout the Mishnayos we find a number of disagreements between these groups and the Chachomim. One of the most famous and contentious fights was over the day on which the Korban Omer (the Korban made of barley that was brought on the second day of Pesach) was to be brought.

In describing the day on which to bring the Korban the Torah uses the term "מִֽמָּחֳרַת֙ הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת," the day after "shabbos." The Chachomim had a tradition that this meant the day after the first day of Pesach (i.e., the second day of Pesach). Whereas, the Boethusians, relying on a literal translation of the words held that the Korban was meant to be brought on the Sunday following the first day of Pesach (this would mean that the date of the Korban was not fixed and it would depend on when Pesach fell--but it would always be a Sunday, as would Shavuous).

The only time these two group would agree that the korban be brought on the same day was when the first day of Pesach fell on Shabbos. Then, according to all, the Korban Omer was brought the next day, Sunday, the second day of Pesach. In order to make sure this would happen, the Boethusians would try to make sure that Rosh Chodesh Nissan fell on a Shabbos--at times that would mean having witnesses say they saw the new moon on Friday night even if they had not. Our Mishna tells us that once this started happening, the Beis Din would only rely on witnesses that were known not to be Boethusians.

Mishna 2

Similar to the previous Mishna, our Mishna tells us that another group, the Cuthim, would interfere with the Rosh Chodesh process. Specifically, while messengers were likely sent to the far away lands, for closer communities, the Beis Din would use a series of fire signals to spread the message as to which day Rosh Chodesh fell. If the previous month was only 29 days (so Rosh Chodesh was the 30th day) they would send the signal on the night of the 31st day--this would signal that the 30th day was Rosh Chodesh. If the previous month was 30 days, no signals were sent.

It seems that at some point the Cuthim tried to interfere with this signal process and would light fires even on months when no witnesses showed up on the 30th day. So, the Chachomim stopped the fire signals and switched to messengers. (It is unclear when exactly they stopped. The range of opinions stretches over 200 years).

Mishna 3

Our Mishna describes the materials used to make the fire signals

Mishna 4

Our mishna describes the various mountains upon which the fire signals were lit. Other sources (like the Tosefta) record other mountains as well.

The first map of the mountain trail is taken from the book, Golden Jerusalem, by Professor Menashe Har-El (Gefen Books, 2004). The second map is from Mishnas Eretz Yisroel, Safrai (Michlelet Lifschutz 2011).

Mishna 5

Our mishna discusses the treatment of the witnesses who came to Yerushalyim to testify about the new moon. As noted, the Beis Din instituted a number of practices in order to incentivize witnesses to travel to the court. This included catering meals and modifying some of the rules related to Shabbos.

Typically, a person is not allowed to allowed to travel more than 2,000 amos (cubits--approximately 3,000 - 4,000 feet outside the city limits in any direction. This is known as Techum Shabbos. To determine your Techum Shabbos (i.e., your starting point), we generally look to where you are located at Friday's sunset. That location marks the point of departure for your Techum.

If one walks beyond his Techum, he is stuck and cannot move more than a couple of feet in each direction. This posed a problem for the witnesses. As noted above, the Chachomim allowed the witnesses to travel great distances on shabbos even though it was outside the Techum. Since these witnesses did not live in Yerushalyim, upon arriving in Yerushalyim they would be outside their Techum and would be stuck--not being able to walk anywhere.

Our mishna teaches us that the Chachomim dispensed with this limitation by allowing the witnesses to consider Yerushalyim to be their home--and allowing them to walk 2,000 amos around Yerushalyim. This was done in order to incentivize the witnesses to make the journey. The mishna also lists a number of other situations where someone is asked to travel beyond their Techum while being allowed to count their Techum from the new place.

Mishna 6

Our Mishna discussion the interrogation of the pairs of witnesses who arrived at the court. Because the court relied on the witnesses' testimony, it had to ensure itself that the witnesses were telling the truth and had actually seen what they claimed to have observed.

In addition to the typical questions the court would ask the witnesses in order to verify their testimony, when it came the new moon, the court would ask very specific astronomical questions as well. Because the court was well versed in the calculations related to the moon's phases and cycles, they would test the veracity of the witnesses by seeing if the testimony aligned with reality.

Because the moon simply reflects the sun's light, the visible portion of the moon is dependent on the sun's location. Typically, at the "new (waxing) moon" the moon briefly rises to the east of the sun (as if in front of it) and sets to the west of the sun (behind it). Depending on the time of year, it may appear to angled more to the south or north of the sun. In all events, the points of the crescent of the moon will always point away from the sun. (the following graphic is taken from NASA's "spaceplace" website.

Mishna 7

Once the Beis Din is satisfied that the testimony is true and the witnesses had seen the new moon, they are obligated to actually declare the new month. Everyone agrees that this declaration is made if the witnesses testified that they had seen the new moon on the evening of the 30th day (making the prior month 29 days and the 30th day, Rosh Chodesh).

Our mishna records a dispute whether Beis Din is required to declare the new month when the prior month is a 30-day month (the 31st day is automatically Rosh Chodesh).

Mishna 8

Mishna 8 begins with some additional details about the Court's interrogation of the witnesses and how Raban Gamliel would show them pictures/cutouts to assist their testimony.

The Mishna then relates two incidents in which Raban Gamliel accepted the testimony of witnesses (knowing that their testimony could be correct given the astronomical data he had) even though others questioned the legitimacy of their testimony.

The second instance leads to the epic dispute between Raban Gamliel, the Nasi, and Rabi Yehoshua, the Av Beis Din (Head of Court) as to the correct day of Rosh Chodesh Tishrei. This dispute had very practical ramifications for Rabi Yehoshua because, according to him, Yom Kippur would be a day later than the day declared by Raban Gamliel. This was not the only major dispute between these two great Tannaim. A subsequent dispute over the nature of the obligation of the Maariv tefilah, resulted in Rabban Gamliel being deposed of his office, with Rabi Elazar ben Azariah taking over (you may recall the story from the Pesach Hagaddah).

Mishna 9

Our Mishna details the aftermath of the dispute and the challenge Raban Gamliel posed to Rabi Yehoshua.

Chapter 3

Mishna 1

The first Mishna of the Perek is the final Mishna dealing with Rosh Chodesh. It discusses a number of miscellaneous cases