REVIEW QUESTIONS ON GEMARA AND RASHI
prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem
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Rosh Hashanah 22
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ROSH HASHANAH 21 & 22 (12,13 Av) - dedicated by Rabbi Kornfeld's
grandmother, Mrs. G. Turkel, to the memory of her husband, Reb Yisrael
Shimon (Isi) ha'Levi Turkel, who loved Torah and worked to support Torah
until his last breath. He passed away on 10 Av 5780.
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1)
(a) According to the Tana Kama, can a father and son form a pair of
witnesses?
(b) Then why does he obligate them both to go to Yerushalayim to testify as
witnesses?
(c) What does Rebbi Shimon say?
(d) What happened to Tuvyah the doctor, his son and his freed slave, when
they came before ...
- ... the Beis-Din of Kohanim (that sat in the Beis Hamikdash)?
- ... the Beis-Din ha'Gadol?
2)
(a) Rebbi Shimon's ruling is based on the Pasuk in Bo "ha'Chodesh ha'Zeh
*Lachem* Rosh Chodashim".
To whom does "Lachem" refer?
(b) How do the Rabbanan interpret "Lachem"?
(c) Rav Chanan bar Rava rules like Rebbi Shimon.
On what grounds (based on
our Mishnah) did Rav Huna object to this ruling?
(d) Then on what basis did Rav accept Rav Chanan bar Rava's (oft repeated)
ruling like Rebbi Shimon?
3)
(a) The Tana of our Mishnah lists five Pesulim (types of people who are
invalidated from testifying): a gambler, someone who lends on interest, who
indulges in pigeon-racing or who deals with the produce of Sh'mitah, and a
slave.
Why is ...
- ... a gambler not Pasul d'Oraysa?
- ... someone who lends on interest not Pasul d'Oraysa?
(b) What do we learn from the Pasuk in Behar (with regard to Sh'mitah
produce) "le'Ochlah"?
(c) Why did the Rabbanan invalidate the first four Pesulim on the list from
testifying?
(d) In which way does the Pesul of a slave differ from the other four
Pesulim?
4)
(a) In which areas of Halachah are the above five *permitted* to testify?
(b) In that same area of Halachah ...
- ... is a Gazlan d'Oraysa believed? ?
- ... is a slave believed?
5)
(a) How does one break Shabbos for the witnesses, if they are ...
- ... ill?
- ... under threat of attack?
- ... hungry?
(b) Who might have attacked them, and why?
(c) What is the maximum journey for which one would break Shabbos by
traveling to Beis-Din, if necessary (see Tif'eres Yisrael)?
(d) What is the source for breaking Shabbos for Eidus ha'Chodesh?
***** Hadran Alach, 'Arba'ah Roshei Shanim' *****
***** Perek 'Im Einan Makirin' *****
6)
(a) What would the Beis-Din of the town where the witness resided be
obligated to do, if the witness who saw the new moon was unknown to the
Beis-Din ha'Gadol?
(b) Were they, permitted to break the Shabbos (See Tosfos DH 'Meshalchin')?
(c) Initially, the Beis-Din ha'Gadol would trust the witnesses (because
everyone has a Chezkas Kashrus).
When did it become necessary to take
these measures?
Answers to questions
22b---------------------------------------22b
7)
(a) Our Mishnah says that any witness who was unknown to the Beis-Din in
Yerushalayim would have to be accompanied by someone else.
How many people
would 'someone else' need to be?
(b) How do we prove this from the Mishnah itself, which says 'Im Ein Makirin
Oso'?
(c) Rebbi Nehora'i went to Usha on Shabbos, to testify on the integrity of a
witness. Rav Ashi explains that there was a second witness in Usha who was
also able to testify.
In that case, what exactly is the Chidush? Why does
the Beraisa need to inform us that Rebbi Nehora'i went to Usha on Shabbos?
(d) How do we initially deal with the fact that Rebbi Nehora'i appears to
have traveled to Usha on his own on Shabbos?
8)
Ula came from Eretz Yisrael and testified that the Beis-Din had declared
Rosh Chodesh. He did not require a second witness.
Would an ordinary
person have required a second witness?
9)
(a) Why did the Baytusim try to trick Beis-Din into declaring Rosh Chodesh
on the thirtieth of Adar, even though the new moon had not been seen? What
was in it for them?
(b) What happened once when they mistakenly hired a man loyal to the Beis-
Din to testify falsely on their behalf? Why did the man condescend to
testify in the first place?
(c) What dual ruling did the Beis-Din issue?
(d) What Takanah did Chazal initiate as a result of this episode?
10)
(a) Originally, they used to inform the B'nei ha'Golah that it was Rosh
Chodesh by means of torches, which they would wave on pre-chosen mountain-
tops.
Which three flammable commodities did they tie to the long cedar
poles?
(b) What did they do with the pole? How long did they wave it for?
(c) What do we learn from the Pasuk in Shmuel "*va'Yisa'em* David
va'Anashav"?
11)
(a) When (on which night on which kind of month) would they wave the poles?
(b) Why did they not wave the poles after a full month (on the thirty-second
night) as well?
(c) Why could they not wave the torches after a full month too, and when
Rosh Chodesh fell on a Friday, not wave them at all?
(d) Then why did Chazal decide to wave them only after *short* months, and
not after full ones? Why not vice-versa?
Answers to questions
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