Sukkah 55a

וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לֵידַע שֶׁהוּקְבַּע רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ בִּזְמַנּוֹ. תְּרֵי הֶיכֵּירָא עָבְדִינַן. דְּחָזֵי הַאי — חָזֵי, וְחָזֵי בְּהַאי — חָזֵי.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why was it placed in this manner? It was as an indicator for the people to know that the New Moon was established at its proper time, after the twenty-ninth day of the previous month. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult, as they implemented two indicators: One who saw this one, i.e., the sequence of the songs, saw it; and one who saw that one, i.e., where the fats were placed, saw it, and there is no contradiction.

מֵיתִיבִי, דְּתָנֵי רָבָא בַּר שְׁמוּאֵל: יָכוֹל כְּשֵׁם שֶׁתּוֹקְעִין עַל שַׁבָּת בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ וְעַל רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, כָּךְ יִהְיוּ תּוֹקְעִין עַל כׇּל מוּסָף וּמוּסָף — תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״וּבְרָאשֵׁי חׇדְשֵׁיכֶם״, תְּיוּבְתָּא דְּרַבִּי אַחָא! תְּיוּבְתָּא.

The Gemara raises another objection to the opinion of Rabbi Aḥa, as Rava bar Shmuel taught this baraita : I might have thought that just as when Shabbat and the New Moon do not coincide they sound the trumpets for the additional Shabbat offering in and of itself, and for the additional New Moon offering in and of itself, so too would they sound the trumpets for each and every additional offering when the days coincide. Therefore, the verse states: “And on the day of your rejoicing, and at your appointed times, and on your New Moons, and you shall sound the trumpets for your burnt-offerings and your peace-offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God” (Numbers 10:10), indicating that one blast is sounded for all. The Gemara suggests: This is a conclusive refutation of the opinion of Rabbi Aḥa. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, it is a conclusive refutation.

מַאי תַּלְמוּדָא? אָמַר אַבָּיֵי, אָמַר קְרָא: ״וּבְרָאשֵׁי חׇדְשֵׁיכֶם״ — הוּקְּשׁוּ כׇּל חֳדָשִׁים כּוּלָּם זֶה לָזֶה. רַב אָשֵׁי אָמַר: כְּתִיב ״חׇדְשְׁכֶם״, וּכְתִיב ״וּבְרָאשֵׁי״ — וְאֵיזֶה חֹדֶשׁ שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ שְׁנֵי רָאשִׁים, הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר: זֶה רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, וְאָמַר רַחֲמָנָא ״חׇדְשְׁכֶם״, חַד הִיא.

Since the baraita was cited, the Gemara asks: What is the derivation cited in this baraita ? How does the phrase: And on your New Moons, prove that the trumpets are sounded once for all the additional offerings? Abaye said: The verse states: “And on your New Moons,” in plural, indicating that all the months are equated to each other, and just as on a typical New Moon the trumpets are sounded once for the additional offering, so too when Shabbat and the New Moon coincide the trumpets are sounded once and no more. Rav Ashi said that in this verse it is written: Your moon [ ḥodshekhem ], without a yod , in the singular, and in the same verse it is written: “And on your new [ uverashei ],” in the plural. And which is the month that has two new beginnings? You must say it is Rosh HaShana, which is the beginning of both the new year and the new month. And yet the Merciful One says: Your moon, in the singular, indicating it is one and the trumpets are sounded once.

וְעוֹד, תַּנְיָא: בְּחוּלּוֹ שֶׁל מוֹעֵד, בָּרִאשׁוֹן מֶה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: ״הָבוּ לַה׳ בְּנֵי אֵלִים״. בַּשֵּׁנִי מֶה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: ״וְלָרָשָׁע אָמַר אֱלֹהִים״. בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי מֶה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: ״מִי יָקוּם לִי עִם מְרֵעִים״.

And furthermore, contrary to the statement of Rabbi Aḥa, it was taught in a baraita : On the intermediate days of the Festival, on the first day, what would they say as the song accompanying the offering on that day? “Ascribe [ havu ] unto the Lord, O you sons of might” (Psalms 29:1). On the second day, what would they say? The psalm that contains the verse: “But unto the wicked [ velarasha ] God says: What have you to do to declare My statutes?” (Psalms 50:16). On the third day, what would they say? The psalm containing the verse: “Who [ mi ] will rise up for me against the evildoers?” (Psalms 94:16).

בָּרְבִיעִי מֶה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: ״בִּינוּ בּוֹעֲרִים בָּעָם״. בַּחֲמִישִׁי מֶה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: ״הֲסִירוֹתִי מִסֵּבֶל שִׁכְמוֹ״. בַּשִּׁשִּׁי מֶה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: ״יִמּוֹטוּ כׇּל מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ״. וְאִם חָל שַׁבָּת בְּאֶחָד מֵהֶם, ״יִמּוֹטוּ״ יִדָּחֶה.

On the fourth day, what would they say? “Consider [ binu ], you brutish among the people” (Psalms 94:8). On the fifth day, what would they say? “I removed [ hasiroti ] his shoulder from the burden” (Psalms 81:7). On the sixth day, what would they say? “All the foundations of the earth are moved [ yimotu ]” (Psalms 82:5). And if Shabbat occurred on any of the intermediate days of the Festival, since Shabbat has its own song (Psalms 92), the last of the songs of the intermediate days, i.e., “All the foundations of the earth are moved,” is superseded, and all the other songs are recited in their proper sequence.

רַב סָפְרָא מַנַּח בְּהוּ סִימָנָא: ״הוּמְבָּהֵ״‎י״. רַב פָּפָּא מַנַּח בְּהוּ סִימָנָא: ״הוּמְהָבֵּ״‎י״. וְסִימָנָךְ, ״אַמְבּוּהָא דְסָפְרֵי״.

Rav Safra established a mnemonic for the sequence of the psalms recited during the intermediate days of the Festival: Heh , vav , mem , beit , heh , yod , the first letters of the transliterated word in the verses cited. Rav Pappa established a different mnemonic for a different sequence of the Psalms: Heh , vav , mem , heh , beit , yod , as in his opinion, the psalm containing: “I removed” is recited before the psalm containing: “Consider.” The Gemara notes: A mnemonic to identify which amora established which mnemonic is the expression: Convoy [ ambuha ] of scribes [ desafrei ], as the spelling of ambuha is like the mnemonic of Rav Safra.

תְּיוּבְתָּא דְּרַבִּי אַחָא בַּר חֲנִינָא! תְּיוּבְתָּא. וְהָא רַבִּי אַחָא בַּר חֲנִינָא קְרָא וּמַתְנִיתָא קָאָמַר?

The Gemara concludes: This baraita is a conclusive refutation of the opinion of Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina, as on Shabbat the song for Shabbat was recited alone without the song for the Festival, and similarly, separate trumpet blasts are not sounded for the various additional offerings. Rabbi Aḥa’s opinion was rejected based on several sources. The Gemara asks: But didn’t Rabbi Aḥa say a verse and a baraita in support of his opinion? How can those citations be rejected?

אָמַר רָבִינָא: לוֹמַר שֶׁמַּאֲרִיכִין בִּתְקִיעוֹת. רַבָּנַן דְּקֵיסָרִי מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי אַחָא אָמְרִי: לוֹמַר שֶׁמַּרְבֶּה בְּתוֹקְעִין.

Ravina said: The verse and the baraita that he cited do not teach that trumpet blasts were sounded for each additional offering. Rather, they come to say that one extends the duration of the blasts to honor the added additional offerings, but does not sound even one additional blast. The Sages of Caesarea, in the name of Rabbi Aḥa, said: The verse and the baraita cited by Rabbi Aḥa come to say that one increases the number of trumpeters to honor the added additional offerings, but not the number of blasts sounded.

וַאֲנַן, דְּאִית לַן תְּרֵי יוֹמֵי, הֵיכִי עָבְדִינַן? אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: שֵׁנִי יִדָּחֶה.

Apropos the psalms recited during the Festival, the Gemara asks: And we, outside Eretz Yisrael, who have two days of Festival due to the uncertainty, as well as uncertainty with regard to each of the intermediate days, how do we conduct ourselves with regard to the mention of the additional offerings in the additional prayer of the Festival during the intermediate days, and with regard to Torah reading on those days? Abaye said: Mention of the second day will be superseded. Since the first of the intermediate days outside Eretz Yisrael is the third day of the Festival in Eretz Yisrael, the additional offering for the third day alone is mentioned, and the offerings for the fourth day on the fourth day, etc. No mention is made of the second day outside Eretz Yisrael.

רָבָא אָמַר: שְׁבִיעִי יִדָּחֶה. תַּנְיָא כְּוָתֵיהּ דְּרָבָא: אִם חָל שַׁבָּת לִהְיוֹת בְּאֶחָד מֵהֶן, ״יִמּוֹטוּ״ יִדָּחֶה.

Rava said: Mention of the seventh day will be superseded. On the first of the intermediate days outside Eretz Yisrael, the third day of the Festival, the passage beginning “And on the second day” (Numbers 29:17) is mentioned in the additional Amida prayer and read in the Torah, and on each succeeding day the succeeding passage is mentioned and read. There is no mention of the seventh day on the eighth day, as that is no longer Sukkot but rather the Eighth Day of Assembly. The Gemara notes: A baraita was taught in accordance with the opinion of Rava: And if Shabbat occurs on any of the intermediate days of the Festival, the song of the seventh day of Sukkot : “All the foundations of the earth are moved,” is superseded.

אַתְקִין אַמֵּימָר בִּנְהַרְדְּעָא, דִּמְדַלְּגִי דַּלּוֹגֵי.

The Gemara cites a third opinion: Ameimar instituted in his city of Neharde’a that during the intermediate days, one repeats the second of the additional offerings that he mentioned the day before and adds the additional offerings of the subsequent day. On the first of the intermediate days in the Diaspora, one mentions the additional offerings of both the second and third days of Sukkot . On the second of the intermediate days, one repeats the verses of the third day of Sukkot and adds the verses of the fourth day.