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Rosh Hashanah 8

1) WHAT TYPE OF ROSH HASHANAH IS MENTIONED IN THE MISHNAH

QUESTION: The Gemara (7b) asks why the Mishnah counts only four Roshei Shanim. It should have included an additional two -- the sixteenth of Nisan (Rosh Hashanah for the Omer, and eating from the newly grown grain) and the sixth of Sivan (Rosh Hashanah for the Shtei ha'Lechem, and for bringing Bikurim in the Mikdash). Rav Ashi answers that the Mishnah is only counting Roshei Shanim that occur on Rosh Chodesh, and those two do not occur on Rosh Chodesh. Furthermore, the Mishnah says there are four Roshei Shanim, and not five, even though five are listed in the Mishnah, because the Rosh Hashanah for Regalim (the fifteenth of Nisan) does not occur on Rosh Chodesh, and therefore it is not included in the number.

Why, though, does the Mishnah mention the Rosh Hashanah of Regalim altogether? Once it is including a Rosh Hashanah that is not on Rosh Chodesh (even though it is not included it in the number of Roshei Shanim), it should also include the Rosh Hashanah of the Omer and Shtei ha'Lechem (and just leave them out of the number of Roshei Shanim), even though they do not occur on Rosh Chodesh! (PNEI YEHOSHUA)

ANSWER: It could be that since the Rosh Hashanah of Regalim occurs in Nisan, and Nisan is mentioned in the Mishnah because it has a Rosh Hashanah that occurs on Rosh Chodesh (i.e. Rosh Hashanah for Melachim), the Mishnah also includes Regalim because Nisan is the month in which the Rosh Hashanah of Regalim falls. In contrast, the Rosh Hashanah of Shtei ha'Lechem does not occur in a month which has a Rosh Hashanah on Rosh Chodesh, and therefore the Mishnah does not mention the Rosh Hashanah of Shtei ha'Lechem. Since it does not mention Shtei ha'Lechem, it also does not mention the Rosh Hashanah of Omer (even though it falls in Nisan), since it is very similar in concept to the Rosh Hashanah of Shtei ha'Lechem, and it would look strange for the Mishnah to list one without the other. (M. Kornfeld)

QUESTION: The Mishnah states that the first of Tishrei is the Rosh Hashanah for Shanim, years. The Gemara asks what this refers to, and answers in the name of Rav Papa that it refers to the years of the reign of kings. The Rosh Hashanah for determining the year of the reign of a king, in order to know what date to write in a Shtar, is the first of Tishrei. This refers to non- Jewish kings, since the years of Jewish kings are counted from the first of Nisan, as the Mishnah says.

The Gemara quotes a statement made independently by Rav Chisda, who said that the years of non-Jewish kings are counted from Tishrei. The Gemara asks why Rav Chisda tells us something that the Mishnah already teaches. The Gemara answers that Rav Chisda did not learn the Mishnah like Rav Papa, that the Mishnah is giving a date for the Rosh Hashanah of non-Jewish kings. Rather, Rav Chisda learned like Rebbi Zeira, that when the Mishnah says that the first of Tishrei is the Rosh Hashanah for years, it means for the count of the "Tekufah" (i.e. it is the month during which the world was created).

The Gemara goes on to quote Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak who says that the first of Tishrei is the Rosh Hashanah for Din, the time when the world is judged. Why, then, does the Gemara state that Rav Chisda learns the Mishnah like Rebbi Zeira? The Gemara could have said that he learns the Mishnah like Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak!

ANSWER: The PNEI YEHOSHUA answers as follows. The Gemara (8b) quotes another statement of Rav Chisda, in which Rav Chisda learns from the verse, "La'asos Mishpat Avdo..." (Melachim I 8:59), that a king is judged before the rest of the people. The verse in question does not specifically mention judgement, but Rav Chisda seems to be relying on Rebbi Yosi's interpretation of the verse, on Daf 16a. There, a Beraisa is cited in which Rebbi Yosi states that a person is judged every day, and not just on the first of Tishrei. The Gemara there quotes Rav Chisda as saying that the source for Rebbi Yosi's opinion is the end of the same verse (Melachim I 8:59), "Dvar Yom b'Yomo." This is why Rav Chisda learns from that verse that a king is *judged* first.

It seems that Rav Chisda holds like Rebbi Yosi that a person is judged every day. Since Rebbi Yosi argues with the Mishnah that states that a person is judged on Rosh Hashanah, it cannot be that Rav Chisda could agree with Rav Nachman's understanding of the Mishnah, because Rav Nachman explains that our Mishnah means that a person is judged on Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei). Rav Chisda, though, holds like Rebbi Yosi that a person is judged every day! Therefore, the only way that Rav Chisda can learn the Mishnah that says that the first of Tishrei is the Rosh Hashanah for years is like Rebbi Zeira learns. (See also KUNTRUS SHESH SHE'ARIM by RAV YAKOV D. HOMNICK, who suggests another approach.)

8b