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Rosh Hashanah 14b

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Babylonian Talmud · folio map

Rosh Hashanah 14b

Rosh Hashanah 14b. The full printed text of this folio side — 11 numbered segments, about 295 words — with the classic commentaries printed on the page.

Original text

Segment 1

אֶחָד כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי, וְאֶחָד כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית הִלֵּל.

One tithe was in accordance with the statement of Beit Shammai that the new year for trees is on the first of Shevat, in which case it was already the third or sixth year, when one must set aside poor man’s tithe; and one tithe was in accordance with the statement of Beit Hillel that the new year for trees is on the fifteenth of Shevat, so it was still the second or fifth year, when one must set aside second tithe.

Segment 2

רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: לֹא מִנְהַג בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל נָהַג בָּהּ, אֶלָּא מִנְהַג רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל וְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר נָהַג בָּהּ.

Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says: He did not act as he did in order to conform with the conflicting practices of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Rather, he acted as he did in order to conform with the conflicting practices of Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Eliezer.

Segment 3

דִּתְנַן: אֶתְרוֹג שָׁוֶה לָאִילָן בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְּרָכִים, וְלַיָּרָק בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶחָד. שָׁוֶה לָאִילָן בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְּרָכִים: לְעׇרְלָה וְלִרְבָעִי וְלִשְׁבִיעִית וּלְיָרָק בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶחָד — שֶׁבִּשְׁעַת לְקִיטָתוֹ עִישּׂוּרוֹ, דִּבְרֵי רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל.

As we learned in a mishna: The etrog tree is like an ordinary tree in three ways and like a vegetable in one way. How so? It is like an ordinary tree in three ways: With regard to orla , that the fruit of the first three years after the tree is planted is forbidden; with regard to fourth-year produce, that the fruit that grows in the fourth year after the tree is planted must be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there or else it must be redeemed; and with regard to the Sabbatical Year, that the year is determined by the time of the formation of its fruit. And the etrog is like a vegetable in one way, which is that its tithe year follows the time of the picking of its fruit; this is the statement of Rabban Gamliel.

Segment 4

רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר: אֶתְרוֹג שָׁוֶה לָאִילָן לְכׇל דָּבָר.

Rabbi Eliezer says: The etrog is like fruit of a tree with regard to all matters, and so its tithe year also follows the time of the formation of its fruit. Since Rabbi Akiva was in doubt whether the halakha is ruled in accordance with the opinion of Rabban Gamliel or Rabbi Eliezer, he set aside two tithes in order to follow both of their opinions.

Segment 5

וּמִי עָבְדִינַן כִּתְרֵי חוּמְרֵי? וְהָתַנְיָא: לְעוֹלָם הֲלָכָה כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית הִלֵּל, וְהָרוֹצֶה לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי — עוֹשֶׂה. כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית הִלֵּל — עוֹשֶׂה. מִקּוּלֵּי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּמִקּוּלֵּי בֵּית הִלֵּל — רָשָׁע. מֵחוּמְרֵי בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּמֵחוּמְרֵי בֵּית הִלֵּל — עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר: ״וְהַכְּסִיל בַּחֹשֶׁךְ הוֹלֵךְ״. אֶלָּא: אִי כְּבֵית שַׁמַּאי — בְּקוּלֵּיהוֹן וּבְחוּמְרֵיהוֹן. אִי כְּבֵית הִלֵּל — בְּקוּלֵּיהוֹן וּבְחוּמְרֵיהוֹן.

The Gemara questions Rabbi Akiva’s conduct: But do we adopt the respective stringencies of two authorities who disagree on a series of issues? Isn’t it taught in a baraita : The halakha is always in accordance with the statement of Beit Hillel, but one who wishes to act in accordance with the statement of Beit Shammai may do so, and one who wishes to act in accordance with the statement of Beit Hillel may do so. If he adopts both the leniencies of Beit Shammai and also the leniencies of Beit Hillel, he is a wicked person. And if he adopts both the stringencies of Beit Shammai and the stringencies of Beit Hillel, with regard to him the verse states: “The fool walks in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Rather, one should act either in accordance with Beit Shammai, following both their leniencies and their stringencies, or in accordance with Beit Hillel, following both their leniencies and their stringencies. If so, why did Rabbi Akiva follow two contradictory stringencies?

Segment 6

רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא גְּמָרֵיהּ אִסְתַּפַּק לֵיהּ, וְלָא יְדַע אִי בֵּית הִלֵּל בְּאֶחָד בִּשְׁבָט אוֹמֵר, אִי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בִּשְׁבָט אוֹמֵר.

The Gemara answers: Rabbi Akiva wished to act in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel, but he was in doubt about his tradition and did not know whether Beit Hillel said that the new year for trees is on the first of Shevat or whether they said that it is on the fifteenth of Shevat, and so he set aside two tithes in order to conform with both possibilities.

Segment 7

רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: לֹא מִנְהַג בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל נָהַג בָּהּ, אֶלָּא מִנְהַג רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל וְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר נָהַג בָּהּ. בְּאֶחָד בִּשְׁבָט — כְּבֵית שַׁמַּאי נָהַג בָּהּ!

The Gemara further clarifies the baraita , which states: Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says: He did not act as he did in order to conform with the conflicting practices of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel; rather, he acted as he did in order to conform with the conflicting practices of Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Eliezer. The Gemara asks: Seeing that he did this on the first of Shevat, it would seem that he acted in accordance with the practice of Beit Shammai. According to Beit Hillel, both the formation of the fruit and its picking took place in the same year, as the new year does not begin until the fifteenth of Shevat, and so there would have been no need to set aside two tithes.

Segment 8

אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא וְאִיתֵּימָא רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא: הָכָא בְּאֶתְרוֹג שֶׁחָנְטוּ פֵּירוֹתָיו קוֹדֶם חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר דְּאִידַּךְ שְׁבָט עָסְקִינַן. וּבְדִין הוּא אֲפִילּוּ קוֹדֶם לָכֵן, וּמַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁהָיָה כָּךְ הָיָה.

Rabbi Ḥanina said, and some say that it was Rabbi Ḥananya who said: Here we are dealing with an etrog tree whose fruit was formed prior to the fifteenth of the other, previous, Shevat, in the second year, and it was picked on the first of the following Shevat, in the third year. According to the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer that the tithe year of an etrog follows the time of the formation of its fruit, the fruit was obligated in second tithe, whereas according to the opinion of Rabban Gamliel that the tithe year of an etrog follows the time of its picking, it was obligated in poor man’s tithe, and so Rabbi Akiva set aside two tithes. And by right it should have taught that even if the fruit had been picked earlier, any time after the fifteenth of the previous Shevat, but the incident that took place, took place in this way, that the fruit was picked on the first of Shevat.

Segment 9

רָבִינָא אָמַר, כְּרוֹךְ וּתְנִי: לֹא אֶחָד בִּשְׁבָט הָיָה — אֶלָּא חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בִּשְׁבָט הָיָה, וְלֹא מִנְהַג בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל נָהַג בָּהּ — אֶלָּא מִנְהַג רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל וְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר נָהַג בָּהּ.

Ravina said: Combine the two statements and teach the baraita as follows: It was not on the first of Shevat that Rabbi Akiva picked the fruit, but on the fifteenth of Shevat, and he did not act as he did in order to conform with the conflicting practices of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, but rather, he acted as he did in order to conform with the conflicting practices of Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Eliezer, both in accordance with the practice of Beit Hillel.

Segment 10

אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר רַב הוּנָא: הַשְׁתָּא דְּאָמַר רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אֶתְרוֹג אַחַר לְקִיטָתוֹ עִישּׂוּרוֹ כְּיָרָק, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה שֶׁלּוֹ תִּשְׁרִי.

§ Rabba bar Rav Huna said: Now that Rabban Gamliel has said that the tithe year of an etrog follows the time of the picking of its fruit, like a vegetable, its new year for tithing is Tishrei, like other vegetables.

Segment 11

מֵיתִיבִי, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר: לִיקֵּט אֶתְרוֹג עֶרֶב חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בִּשְׁבָט עַד שֶׁלֹּא תָּבוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וְחָזַר וְלִיקֵּט מִשֶּׁתָּבוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ — אֵין תּוֹרְמִין וּמְעַשְּׂרִין מִזֶּה עַל זֶה, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין תּוֹרְמִין וּמְעַשְּׂרִין לֹא מִן הֶחָדָשׁ עַל הַיָּשָׁן וְלֹא מִן הַיָּשָׁן עַל הֶחָדָשׁ. הָיְתָה שְׁלִישִׁית נִכְנֶסֶת לִרְבִיעִית — שְׁלִישִׁית מַעֲשֵׂר רִאשׁוֹן וּמַעְשַׂר עָנִי, רְבִיעִית מַעֲשֵׂר רִאשׁוֹן וּמַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי.

The Gemara raises an objection from the following baraita : Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: If one picked the fruit of an etrog tree on the eve of the fifteenth of Shevat before the sun had set, and then he picked more fruit after sunset, one may not set aside teruma and tithes from the one for the other, as one may not set aside teruma and tithes from the new crop for the old or from the old crop for the new. If he did this when it was the third year of the Sabbatical cycle going into the fourth year, the halakha is as follows: From what he picked in the third year he must set aside first tithe and poor man’s tithe, and from what he picked in the fourth year he must set aside first tithe and second tithe.

Rosh Hashanah 14b

Rosh Hashanah 14b

Rashi

Tosafot

Rabbeinu Chananel

Rashba

Ritva

Meiri

Maharsha (Chidushei Halachot)

Penei Yehoshua

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