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1)

(a) According to Rav Yehudah, there are four species of cedars: cedar, Afarsemon-wood, box-wood and Kasros. Rav interprets Kasros as Adra (a fruit-less tree with many branches).
How many other interpretations of Kasros does the Gemara suggest?

(b) According to Rabah bar Rav Huna quoting Amri Bei Rav there are many more species of cedar-trees.
What is the source for most of these?

(c) The Pasuk lists cedar, pine and myrtle-trees, box-wood and fir-trees. How many more trees are quoted in the Pasuk in Yeshayah?

(d) How many does Rav Dimi quote the Rabbanan as having added?

(a) They would use a huge barge to procure the coral from the sea-bed.
How did they set about doing that.

(b) Some maintain that such an operation required six thousand men working for twelve months.
What do others say?

(c) Which was more precious, coral or silver?

(d) Two Syrian ports dealt with coral.
What type of cargo did the one Persian port deal with? They called the Persian port 'Parvasa de'Meshamhig'. What does this mean?

(a) In the Pasuk "Etein ba'Midbar Erez, Shitah ... ", what does "ba'Midbar" refer to?

(b) What does Rebbi Yochanan learn from this Pasuk?

(c) He also says that anyone who studies Torah but does not teach it, is compares to a myrtle in the desert (which is useless in its location). What is the second version of Rebbi Yochanan's statement?

(a) What does Rebbi Yochanan conclude after quoting the Pasuk in Yeshayah "Tachas ha'Nechoshes Avi Zahav ... "?

(b) What does he learn from the Pasuk in Yo'el "ve'Nikeisi Damam Lo Nikeisi"?

5)

(a) The last mountain on which they waved the torches was Beis Biltin (also known as Biram), where they would continue to wave it until they saw the whole of the Golah before them resembling a bonfire.
What does this mean?

(b) What is meant by the Golah?

(c) Rebbi Shimon ben Elazar, in a Beraisa, adds Harei Mechayar and Geder etc. to the list of the mountains where they would wave the torches.
What are the two ways of understanding this Beraisa?

(a) What was the distance between any two mountains on this list?

(b) What do the Pesukim in Hoshei'a "Lachein Hineni Sach es Darkech be'Sirim ... " and in Eichah "Nesivosai Ivah" help us to understand?

(a) All the witnesses who went to Yerushalayim to testify that they had seen the new moon would gather in 'Beis Ya'azek'.
What was Beis Ya'azek? When did the witnesses gather there, and why?

(b) Why did they organize large parties for them there?

(a) Initially, the witnesses were not permitted to move from Beis Ya'azek all day.
Why not?

(b) What Takanah did Raban Gamliel instute?

(c) Was this Takanah confined to the witnesses who came from outside the T'chum to testify?

(a) Based on two Pesukim, the Gemara is uncertain whether the courtyard is called 'Beis Ya'azek' or 'Beis Yazek' (without an Ayin). What does the former mean (based on the Pasuk in Yeshayah "va'Ye'azkeihu va'Yesakleihu")?

(b) And what does the latter mean (based on the Pasuk in Yirmiyah "ve'Hu Asur ba'Zikim") - see Tosfos DH 'O Dilma'?

(c) How do we try and resolve the uncertainty from the fact that they arranged big feasts for them there?

(d) Why in fact, is there no proof from there?

(a) In which order did they question ...

1. ... the pairs of witnesses ?
2. ... each individual pair of witnesses? Were the two witnesses both present at the cross-examination?

(b) If the first pair of witnesses were accepted, what was the point of continuing to question the other pairs?

(c) Why is the new moon never seen in the middle of the day?

(d) They would ask the witnesses whether they had seen the moon in front of the sun or behind it and whether it was to the north of the sun or to the south.
Which other three questions would they ask them?

(a) How do we initially understand the question (that they asked the witnesses) 'in front of the sun or behind it'?

(b) How do we ultimately explain it (to do away with the fact that, in that case, the first and the second question would be one and the same?

(c) What do we learn in this regard from the Pasuk in Iyov "Hamsheil va'Fachad Imo, Oseh Shalom bi'M'romav"?

(d) What do we also learn from there regarding the sun and the rainbow?