Tag: Rosh Hashanah

Reign Dates and Rosh Hashanah

Question #1: Reign Date — The First of Nissan

How can the first of Nissan be Rosh Hashanah? Is there a halachic concept of a new half-year, as in, the world is now 5784½ years old?

Question #2: The Birthday of Elsie the Cow

“Can Rosh Chodesh also be Rosh Hashanah?”

Question #3: The First of Tishrei

Why does the Mishnah refer to this date as “The first of Tishrei,” rather than its more popular moniker, Rosh Hashanah?

Question #4: Is it the First or the Fifteenth of Shevat?

Or, a more basic question — why do the trees need a new year? Do they have a birthday party or shoot off firecrackers to celebrate?

Foreword

Mesechta Rosh Hashanah begins by declaring that there are four “new years” in the Jewish calendar year:

1. The first of Nissan is the new year for “kings and holidays.”

2. The first of Elul is the new year for tithing animals. This particular new year is disputed by the tanna’im Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon, who rule that the new year for tithing animals is the first of Tishrei.

3. The first of Tishrei is the new year for “years, shemittah, yoveil, planting, and vegetables.”

4. The first of Shevat is the new year for trees in Beis Shammai’s opinion, whereas Beis Hillel contends that it is on the fifteenth of Shevat.

Cutoff point

The word Rosh Hashanah is used by this Mishnah to mean a “cutoff point,” the date that separates one year from the next, germane to the particular laws mentioned. Each of these cutoff points has a halachic ramification. Let us look at these various categories.

Kings and holidays

In what way is the first of Nissan the “new year for kings?”

This requires an introduction, having to do with the needs of society to have efficient and reliable business practices. For a free-enterprise economy to function properly, it needs an established and accepted rule of law and a means for enforcing that law. This is axiomatic to economists and businessmen, and, indeed, the Torah established an efficient and reliable system for society to function properly. Among the requirements necessary are an effective system whereby debts can be collected and a means to enforce violations of contract law. These usually rely on written documentation, in halacha called shetaros. Should an individual or a business default on its obligations, halacha usually prioritizes outstanding financial commitments on a “first come, first served” basis. This means that an earlier debt is satisfied in full before a later one is dealt with. This makes it important to know the date that each obligation was created, so shetaros must be dated.

Establishing “reign dates”

Today, we use a standard accepted calendar, which makes it very easy to determine whose obligation was established first; however, that was not always the case. In the times of Chazal, dating of documents was usually performed according to the year of reign of the local monarch. This meant that, to know whose obligation was earlier, we needed to know the order of the monarchs. This is sometimes very easy to establish, since it is unlikely that Charles the 3rd reigned before Charles the 2nd. However, what might easily create confusion is when did the second year of Charles’ reign begin and when did it end? Using an actual date that Charles the 3rd assumed the throne, let me show you the difficulty that will result. If Charles assumed the throne on the 19th day of September, that date is now the 19th of September of the first year of the reign of Charles 3rd. But we now need to keep track that the 18th of September is the end of the first year of his reign, and that the 19th begins the second year of his reign. It is easy to see the problems that this creates.

Chazal avoided this problem by following an arbitrary date to begin the second year of a king’s reign. That means that, in the above example, the first year of Charles’ reign is only a few months long, and then the second year of his reign begins.

What date do we use as the arbitrary date for bumping a king’s reign to the next year? Chazal used the following approach: for Jewish kings they used the first of Nissan; after all, Pesach is the beginning of the Jewish calendar. This means that a Jewish king who ascended to the throne on the 29th of Adar reigns for only one day before contracts are dated “the 1st of Nissan of the 2nd year” of his reign. In other words, the “reign date” may have little to do with the actual number of months, days and hours that he has been king. Although this might (and at times certainly did) create confusion for historians, it keeps the contract and commerce world simplified and clear, which is why this system was established. After all, although historians are valuable, they are not that necessary for commerce.

For non-Jewish kings, Chazal used the first of Tishrei, the day we usually call Rosh Hashanah, as the cut-off date, and this explains the later statement of the Mishnah that the first of Tishrei is the new year for “years.”

For holidays

What does it mean that the first of Nissan is the “new year for holidays?”

Someone obligated to offer a korban must bring it in a timely fashion. There are two different mitzvos, each with its own timetable. The first is a mitzvas aseih that we should offer our korbanos before the first regel — that is the three yomim tovim of Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos — passes. There is also a mitzvas lo saaseh of bal te’acheir, not to delay the offering of a korban (see Devarim 23:22). How much time does one have to offer the korban without violating this mitzvah?

Pesach, Sukkos and Shavuos, when we conduct pilgrimages to the Beis Hamikdash, provide an opportune time to satisfy any korbanos obligations. Although there are several tanna’ic opinions to the contrary, the Mishnah rules that one violates the lo saaseh only when one did not bring his korban before the three yomim tovim of Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos have passed in that order. This makes Nissan the beginning of the year “for holidays” — if he could have offered the korban on Pesach, he violates bal te’acheir when the following Sukkos passes. However, if he first became obligated to offer this korban after Pesach, he will not violate bal te’acheir until the second time the festival of Sukkos goes by, after Pesach has come in the interim, which starts the bal te’acheir clock running.

We now have the answer to our opening question: “How can the first of Nissan be Rosh Hashanah? Is there a halachic concept of a new half-year, as in, the world is now 5784½ years old?” The answer is that we are using the word “new year” to mean an annual cut-off point, and the first of Nissan functions as such for two distinct areas of halacha: determining the way legal documents are dated when we have a Jewish king, and when we must bring korbanos.

Elsie the Cow

At this point, let us examine the second of our opening questions: Rosh Chodesh Elul is the day we begin reciting LeDavid Hashem Ori in preparation for the Yomim Nora’im. Isn’t this a month too early to be Rosh Hashanah?

Indeed, this question is the subject of a dispute among tanna’im and the cause of a change of mind of the Rambam. As I mentioned above from the Mishnah, the first of Elul is the new year for tithing animals. This particular new year is disputed by the tanna’im Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon, who rule that the new year for tithing animals is the first of Tishrei.

Let me provide background on this mitzvah: In Parshas Bechukosai (Vayikra 27:31), the Torah teaches about the mitzvah of ma’aser beheimah, tithing animals. When the Beis Hamikdash is standing, a farmer’s newborn calves are gathered together and sent through a narrow passageway or opening. The owner counts his animals, one at a time, marks the tenth one with a red dye and declares the animal to be ma’aser beheimah. Counting the tenth animal is what makes it kodosh as a korban. Until and unless the farmer counts his animals in this procedure, there is no kedusha on any of the animals in his herd (Mishnah Bechoros 58b). The farmer performs the same procedures with his newborn kids (baby goats) and lambs (together).

Just as one is required to separate terumos and ma’asros on produce each year separately, counting and designating ma’aser beheimah is only within each year’s “crop” of newborn animals, not from one year on the previous or following year (Mishnah, Bechoros 53a; Gemara ibid. 54a-b). How do we determine the difference in “crop years” of animals? That is the dispute between the first tanna in the Mishnah and Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon. The Tanna Kamma rules that the annual cutoff point for ma’aser beheimah is on Rosh Chodesh Elul, whereas Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon rule that it is on the first day of Tishrei, the day that we usually call Rosh Hashanah. What is very interesting is that the Rambam and the Bartenura in their respective commentaries on the Mishnah rule like the Tanna Kamma. However, in the Mishneh Torah, the Rambam rules like the second opinion, that of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon, that the cut-off date for ma’aser beheimah is the first day of Tishrei. This means that, although the Mishnah opens by stating that there are four Rosh Hashanahs, we rule, like Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon, that there are only three.

Years

Above, I quoted the Mishnah’s statement that the first of Tishrei is the new year for “years, shemittah, yoveil, planting and vegetables.” What is meant by years, when I have already explained that the equivalent of our calendar year was expressed in terms of the number of years of the king’s reign and was increased automatically on the first of Nissan (in order to avoid confusion)?

As I mentioned above, for Jewish kings, Chazal used the first of Nissan; after all, Pesach is the beginning of the Jewish calendar. For non-Jewish kings, however, they used the first of Tishrei, the day we usually call Rosh Hashanah.

Shemittah

As we know, every seven years we are required to observe the mitzvah of shemittah in the land of Eretz Yisrael, a topic whose details I have written about in the past, prior to and during shemittah years. There is also a mitzvah that comes at the end of shemittah year that applies both in Eretz Yisrael and in chutz la’aretz: the mitzvah of shemittas kesafim, releasing debts. As the Torah teaches, in parshas Re’eih: “At the end of seven years you shall ‘make shemittah.’ And this is the ‘word’ of the shemittah: Every creditor must release his hand from what his fellow owes him. He may not demand payment from his fellow, his brother, because he has declared a release for Hashem” (Devarim 15:1-2). These verses teach that, rather than Rosh Hashanah of the eighth year ending shemittah with a whimper, the shemittah year ends with a bang. And the date of this mitzvah is determined by the first of Tishrei, the day that we usually call Rosh Hashanah.

Yoveil

The Torah establishes a fifty-year yoveil cycle: the year after the seventh shemittah is yoveil. During yoveil, the land that was given to every family in Benei Yisrael, upon our conquering the holy land in the days of Yehoshua ben Nun, returns to its original family, every Jewish slave (eved ivri) goes free and all the laws of shemittah apply. The annual calculation of the yoveil year uses Tishrei as its cutoff point.

This mitzvah applies only when all twelve tribes live in their original areas as determined by Yehoshua. Therefore, unfortunately, it does not apply today until we again return to that configuration of Eretz Yisrael.

Planting and vegetables

Produce grown in Eretz Yisrael and the lands nearby must have several portions, called terumos and ma’asros, separated from it before it may be consumed. As we learned above, one cannot separate the terumos and ma’asros from one year for the crop of a different year, and therefore we need to know when the cut-off date is for each crop. The cut-off date for grains and vegetables is on Rosh Hashanah, the New Year for these agricultural products.

During the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th years of the seven-year shemittah cycle, one of the separations is called ma’aser sheini. During the other years — that is, the 3rd and 6th years of the shemittah cycle — this second ma’aser is given to poor people and is called ma’aser ani.

When in its growth cycle

Although the first of Tishrei, our Rosh Hashanah, is the agricultural new year for all crops other than tree fruits, another factor determines which year applies to the particular crop: the point in the plant’s growth cycle. This is a highly complicated topic that requires at least an entire book to explain in detail. I will mention now only that the years for some species are based on when they are planted, some by the first appearance of fruit, others by when the fruit is considered “one-third grown,” and still others not until they are ready for harvest.

Rosh Hashanah

Of course, as we all know, the first of Tishrei is the Day of Judgment for all of humanity. This halacha is not mentioned in the first Mishnah of Maseches Rosh Hashanah (the Mishnah I quoted and have been explaining), but in a later Mishnah of that chapter, in which it states: At four times of the year the world is judged… on Rosh Hashanah, all who have entered the world pass before him… (Rosh Hashanah 16a).

Tu Bishvat

The Mishnah states that, in Beis Shammai’s opinion, the new year for trees is the first of Shevat , whereas Beis Hillel contends that it is on the fifteenth of Shevat. We follow Beis Hillel’s ruling and therefore Tu Bishvat is the “Rosh Hashanah” for trees. But what does that mean? Do the trees ignite fireworks on their New Year? Do they coronate Hashem as their King on their Rosh Hashanah? Does Hashem judge their deeds and misdeeds and grant them a fruitful year or otherwise, chas veshalom? As an aside, the “judgment” for trees is on Shavuos, not Tu Bishvat (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 16a.) This means that on Shavuos, mankind, both in general and individually, is judged regarding what his trees will produce in the coming year.

Obviously, since trees have no free choice, the Heavenly Tribunal does not judge them on their Rosh Hashanah, yet the arboreal new year does have major halachic ramifications other than the popular custom of eating fruit. Tu Bishvat functions as the cutoff point between two crop years. As we learned above, one cannot separate terumos and ma’asros of one year for a different crop year. For tree fruits, the cutoff point is not the first of Tishrei but Tu Bishvat. In addition, Tu Bishvat determines which year of the shemittah cycle the fruit is from and therefore whether it is obligated in ma’aser sheini or in ma’aser ani. As I mentioned above, what stage of development the fruit is at on Tu Bishvat depends on the particular species. Again, some species depend on the first appearance of fruit, others by when the fruit is one third grown, and still others by when it is ready for harvest.

It is also usually the cutoff point for determining whether a tree is producing forbidden orlah fruit and for determining the halachos of revai’i. The fruits appearing after Tu Bishvat of the fourth year of the life of this tree are not forbidden as orlah, and the fruits of the fifth year of a tree’s life do not have the sanctity of revai’i.

Conclusion

We discussed several mitzvos that apply only in Eretz Yisrael. Most generations of our forebears had to be content with reading about Eretz Yisrael and imagining what it might be like to visit. We are fortunate to live in a time when visiting and living in Eretz Yisrael is a reality, and we should be filled with hakoras hatov that we can traverse the land that was promised to our forefathers. Inhabiting our native land includes many special laws that apply within its borders; we should all be familiar with these special laws, whether or not we live in Eretz Yisrael, because its special mitzvos create a direct relationship with Hashem.

Channah’s Prayer

Question #1: Channah the Posek

How great a posek was Channah?

Question #2: Mistaken Impression

If someone mistakenly thinks that you did something wrong, should you correct their misimpression?

Question #3: Shemuel Halevi

How do we know that Shemuel was a Levi?

Question #4: Way to Pray?

How many ways are there to pray?

Introduction:

The Gemara (Megillah 31a) teaches that the haftarah read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah is the story and prayer of Channah, the mother of Shemuel Hanavi. The reason for this practice is that on Rosh Hashanah, Sarah, Rachel and Channah were all “remembered” — their prayers to bear a child were answered (Rosh Hashanah 10b). To the best of my knowledge, according to all customs of Klal Yisrael, we read this haftarah on Rosh Hashanah, although there are varying approaches as to exactly where the haftarah starts and ends.

The haftarah teaches us that Elkanah had two wives, Peninah, who had many children, and Channah, who was childless. Elkanah had first married Channah and, after ten barren years, he married Peninah, who bore him ten children (Yalkut Shimoni).

Targum Yonasan (Shemuel I 1:1) explains that Elkanah was one of the disciples of the prophets, those who were striving to reach a level of prophecy. Apparently, he later succeeded, since Rashi, in his commentary to the Gemara (Megillah 14a), states that Elkanah was a prophet. The verse that Rashi quotes occurs later in the Book of Shemuel, implying that, eventually, Elkanah reached his goal. From Elkanah we can learn that persistent and consistent striving to a spiritual goal is the most likely way to achieve it.

Returning to our story:  On the regalim, Elkanah would bring his family, including his brothers, sisters and extended family, to Shiloh, which at the time was the location of the Mishkan. They would make a very large display of their travels in order to encourage others to join them and thereby also fulfill the mitzvah of aliyah laregel and other related mitzvos (see Chagigah). Every year, the crowd joining them on their way to Shiloh grew, until dozens of families would accompany them. Each year they followed a different route from the mountains of Efrayim to Shiloh in order to pass through new areas and attract new people to join them. In this manner, Elkanah influenced huge numbers of Jews to observe mitzvos. The midrashim teach us that as a reward for spreading Yiddishkeit and bringing Jews closer to Hashem, he was granted a very uniquely gifted son, Shemuel, who traveled throughout the country and created an impact on the entire nation to keep the Torah properly (Tanna Debei Eliyahu, Eliyahu Rabbah, end of Chapter 8; Yalkut Shimoni, Shemuel #74).

Our haftarah teaches that, one year, after the family had celebrated Yom Tov together, Channah went to the Mishkan to pray. Eili, the kohen gadol, was there, sitting near the gates, in his place of honor. Channah was very anguished about her childlessness and prayed to Hashem while weeping. She made a vow to Hashem, the G-d of Hosts, ה’ צבאו-ת, meaning that Hashem is Lord over the entire Universe and all it contains, each part of which performs what Hashem commands it to do. The Gemara explains that Channah was the first one in history to address Hashem this way. This attribute of Hashem demonstrated that Channah was not davening for herself, for her own gift of a child. She was davening to be allowed to have her own tiny little role to play in the grand scheme of Hashem’s magnificent Universe. Hashem created her to be a woman, and she desired to be able to play her role as a mother to contribute her part in honoring Hashem. She begged not to be forgotten, but to be granted a son whom she vowed to give to Hashem, to serve Him all his days.

Channah prayed for a long time, speaking “to her heart” – inaudibly, her lips moving, but her voice not heard. Eili thought that she was drunk, and spoke to her, rebuking her for her drunkenness. To this, Channah answered: “No, my lord, I am a woman in a difficult emotional place. I have not drunk any wine or intoxicating beverage. I am pouring out my soul to Hashem.” The posuk continues with Eili telling her to go in peace and that Hashem would grant her request (Shemuel I 1:9-17).

Channah the posek(es)

At this point, we can address our opening question:“How great a posek was Channah?”

The Gemara (Berachos 31a-b) devotes an extensive discussion to the above-quoted passage and derives many halachos from the verses of Channah.

“Behold, she is speaking ‘on her heart.’” from here we derive that whoever prays must be certain to have proper focus. All prayer should be accompanied by kavanas haleiv.”

In various places, the Gemara, the rishonim and the halachic authorities devote much discussion concerning the requirement of having proper kavanah and what to do to achieve it. Among the halachos taught is that one should not start davening immediately after having engaged in an intense Torah discussion. This is because the individual praying will be distracted by thinking about the questions and observations and will not focus on the kavanah necessary for tefillah. Rabbonim are often faced with this when well-meaning congregants come to ask them questions before davening, not realizing that they are creating a predicament for the rav. Halachically, he may be required to tell the congregant to have the patience not to ask his question until after davening, but some individuals are offended when their rav does not immediately attend to their question or need.

Returning to our passage of Gemara regarding the halachos that we derive from Channah’s behavior, the Gemara then notes that, while praying, only her lips were moving. The Gemara notes that we derive from Channah’s actions that a person must be careful to actually enunciate his prayers and not just think or read them.

“Yet, her voice was not heard.” The Gemara notes that Channah thereby teaches us that prayer should be said quietly. In a different part of Mesechta Berachos, the Gemara notes that praying aloud demonstrates that someone’s faith in Hakadosh Baruch Hu is weak (Berachos 24b), because he implies that prayer is heard only if one raises his voice!

A different passage of Gemara (Sotah 32b) teaches an additional reason to pray quietly: “For what reason did Chazal establish that prayer should be quiet? In order not to embarrass those who have sinned,” who, during their prayers, will be confessing to Hashem for their misdeeds. This lesson can be inferred from the halacha that the chatas offering, which is brought as atonement for sinning, is slaughtered in the northern part of the Beis Hamikdash or Mishkan Courtyard, the same place as the korban olah,a much more frequent offering that is brought to bring oneself closer to G-d. In both instances, the owner of the korban rests his weight on the head of the animal, semicha, immediately before it is slaughtered, because of the rule of teichef lismicha shechitah. Since most korbanos slaughtered in the northern area are korbanos olah, people in the northern part of the Courtyard will assume that the occasional person bringing a chatas is there to offer an olah, thus saving the chotei from great embarrassment.

Channah has taught us the halacha that we should pray quietly. How quietly? Some understand this to mean so quietly that you do not hear what you are saying, although the words must be enunciated and not just thought (Yesh Omrim quoted by Tur, Orach Chayim 101 and many others). Most contend that it is better if the person praying can hear his own words of prayer (Rashba, Berachos 31a; Tur, Orach Chayim, 101; Mishnah Berurah). All agree that you should pray quietly enough that someone else should not hear what you are praying, even when that person is standing right next to you (Mishnah Berurah).

The halacha is that, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when everyone is praying from a machzor, it is permitted to daven a bit louder, if this assists someone to have greater kavanah. Still, we must be careful not to daven so loudly that it disturbs anyone else.

Four amos

The Gemara derives another halacha from Channah’s words when she returned with Shemuel after weaning him. She said to Eili: Ani ha’isha hanitzeves imcha bazeh, “I am the woman who was standing with you here.” The implication is that Eili was also standing, and from this we learn the halacha that one is not allowed to sit down within four amos (about seven feet) of someone who is davening. Tosafos quotes the Teshuvas Ha’ge’onim that this applies only if the person who wishes to sit is not involved in reciting birkas keri’as shema or some similar holy activity. In the latter cases, it is permitted to sit, and this ruling is codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 102:1). Also, the halacha permits someone weak to sit down within four amos of someone praying, particularly if there is nowhere else where he can sit down. In addition, the halacha permits someone who was already sitting to remain so, even if someone else begins davening within his four amos.

Giving tochacha

The Gemara discusses further the conversation that transpired between Eili and Channah. Since Channah’s lips were moving, but she did not appear to be saying anything, Eili assumed that she was intoxicated and mumbling incoherently. Eili tells her: “For how long will you be drunk? Remove your wine from you!”

The Gemara derives from his inquiry that, upon seeing someone doing something improper, I am responsible to bring it to his attention, even if the action does not necessarily violate a Torah prohibition (Tosafos, Berachos 31b, s.v. Davar).

Admonishing a drunk

At this point, we can ask a question on our own behavior. When we pass someone intoxicated on the street, do we point out to him his unbecoming manners, demeanor and lifestyle? Why don’t we follow the instructions of the Gemara, based on what Eili did?

There are several correct answers to this question. One possibility is that it is obvious that walking around in the Mishkan while intoxicated is inappropriate, and therefore anyone doing so should be rebuked. Another possibility is that Eili perceived that Channah would accept his admonition, and only when someone will listen to our tochacha should we admonish them (see Beitzah 30a). This is taught by Mishlei (9:8): Do not admonish a scoffer lest he hate you; admonish a wise man and he will love you.

Channah explained to Eili that she was praying and had not been drinking. From this act of hers we derive the halacha that if someone erroneously suspects us of doing something wrong, we should correct the misimpression. We see that this is true, even if it is a gadol hador who misunderstood our action. Rashi (Shemuel I 1:9) explains that, in addition to being kohein gadol, Eili had just been appointed the shofeit, or chieftain, over the Jewish people(see Ralbag ad loc.). [We should note that, upon Eili’s death after the destruction of Mishkan Shiloh, Shemuel assumed this position and became the last of the zekeinim or shoftim who ruled over the Jewish people, and the first of the spiritual era referred to, in the opening words of Pirkei Avos, as the period of the Nevi’im.]

The Gemara notes that Eili subsequently blessed Channah; this act teaches that, if you wrongly suspected someone of a misdeed, you are required to pacify him and also to bless him.

Mistaken impression

At this point, we can address the second of our opening questions: “If someone mistakenly thinks that you did something wrong, should you correct their misimpression?”

The answer is that you should explain his error to him in an appropriate way, even if the person who erred is one of the gedolei hador.

Shemuel Halevi

At this point, let us discuss the third of our opening questions: How do we know that Shemuel was a Levi? The Book of Shemuel makes no reference to Elkanah or Shemuel being Levi’im; it describes Elkanah as a resident of the Heights of Efrayim. I would have thought that he was from the tribe of Efrayim, except that Divrei Hayamim (I 6:19-23) seems to identify him as a Levi descended from Korach (see also Rashi and Ralbag, Shemuel I 1:1). Apparently, one of the 48 cities of the Levi’im was located on the mountains of Efrayim, and that was where Elkanah and his family lived (Rabbeinu Yeshaya).

An early midrash teaches the following story: “Every day, a heavenly voice (Bas Kol) would spread loudly across the world, saying, ‘A tzadik will arise whose name is Shemuel.’ Every woman who gave birth to a boy named her son ‘Shemuel.’ However, as the boy developed, they would say ‘this is not Shemuel.’ When Channah’s son was born and they saw how he acted, they all said, ‘This seems to be Shemuel’” (quoted by Rashi 1:23 and Yalkut Shimoni).

I know of no other period of time or any other individual in which many people heard a heavenly voice instructing that a great person bearing a certain name will soon be born. Presumably, this unique event reflects the exceptional roles that Shemuel played in Jewish history. The Gemara refers to him as “The Teacher of the Prophets” (Yerushalmi, Chagigah 2:1). Shemuel oversees the transfer of the mesorah from the shoftim, also called the zekeinim,to the prophets, the nevi’im. He also oversees the political change of Klal Yisrael to becoming a malchus, and its development from being twelve disparate tribes to becoming one nation. Perhaps we can now understand why Shemuel is compared to Moshe and Aharon – as the posuk says in Tehillim (99:6) – Moshe, and Aharon with his kehunah, and Shemuel with his announcing Hashem’s Name, call to Hashem and He answers them. In many ways, Shemuel’s role in Klal Yisrael was as significant as that of Moshe and Aharon.

Serving Hashem

As I mentioned above, the Gemara notes that Channah was the first to pray to Hashem as “the G-d of Hosts, ה’ צבאו-ת.” As Rav Hirsch explains, this Name refers to Hashem as the Guide, Leader and Master of a Universe filled with mammoth diversity. Hashem created this diversity and made it into an army of soldiers under His direct command, each with its specific place, equipment and function.  His plan assumes significance when all its tasks are carried out faithfully. Referring to Hashem as the “G-d of Hosts,” means accepting my mission to my assigned duty as a constituent of this vast army.

Channah requests a son, not for herself, but to dedicate to Hashem. She recognizes that we must entreat to attain nearness to Hashem by requesting assignment to our unique role in His army. Channah wants only to be able to be a handmaid to Hashem. When eventually she is granted her wish, she gives her all for this purpose. She even refrains from traveling to the Mishkan, so that the traveling should not interfere with her ability to nurse Shemuel properly. She understands that this is her specific assignment, even as a prophetess.

Rav Hirsch explains how all of this is Channah’s focus in serving Hashem. She does not request a special relationship with Hashem. She prays to have a small role in His vast Creation. She requests a role that is limited, to be one tiny cog in His immeasurable, cosmic army. And for that reason, when she weans Shemuel, she “donates” him to the Mikdash (Collected Writings of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, Volume II, page 60).

Channah was also a prophetess, as mentioned in the Gemara (Megillah 14a). It appears that Shemuel was one of the very few individuals in world history whose parents were both prophets, and probably the last one after the generation of Yaakov Avinu.

Conclusion

Hebrew has over a dozen different verbs to describe prayer, each with a different nuance. By comparison, Yiddish, for example, has only two, daven and betten. Therefore, a tefillah described as a ze’akah is different from one described as techinah, which is again different from a prayer described as itur or sicha.

When Yitzchak and Rivkah pray to have a child, the Torah says va’yetar; itur is a verb that means a prayer that works like a pitchfork, pitching, changing a Divine decree, turning it upside down. Yet, a bitter-souled  Channah’s crying and praying to Hashem for a child is called a tefillah, va’tispallel, the most common, generic word for prayer, which has the connotation of judging myself, standing in front of Hashem and comparing His greatness relative to my tiny size, acknowledging all the ways that I am dependent on Him and all the chesed that Hashem has done for me. But why does the Torah use a special, relatively unusual verb to describe the prayers of Yitzchak and Rivkah, whereas it uses a generic word for prayer when describing Channah’s pleas?

I suspect that the reason for the difference is halachic. Had the navi used the word itur, we would have thought that the detailed laws taught by Channah’s prayer apply only to va’yetar-type prayers. The Navi wants us to apply these laws to all varieties of prayer, since Channah is an outstanding role model from whom to learn how to pray to Hashem. To apply all these halachos to all prayer requires that Channah’s entreaties be described as the quintessential, but regular prayer.

Second Day of Rosh Hashanah

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Question #1: Second Day?!

“Is it universally accepted that everyone in Eretz Yisroel is required to observe two days of Rosh Hashanah?”

Question #2: Second Day Haftarah

“Why do we read the specific haftarah that we do on the second day of Rosh Hashanah?”

Question #3: Second Day of Judgment!?

“How can our tefillos refer to the second day of Rosh Hashanah as the ‘Day of Judgment,’ when we were already judged on the first day?”

Introduction:

The Torah describes Rosh Hashanah as a one-day holiday that falls on the first day of the seventh month, the date that is Rosh Chodesh Tishrei. Yet, as we all know, we observe two days of Rosh Hashanah.

Each of the opening three questions notes something anomalous concerning this concept of two days of Rosh Hashanah, although, as we will see, the answers to these questions are not closely related to one another. Before discussing the opening questions, I need to provide some introduction. Let us enter a time machine and bring ourselves back to the era when there was a functioning Sanhedrin.

Among the numerous and multifaceted responsibilities of the Sanhedrin, also called by its proper Hebrew name, the Beis Din Hagadol, was overseeing the Jewish calendar. In that era, the determination of whether Rosh Chodesh would be on the thirtieth or on the thirty-first day (counting from the previous Rosh Chodesh) was uncertain, until the head of the Sanhedrin, called the nasi, declared it such. The Beis Din did not declare the thirtieth day as Rosh Chodesh until two witnesses testified that they had seen the new moon. Only after the witnesses were cross-examined by the Beis Din, and their testimony was analyzed carefully, did the Beis Din declare the thirtieth day to be Rosh Chodesh.

(By the way, the Beis Din was quite certain as to when the new moon occurred, where it could be located in the sky and whether the testimony of the witnesses was accurate. Notwithstanding that the Beis Din had all this information, the Torah requires eyewitness testimony of a sighting of the new moon. The witnesses and the Beis Din are fulfilling a mitzvah min haTorah by using this system to “determine” the new moon, notwithstanding that no new technical information is gleaned from the witnesses’ testimony.)

During this era, anyone not within walking distance of the Sanhedrin would be uncertain whether Elul was 29 or 30 days long, and, therefore, would also be uncertain whether Rosh Hashanah is the 30th or the 31st day after Rosh Chodesh Elul. Because of this uncertainty, everyone observed two days of Rosh Hashanah. The only possible exception was the town in which the Beis Din Hagadol met, where they would be certain during Rosh Hashanah which day had been chosen.

Sometimes, even the town in which the Beis Din Hagadol met was required to observe two days Rosh Hashanah, not because of an uncertainty, but because of a takanas chachamim. The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 30b) explains that once, when the Beis Hamikdash still stood, the witnesses attesting to the new moon appeared in Beis Din late in the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah. By the time the Beis Din had declared that day to be Rosh Chodesh and Rosh Hashanah, the afternoon korban tamid had already been offered. Since this korban had been offered before any declaration that the day was Rosh Chodesh, the Levi’im accompanied the korban by singing the shirah of the weekday korban. Result: the shirah specific for Rosh Hashanah was not sung that day as accompaniment to the daily korban.

To make sure that this situation did not recur, Chazal instituted that, should witnesses arrive after the afternoon korban was offered, Beis Din would not accept them, thus automatically postponing Rosh Hashanah to the next day, so that the correct shirah would

 be sung on that day. Although once Beis Din knew that they would not accept witnesses, the first day was no longer Rosh Hashanah, Chazal required that it be kept as such (as a takanah) so that, in the future, people would not be lax in observing the assumed day of Rosh Hashanah.

What is significant about this takanah is that now there could be instances when Chazal declared two days of Rosh Hashanah. Until this time, observing two days of Rosh Hashanah had always been only a result of uncertainty, because of lack of local knowledge about the decision of the Beis Din. Henceforth, observing two days of Rosh Hashanah was sometimes a takanas chachamim.

We realize that all of these reasons made it impossible for local schools to send out annual Jewish calendars as fundraisers. But the schools in this era had a different and much more efficient method to raise necessary funds. This is a topic we will discuss at some time in the future.

Changes because of permanent calendar

Thus far, we have explained the historical background to the observance of two days of Rosh Hashanah. However, today we do not wait for the Sanhedrin to determine which day is Rosh Chodesh. Hillel Hanasi (not to be confused with his better-known and much earlier ancestor, Hillel Hazakein), realizing that the Roman persecutions of his time (the third century C. E.), would soon make it impossible for Sanhedrin to function in Eretz Yisroel, created a predetermined calendar. His incredibly accurate and vastly simplified calendar allowed someone equipped with paper, pencil and a reasonable faculty for numbers to calculate the calendar, until the Sanhedrin again exists. In other words, Hillel set the Jewish calendar on autopilot.

(This is not halachically preferable. Ideally, the decisions germane to the calendar should be based upon witnesses and the monthly input of the Sanhedrin. However, Hillel Hanasi’s system is permitted when using the Sanhedrin is not an option.)

With the implementation of the new calendar not dependent on month-by-month decisions of Beis Din, the following observation was raised: At this point in history, people in chutz la’aretz can calculate definitively which day is Yom Tov. If so, there should be no reason to observe two days of any Yom Tov anymore (Beitzah 4b).

The Gemara explains that a special takanah was instituted at this time in history. The Beis Din in Eretz Yisroel sent a message to those in chutz la’aretz to continue observing a second day of Yom Tov, which is usually called yom tov sheini shel galiyos, following their prior custom, notwithstanding that the reason for the observance no longer applies. Rashi explains that the reason for the new takanah is that persecutions might cause Jews to forget the information necessary to figure out the calendar. The likelihood of a Jew eating chometz on Pesach unwittingly, or violating other serious prohibitions, is reduced when keeping two days of Yom Tov. In other words, although keeping an extra day of Yom Tov was originally for a completely different concern, once the custom had been established, Chazal required the continuation of the observance, for a basically unrelated reason.

Two days of Rosh Hashanah

Now that we have plowed through this extensive introduction, we have yet to analyze why the holiday of Rosh Hashanah has two days even in Eretz Yisroel. When the determination of Rosh Chodesh was in the hands of the Sanhedrin, we understand the need to observe two days of Rosh Hashanah – people were uncertain which day had been established as Rosh Hashanah, and therefore they were required to observe both. However, now that our calendar can be calculated in advance, why should those who live in Eretz Yisroel be observing two days of Rosh Hashanah?

Indeed, the rishonim dispute whether there is a requirement to keep two days of Rosh Hashanah in Eretz Yisroel, once the calendar is on autopilot as a result of Hillel Hanasi’s new takanah.

The Rif rules that, in Eretz Yisroel, two days of Rosh Hashanah should be observed. The Baal Hama’or not only questions why this should be true, but contends that, prior to the Rif’s ruling, the practice in Eretz Yisroel had been to observe only one day of Rosh Hashanah. This was changed, he claims, when disciples of the Rif arrived in Eretz Yisroel in the twelfth century and began promulgating his opinions. They changed the minhag of observing only one day of Rosh Hashanah in Eretz Yisroel, which the Baal Hama’or contends is the correct practice.

Upon what is this dispute dependent? It appears that the Baal Hama’or was of the opinion that while the communities in chutz la’aretz requested — and were denied — permission to drop their observance of the second day of Yom Tov, this discussion did not affect those in Eretz Yisroel, even on the one Yom Tov when they observed two days, Rosh Hashanah.

However, there are allusions in the Gemara that Rosh Hashanah is now a two-day observance. The Rif, and those who followed his approach, concluded that, since at one point there had been a takanah to observe two days of Rosh Hashanah, this takanah remained in place.

Why is Yom Kippur different?

If those who live in chutz la’aretz are required to observe two days of Sukkos because of the uncertainty which day is the proper Yom Tov, should not Yom Kippur, also, be kept for two consecutive days?

The reason why Yom Kippur is treated differently is simple: for most people, fasting two consecutive days constitutes pikuach nefesh, a life-threatening situation. Just as we override Shabbos to provide medical care for someone who might be in a life-threatening situation, and we permit a person for whom fasting for even one day is life-threatening to eat on Yom Kippur, so do we consider two days of Yom Kippur observance as life-threatening for most people. Therefore, no community ever observed two consecutive days of Yom Kippur.

There is another reason to be lenient. Elul was virtually always a 29-day month. It could happen in any given year that Elul would have thirty days, and therefore Rosh Hashanah and Sukkos were observed as two days of Yom Tov. However, because of the obvious difficulty of fasting two consecutive days, the practice regarding Yom Kippur was to assume that Elul was 29 days, and that the day we call the tenth of Tishrei is the correct Yom Kippur.

Second Day Haftarah

At this point, let us examine the second of our opening questions: “Why do we read the specific haftarah that we do on the second day of Rosh Hashanah?”

The haftarah read on the second day of Rosh Hashanah is in the book of Yirmiyahu and begins with the words: Koh amar Hashem. There is no obvious allusion to Rosh Hashanah in this haftarah, yet there appears to have been a takanah of Chazal to read this haftarah on this day.

Before proceeding to discuss this question, we need to explain the history of why we read the haftarah, altogether. The early halachic authorities report two reasons for the establishment of the reading of the haftarah. According to one approach, during the period of the second Beis Hamikdash, at the times of the persecutions prior to the Chanukah story, the Seleucid Greek emperor Antiochos Epiphanes was bent on destroying Judaism. Strongly assisted by assimilated Jewish elements, called the misyavnim, literally, “those who made themselves into Greeks,” or Hellenized Jews, Antiochos banned virtually all shemiras hamitzvos, until the remnant of Torah-true Jews rebelled. Eventually, they drove his empire out of the Holy Land, which had not even been their objective.

During the persecutions that were the run-up to their rebellion, Antiochos had banned the reading of the Torah, kerias haTorah. As a response to his persecutions, Chazal implemented several takanos to retain Jewish practices. One of these takanos was the introduction of the reading of the haftarah, which were selections of Nevi’im. On Shabbos, Yom Tov and fast days, the haftarah was read in shul at the point in the prayers when the Torah should have been read (Avudraham; Levush; Tosafos Yom Tov, Megillah 3:4).

A very different reason for reading haftarah on Shabbos and Yom Tov is that an early practice was for Jews to gather daily after they completed the morning davening and study together Torah, prophets, and other Torah subjects for a considerable amount of time, before they went to work. As generations passed, it became increasingly difficult to devote this amount of time to studying Torah, and the custom was abandoned on weekdays, but still maintained on Shabbos and Yom Tov, when people did not go to work (Teshuvos Hage’onim #55; Sefer Hapardes, page 306; Shibolei Haleket #44).

According to either approach, at the time that the takanah of haftarah was initiated, the individual who was called upon to read the haftarah could choose any reading he preferred. It was recommended to read something that was associated with the Torah reading of the day, either the one that had been missed (according to the first approach) or that actually was read (according to the second).

On certain dates of the year, Chazal instituted that specific haftarah portions be read (Mishnah, Megillah 30b; Maseches Sofrim 17; Gemara Megillah 31a). Among these instructions, the Gemara (Megillah 31a) mentions that on the second day of Rosh Hashanah the haftarah should be Habein yakir li Efrayim, from the 31st chapter of the book of Yirmiyahu. Rashi notes that this posuk quotes the expressions zochor ezkerenu, “I will certainly remember,” and racheim arachamenu,“I will certainly have mercy,” both concepts that are very appropriate to Rosh Hashanah.

Peculiarity about this haftarah

To the best of my knowledge, all of Klal Yisroel includes the posuk Habein yakir li Efrayim in the haftarah of the second day of Rosh Hashanah, as mentioned in the Gemara; however, there are different ways to read this haftarah. Ashkenazic and most other practices begin the haftarah with the words, Koh amar Hashem motzo chein bamidbar, and close it with the posuk, Habein yakir li Efrayim. Virtually all customs — Ashkenazi, Sefardi, Edot Hamizrah, Italian, and Yemenite — follow this basic approach, although some communities begin the haftarah one posuk earlier.

However, all of these customs appear to be strange. Whenever the Mishnah or Gemara identifies a reading by its words, these are the first words that we recite as part of that reading. (On occasion, it is the second posuk, and the Mishnah or Gemara uses the word beginning the second posuk because the first posuk may be Vayedabeir Hashem el Moshe Leimor or a similar wording that does not identify clearly what we are to read.) However, in the instance of this haftarah, virtually all customs end with the reading of Habein yakir li Efrayim, as the last posuk.

The only custom I discovered that seems to follow the Gemara literally and, it would seem, more accurately, is the ancient Greek custom, called Minhag Romaniot (so called because it was the practice of the Jewish communities who lived under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire, which later came to be known as the Byzantine Empire). Unfortunately, the practices of Minhag Romaniot are virtually extinct. To the best of my knowledge, there are only three congregations anywhere in the world that still follow Romaniot practice, one in Crete, a second in Turkey, and a third in New York, and none has significant observant membership that follows Minhag Romaniot.

We are forced to explain that our common custom assumes that the Gemara is requiring simply to include the posuk of Habein yakir li Efrayim as part of the haftarah for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, and the accepted custom includes several other beautiful themes mentioned by the prophet Yirmiyahu that are appropriate to Rosh Hashanah, including the unique relationship of Hashem and the Jewish people, the promise that Hashem will return us, and the moving account of Rachel’s successful beseeching Hashem on behalf of her children. The last of these themes has a special relationship with Rosh Hashanah because of the statement of the Gemara that Rachel was one of the women remembered by Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, the other two being Sarah and Chana, who are the subjects of the first day’s Torah reading and haftarah, respectively.

Second Day of Judgment!?

At this point, let us address the last of our opening questions: “How can the second day of Rosh Hashanah be called the ‘Day of Judgment,’ when we were judged already on the first day?”

As we can well imagine, we are not the first to ask this question. Allow me to provide an introduction from Tanach that will help to explain the approach presented by the Zohar:

After Shlomoh Hamech’s lengthy prayer dedicating the Beis Hamikdash, he blessed the people by reciting the following: May these words of mine with which I beseech Hashem be close to Hashem day and night, to accomplish the justice of His servant and the justice of His people, each and every day (Melachim I 8:59).

The posuk implies that there are two different types of justice, one of Hashem’s servant, the king, and the other applied to the people, as a whole. The proof that there are two types of judgment is that the word justice is repeated in the posuk. The Zohar (Parshas Pinchas) refers to these types of justice as the “upper judgment” and the “lower judgment,” and that these are performed by two different heavenly courts. The upper judgment, which is the harsher one, is performed on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and the “lower judgment,” which is softer, is performed on the second day. The Zohar states that these two judgments are “correlated” or “combined,” and are both “existent,” whatever these terms mean in Kabbalistic terminology.

Rav Dessler intimates that the difference between these two types of judgment is the extent to which a person makes serving Hashem the central focus in his life. Someone who has diverted the focus of his daily life from serving Hashem must rely on his relationship with those greater than he is. This is the “lower judgment” that this person undergoes on the second day, with a greater chance of success.

Conclusion

The Torah refers to the Yomim Tovim as mo’ed. Just as the term ohel mo’ed refers to the tent in the desert which served as a meeting place between Hashem and the Jewish people, so, too, a mo’ed is a meeting time between Hashem and the Jewish people (Hirsch, Vayikra 23:3 and Horeb).

We understand well why our calendar involves use of the solar year – after all, our seasons, and the appropriate times for our holidays, are based on the sun. But why did the Torah insist that our months follow the moon and that our holidays depend, also, on the moon’s phases and rotation? It seems that we could live fine without months that are dependent on the moon’s rotation around the earth!

An answer to this question is that the waxing and waning of the moon is symbolic of our own relationship with Hashem – which also sometimes waxes and sometimes wanes. Yet, we know that just as the moon, after its waning and almost disappearing, always renews itself, so, too, we have the capacity to grow and improve, in accordance with how much we allow Hashem into our world and into our actions.

Is That Shofar Kosher?

Shofars come in many different sizes and prices, and they can be bought in many different places. But is that shofar on sale at Amazon.com fit for use on Rosh Hashanah? And if a shofar does need a hechsher, what should that kashrus certificate cover?

Yossi had always hoped to follow the family tradition of becoming a baal tokei’ah. But even though he had spent many hours during the summer months practicing on his grandfather’s shofar, he couldn’t manage to produce anything more than a weak sound. Then one day he was walking through the Arab shuk in Yerushalayim and his eye was caught by a beautiful shofar.

“Try it,” said the Arab shopkeeper, thrusting the shofar into Yossi’s hands.

Yossi did try it – and to his amazement, the tekiyos not only sounded loud and clear, but they took almost no effort. After some haggling, the shofar didn’t cost that much, either. Yossi was so excited by his purchase that when he got home he immediately called his family to listen to a recital.

“I’m sure it’s a very beautiful shofar,” said his brother, “but are you sure it’s kosher?”

“A shofar has to be kosher? What could be the problem? I am not going to eat it!”

Soon enough, Yossi learned that the potential for problems is far from negligible. And although we can’t repeat every detail of such a discussion in this article, we can look at a few key factors that go into making a shofar not only beautiful, but also kosher.

Beyond the Minimum

Most shofaros sold today in frum stores are made in one of numerous small, family-operated factories scattered around Eretz Yisrael. While some shofaros have no hechsher, others have one that covers the minimal standard: It certifies that the shofar is manufactured from a ram’s horn. Since all halachic authorities rule that a ram’s horn is preferred and that a horn from a different, kosher, non-bovine animal may be used only when there is no alternative, there is some value to this minimal hechsher. In addition to the concern that the shofar might have been made from the horn of a cow or a bull, which is not acceptable, there are commercially available “shofaros” made of quality plastic that but look, feel, and blow like a shofar. Thus, the “minimum standard” hechsher should hopefully ensure that the shofar is a genuine ram’s horn.

By the way, here is a simple, non-scientific way to verify that a shofar is plastic. Look at many available on display in the Arab shuk. Carefully examine them and you will notice that they all have their “natural” markings in exactly the same place. Some are oriented to the left and others to the right, and the color varies from shofar to shofar, but it is quite clear that they were poured into the same mold.

Boiled, Buffed, and Beautiful

The majority of rams’ horns used to make shofaros are imported from abroad. When they arrive at the factory, they are not a pretty sight. Not only is the horn’s exterior rough and lacking a pleasing shine, but the bone is still inside.

Although it is perfectly kosher to use a shofar by drilling a hole through the bone on its inside, commercial manufacturers remove the bone. The first step, therefore, is to boil the horn for several hours to soften it and make it more malleable, allowing for easy removal of the bone.

A hechsher that guarantees only that the shofar was originally a ram’s horn does not address problems that occur to the shofar during the manufacturing process. (While those problems may not occur with great frequency, my opinion is that someone giving a hechsher should assume responsibility for the product’s complete kashrus.)

Returning to our description of the process: After the skull bone has been removed, the wider end of the horn is hollow, whereas the narrower side of the horn, that is attached to the head, is not hollow. Since the horn grew thick on this side, it must be drilled and cleaned out to create an empty “tunnel” that reaches the hollow part of the horn. In addition, a usable mouthpiece on the narrow part of the horn has to be fashioned. In order to accomplish all of this, the narrower section of the horn is straightened. This creates the difference in appearance between the complete shofar, which is straight at this end, and the natural ram’s horn, which is curved along its entire length. Take a look the next time you are this close to a ram.

As part of this process, the factory might shorten an over-long shofar or trim its sides. This does not invalidate the shofar, which, unlike an esrog, doesn’t have to be complete. However, a shofar cannot be lengthened, not even by using material from another kosher shofar.

Overlaying the mouthpiece with gold invalidates the shofar, because that puts an intervening substance between the mouth of the baal teki’ah[O1]   and the shofar, meaning that he is not blowing the shofar itself. Even an overlay, such as gold or silver, on the external surface of a shofar invalidates the shofar if it modifies its sound.

On the other hand, there is no halachic problem with shaping the mouthpiece to whichever shape is comfortable to blow, provided one reshapes the shofar’s natural horn material and doesn’t add other material to coat it. In fact, a shofar’s mouthpiece is always created by opening a hole where the horn is naturally closed.

Buff and polish

The next step in the processing of a shofar is to sand, buff, and polish the exterior of the shofar. Sometimes a lacquer is added to give it a nice sheen. According to all sources I spoke to, the lacquer doesn’t modify the sound in a discernible way, so it does not invalidate the shofar.

Still, a shofar can be rendered unkosher if a hole is created during the manufacturing process (other than the hole for the mouthpiece). When that happens, the status of the shofar becomes a whole new story.

Hold the Super Glue

This article is not long enough to cover all the details of opinions concerning a shofar that is cracked or has a hole. Instead, I will summarize briefly those opinions:

  • The most stringent opinion contends that any lengthwise crack in the shofar requires repair.
  • The moderate opinion rules that any crack more than half the shofar’s length requires repair.
  • The most lenient opinion states that one may ignore a crack that is less than the full length of the shofar.

Assuming that a cracked shofar is invalid until it is mended, does it make a difference how the crack is repaired?

There is a dispute among early authorities as to whether the shofar will be kosher if repaired by gluing it together. Some, such as the Ramban, contend that since coating the inside of the shofar with foreign material invalidates it, gluing a hole in a shofar with a foreign substance also invalidates it. Those who advocate this approach contend that the only way to repair a cracked shofar is by heating the horn at the point of damage until the horn is welded together.

The Rosh disagrees with this approach, contending that there is a difference between plating a shofar with foreign material — which means that one is in essence combining a non-shofar material with the shofar — and glue, which becomes totally inconspicuous in the finished product. Although the halachah follows this last opinion, one should rely on this only if the crack did not affect the sound of the shofar and if the crack is not so big that the glue is obvious. Otherwise, one will be required to weld the horn as described above, so that the shofar is repaired with shofar material.

Herein then lies an issue. If we need to be concerned about the possibility that the shofar was cracked, do we need a guarantee that it was repaired by welding and not by gluing?

If we do, we have a problem. There is no reason to assume that a non-Jewish, nonobservant, or unknowledgeable shofar crafter would repair itby welding. To compound the concern, shofaros made for sale are always polished to provide the beautiful, but unnatural, sheen that the customer expects to see on his shofar. This polish may mask any damage and repair that was made when the shofar developed a crack; only a highly trained expert might be able to notice such a repair.

Unfortunately, few shofar crafters are that halachically concerned. The assumption is, therefore, that most shofar makers would simply take an acrylic or similar glue and fill the hole. Therefore, enter the potential need for a more reliable hechsher. We will return to this question later.

Holey Shofaros!

Another potential problem is if a hole was inadvertently made in the shofar during the drilling process. The Mishnah states: If a shofar has a hole in it that was subsequently plugged, if “it” affects the sound, then the shofar is invalid, and if not, the shofar is valid.

There are three critical questions here that impact on our discussion:

  • Does the Mishnah mean that the shofar is invalid because it has a hole? Or is the shofar invalid because the hole was plugged, but the hole itself is not a concern?
  • Does it make any difference what material is used to plug the hole?
  • What is the “it” that affects the sound? Does the Mishnah mean that the hole changed the sound of the shofar, or that the plugging changed the sound?

If the Mishnah means “because” the hole was plugged, the Mishnah is teaching that a shofar with a hole is kosher, and the plugging of the hole creates the problem.

But why might this be true? It seems counterintuitive that the hole in the shofar does not present a problem, but plugging it does.

The answer is that this opinion contends that any natural shofar sound is kosher — even if the shofar has a hole (Rosh, Tur). Although the air escaping through the hole may affect the sound the shofar produces, the sound produced is from the shofar and not from anything else. However, when the shofar’s hole is plugged, the sound is now partially produced by the plug. Therefore, this opinion rules that a plugged shofar is no longer kosher if it produces a different sound from what it produced before the shofar was plugged.

As a matter of fact, this is the way the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 586:7) actually rules. Following his approach, if a shofar develops a hole, it is best to do nothing to the shofar, since the unplugged hole allows the shofar to be perfectly kosher.

Although this solution is halachically acceptable according to many authorities, it does not provide us with a practical solution. A shofar manufacturer will not leave a hole in a shofar because customers won’t purchase such a shofar. In other words, customers want a holy shofar, not a holey one.

In addition, not all authorities accept this understanding of the Mishnah. The Rambam, in his Commentary to the Mishnah, rules that a shofar with a hole is not kosher; the Biur Halachah (586:7 s.v. Sh’ein) notes several other rishonim who agree with this conclusion. The Rema (Orach Chayim 586:7) concludes that one should not use such a shofar unless he has no other.

At this point, we should address a second question: The Mishnah states that a shofar with a plugged hole is not kosher. Does it make a difference which material plugs the hole?

The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 27b) quotes a dispute between the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Nosson whether the Mishnah’s plugged shofar is invalid regardless of what one used to plug it, or only if it was plugged with non-shofar material. Rabbi Nosson contends that a shofar repaired with shofar material remains kosher even though its sound changed. The Tanna Kamma disagrees, contending that regardless of whether the hole was plugged with shofar material or with non-shofar material, the shofar is invalid if its sound changed. Most rishonim rule according to Rabbi Nosson, which means that a “holey” shofar subsequently plugged with pieces of shofar is kosher.

We’ve now come to a third question: Does the Mishnah mean that the hole changed the sound of the shofar, or that the plugging changed the sound? According to the Rambam (Hilchos Shofar 1:5), a shofar with a plugged hole is kosher only if it sounds the same after the repair as it did before the hole developed and was repaired. If the shofar sounds different after the repair, the shofar is invalid. It is also invalid if the repair was with non-shofar material, even when the repaired shofar sounds identical to how it sounded before the damage. The Rosh, on the other hand, rules that the shofar is kosher if it sounds the same after the repair, even if it was repaired with non-shofar material. It is also kosher if it was repaired with shofar material, even if the sound changed as a result.

This dispute is mentioned in Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 586:7), who rules, like the Rambam, that one may not use a shofar plugged with non-shofar material, unless there is no other shofar available.

Do We Need To Worry?

Halachah makes a general assumption that there is no need to be concerned about a problem that is unusual. Do shofar cracks fall into this category? Just how frequently does a shofar develop a hole during its production?

Since no one has conducted a survey on the subject, and it would be almost impossible to perform one, we cannot answer this question definitively. A friend of mine who has attempted to visit shofar factories tells me that they usually do not allow visitors, and are probably not likely to reveal the type of information we are asking. We certainly do not know the track records of the Arab craftsmen, nor those of the shofaros made in China.

Despite this lack of information, I think we can assume that, since the people making shofaros are indeed craftsmen, and since it is highly disadvantageous to drill an extra hole while cleaning out the horn, the majority of shofaros are made without creating unwanted holes during the processing.

Thus, technically speaking, a shofar might not require a hechsher to guarantee that a hole did not develop in the shofar during its manufacture. However, is there a simple way to ascertain that the shofar you purchase was not damaged during the manufacturing process?

Some rabbanim do provide a “hechsher” for the manufacturer, stating that he is a halachah-abiding Jew who would not sell a shofar that has developed a crack or hole in the course of production.

What might the concerned manufacturer do when a shofar develops a hole? I asked this question of a particular manufacturer, and was told that he sells the damaged, rough shofar to a non-Jewish manufacturer. Many shofaros are sold to non-Jews who have a Biblical interest in blowing them. (I had hoped that the plastic variety mentioned above is also marketed exclusively to the same audience. However, I subsequently discovered otherwise, much to my chagrin.)

Unfortunately, most shofar manufacturers do not meet this standard. Although the person who began the business usually was an observant Jew, who may have been knowledgeable enough to merit this hechsher, often, the current business operators are not very observant. Therefore, a hechsher on the manufacture may have limited value, unless it is issued by a well-known rav.

There is yet another kind of hechsher, which has a different standard. In this case, the distributor or store interested in selling a particular shofar has it checked by a highly skilled rav or mashgiach who knows how to check a shofar for signs of damage or repair. A shofar that shows such signs is rejected.

Does a hechsher add significantly to the price of the shofar? The answer is that it does not. In some instances, the hechsher adds a small, non-significant premium to the price of the shofar — but the price is almost always primarily linked to its size and the particular retailer’s markup.

So what would I do if I wanted to buy a shofar for Rosh Hashanah? I would either ask for a hechsher that meets the last standard mentioned or, alternatively, ask for a letter from a known rav verifying that he knows that the manufacturer of this shofar is a halachah-abiding and knowledgeable Jew.

Outwitting the Satan

The shofar is blown to remind us of many things, including a wakeup call to do teshuvah and/or to herald Moshiach.The Gemara explains that the repeated blowing of the shofar — that is, both before the Shemoneh Esrei and then again afterward — is in order to confuse the Satan and to prevent him from prosecuting us (Rosh Hashanah 16b). This is surprising. Is the Satan so easily fooled? Most of us have firsthand experience with the Satan, and have found him to be extremely clever. Does he not remember that we pulled the same prank on him in previous years, when we blew the shofar twice?

Tosafos explains the Gemara on a deeper level. The Satan is constantly afraid that Mashiach will come and put him out of business. Therefore, every time the shofar blows, the Satan leaps up, terrified that Mashiach has come, and forgets to prosecute us! Then he realizes, too late, that it is just Rosh Hashanah again. By that time, Hashem has reached our verdict without the Satan’s input.

How nice it would be if we would sit on the edge of our chairs waiting for Mashiach with the same intensity as the Satan!

 Is this not to’kai’ah?

When Tekias Shofar Goes Wrong

Photo by elboim from FreeImages

Every year before Rosh Hashanah, Rav Goldberg reviews the halachos of shofar blowing with the shul’s baal tekiah (shofar blower/master blaster). This year the baal tekiah, Reb Muttel, had more questions than usual.

“I have been a baal tekiah for several years now,” began Reb Muttel. “Each year I feel a stronger sense of responsibility and privilege. Privilege, because it is through my shofar blowing that our shul joins Jews around the world in the coronation of Hashem as King. Also, the shofar is a wake-up call to teshuva and reminds us of many historical events in our history, including Matan Torah and Akeidas Yitzchak. At the same time, it is an awesome responsibility to blow the shofar correctly, so that everyone fulfills his obligation of hearing tekiahs shofar according to halacha.”

“Not every blast is perfect,” continued Reb Muttel, “and I’m curious to know when a blast is acceptable and when it must be repeated. I’d also like to know why sometimes I am told to repeat just a blast, and other times I am told to repeat several. I have also been in shuls where the entire series of nine or more blasts was repeated. In short, I would like a deeper understanding of the halachos.”

Rav Goldberg realized that it would take several sessions to teach Muttel all the details of shofar blowing. Before presenting a synopsis of their discussion, an introduction is in order.

THE TORAH’S MITZVAH OF SHOFAR

As in many other mitzvos, there is no clear command in the Written Torah to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana. The Torah does refer to Rosh Hashanah as “Yom Teruah,” but this could be translated either as “a day of crying,” “a day of praying” or “a day of shofar blowing.” The Torah Shebe’al Peh teaches that there is a mitzvah min haTorah to blow shofar. The mitzvah is to blow three broken sounds called Teruos, each preceded and followed by a long straight sound called a Tekiah. These sounds add up to a total of nine blasts.

“How do we know that Teruah is a broken sound in the first place?” asked Reb Muttel.

“Targum Onkelos translates the word Teruah as ‘yevavah,’ which means crying,” replied the Rav. “This teaches us that the Teruah is a broken, crying sound (Rosh Hashanah 33b). However, it is not clear from the Targum what type of crying sound ‘Teruah’ means.”

“How was this question resolved?”

The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 34a) reports that Rabbi Abahu was uncertain whether Teruah is a series of sobs (what we call Shevarim), or a staccato, panting cry (Teruah) or a combination of both, first sobbing and then panting (Shevarim-Teruah). To be certain that we fulfill the Torah’s obligation, he mandated blowing three different series, each with a different broken sound. Each broken sound is blown three times to fulfill the Torah mitzvah, and each one is preceded and followed by a Tekiah. Thus, Rabbi Abahu’s arrangement results in a total of thirty shofar sounds:

Tekiah, Shevarim-Teruah, Tekiah (TaSHRaT) three times

Tekiah, Shevarim, Tekiah (TaSHaT) three times

Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah (TaRaT) three times

But why didn’t Rabbi Abahu institute a shorter procedure, and blow only Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, Tekiah (the TaSHRaT mentioned before) three times? This way a person would blow all three varieties of broken sound three times, and each would be surrounded by two teki’os.

The Gemara explains that if the mitzvah is to blow only a Shevarim, blowing a Teruah immediately after the Shevarim is an interruption that invalidates the mitzvah. Similarly, if the mitzvah is to blow only a Teruah, then a Shevarim preceding it interrupts between the Tekiah and the Teruah and invalidates the mitzvah. Thus, the only way to fulfill the mitzvah correctly is to blow three series, one with each type of broken sound (Shevarim, Teruah, and Shevarim-Teruah) in the middle.

“This last statement of the Gemara teaches us an important lesson. If one blows an inappropriate sound between the Tekiah and the correct broken sound, that series is invalid. Early poskim dispute how much of the series is invalid and must be blown again. The stringent opinion contends that one must begin the series he is blowing all over again. The lenient opinion rules that it suffices to return to the most recent Tekiah; the earlier sounds are kosher (Tur Orach Chayim end of 590). There is a very interesting story related to this dispute that we will discuss shortly.”

WHY DON’T WE BLOW A TERUAH–SHEVARIM?

The Gemara points out that Rabbi Abahu omitted a fourth option — he did not require a Teruah followed by a Shevarim. The Gemara explains that Rabbi Abahu omitted this combination because the Torah’s Teruah is a broken sound that imitates human crying. Since it is unusual for a crying person to pant and then sob afterwards, this sound cannot be what the Torah commanded.

AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION

There is another explanation why Rabbi Abahu instituted three different Teruah sounds. Rav Hai Gaon contends that the mitzvah of tekias shofar is fulfilled with ANY broken sound. In his opinion, blowing three times either TaSHRaT or TaShaT or TaRaT or any combination of the three fulfills the Torah mitzvah. In Rav Hai’s opinion, Rabbi Abahu instituted the blowing of thirty shofar sounds for a different reason.

In Rabbi Abahu’s day, different communities blew the broken, crying sound in different ways. In some communities it was a Shevarim, others blew what we call Teruah (short, staccato sounds), while others blew Shevarim-Teruah. Rabbi Abahu was concerned that an unlearned person visiting different communities might conclude that there is a dispute how to blow shofar. To avoid even the appearance of conflict, Rabbi Abahu instituted that all Jews observe all three customs.

Thus, we have two different explanations why Rav Abahu instituted the blowing of thirty shofar sounds. The first opinion, which is held by most poskim, contends that blowing thirty sounds guarantees that we have fulfilled the Torah’s mitzvah. The second opinion maintains that we blow thirty sounds to avoid the appearance of a machlokes.

AN INTERESTING STORY AND ITS EXPLANATION

Almost nine hundred years ago, on Rosh Hashanah 4905/1144, the shofar blower of Mainz, a community with many Talmidei Chachomim, erred in the middle of the blowing. After blasting two kosher rounds of “TaSHRaT” he made a mistake in the third round. Instead of blowing a three-part Shevarim and then a Teruah, he mistakenly blew two parts of a Shevarim and then began blowing the Teruah. Immediately realizing his error, the baal tekiah stopped blowing the Teruah after only one stacatto beat. The question was how to continue.

A dispute ensued among the scholarly congregants. Some advocated that ALL the TaSHRaT soundings must be blown again. Apparently, they contended that ANY inappropriate sound blown in the middle of the shofar blowing invalidates the entire series. Since TaSHRaT is blown to fulfill one interpretation of the Torah’s mitzvah, any inappropriate blast blown in the middle invalidates that entire attempt and the series must begin again.

Other scholars were more lenient. They contended that the sounds already blown need not be repeated. In their opinion, only a sound that has halachic status invalidates a series, not a sound that is neither a Shevarim nor a Teruah. Furthermore, they felt that in a case where the sounds need to be repeated, such as where an unnecessary Teruah was blown in the middle, one need return only to the Tekiah preceding the errant broken sound. Thus, in a case where someone blew in the third TaSHRaT Tekiah, Shevarim-Teruah, Teruah, only the last Tekiah and Shevarim-Teruah need to be blown again but no earlier sounds.

In Mainz, 1144, the first group had its way, and the baal tekiah started blowing again from the the beginning of the TaShRaT series.

After Rosh Hashanah, the shaylah was referred to the gedolim,Rav Elyakim bar Yosef and the Raavan, both of whom ruled that the second group was correct. The Raavan also contended that the extra blasts blown desecrated Yom Tov since they were unnecessary and blowing shofar on Yom Tov is permitted only to perform the mitzvah (Rosh, Rosh Hashanah 4:11).

Returning to Muttel’s lessons with Rav Goldberg, the Rav pointed out that the ruling of Rav Elyakim bar Yosef and the Raavan — that nothing needs to be repeated if the errant sound is neither a Shevarim nor a Teruah — is true only when the baal tekiah blew one or two Teruah sounds. However, if he blew three Teruah sounds in the wrong place, such as before the Shevarim is completed, the Tekiah before it is invalidated, because a Teruah blown immediately before a Shevarim is an invalid sound.

HOW LONG IS A TERUAH?

“I am confused,” protested Reb Muttel. “Why did you say that three short sounds is considered a Teruah? Doesn’t a Teruah have nine sounds!”

“Actually, not everyone agrees that a Teruah requires nine sounds,” the Rav replied patiently. “According to Rashi, a Teruah need be only three sounds. The Riva and Rivam disagree, contending that the Teruah must be at least nine sounds. Since everyone agrees that a Teruah may have extra sounds, we blow a Teruah of nine sounds, which is kosher according to all opinions.”

What happens if the shofar blower blew a Teruah shorter than nine sounds?

According to Rashi, one has fulfilled the mitzvah, provided the Teruah was at least three sounds. According to Riva and Rivam, one has not. The rav or posek in the shul will pasken whether to blow the Teruah again. The Mishnah Berurah (590:12) rules that it is unnecessary to repeat the Teruah. However, if the rav rules that the Teruah should be repeated, the Tekiah preceding the Teruah must also be repeated. Since, according to Rashi, the short Teruah is kosher, blowing another Teruah without repeating the Tekiah interrupts between the Teruah and the following Tekiah.

HOW LONG MUST THE SHEVARIM BE?

A Shevarim must be a minimum of three broken sounds, each called a shever. The shever should preferably be as long as three swift, staccato sounds (three “kochos”), making the entire Shevarim the length of nine staccato sounds (Mishnah Berurah 590:13).

However, there are opinions that each shever should be shorter than three staccato sounds, making the entire Shevarim about the length of six staccato sounds (Tosafos Rosh Hashanah 32b; first opinion quoted in Shulchan Aruch 590:3; Mateh Efrayim). In some communities, the practice is to blow some of the Shevarim according to this opinion.

ANOTHER STORY FROM ROSH HASHANAH, 1144.

“Is it kosher to blow a Shevarim of four or five sounds?” asked Muttel.

“To answer that, we must return to that memorable Rosh Hashanah almost nine hundred years ago in Mainz,” explained Rav Goldberg. “After blowing Tekiah, Shevarim, Tekiah, twice without incident, the baal tekiah blew a successful Tekiah and then a Shevarim that was four sounds instead of the usual three. The congregation considered this sound invalid and made him begin the blowing of TaSHaT from the beginning, repeating a total of eight sounds (the entire TaSHaT twice and a new Tekiah and Shevarim). Rabbi Elyakim bar Yosef took them to task for two different reasons. Even if there was a need to repeat the blowing, they did not need to blow the two previous TaSHaT blowings again, since those were successful blowings. (As we learned above, some scholars in Mainz held that a bad sound invalidates the entire series.) In addition, Rav Elyakim ruled that the Shevarim of four sounds is perfectly valid; there is nothing wrong with adding an extra shever to the Shevarim (Tosafos Rosh Hashanah 33b; Rosh). We rule, like Rav Elyakim, that an extra shever does not invalidate a Shevarim; however, it is preferable to blow a Shevarim that is exactly three sounds, out of deference to the scholars of Mainz who disagreed” (see Mishnah Berurah 590:11).

HOW IS THE SHEVARIM BLOWN?

Some poskim contend that each short shever sound should change pitch in the middle, either once or twice. Some people refer to these as “tu-U-tu” or “UU-tu” or “tu-UU” Shevarim sounds.

Others contend that the shever sound should be without change in pitch – and should sound exactly like a very short Tekiah. Each community should follow the ruling of its rav or its established custom.

HOW LONG MUST THE TEKIAH BE?

There are several opinions. Whereas Raavad’s opinion is that every Tekiah must be nine kochos, regardless which broken sound it accompanies (Hilchos Shofar 3:4), Tosafos and most rishonim contend that the Tekiah must be as long as the broken sound that it accompanies. Since the length of both the Shevarim and the Teruah are disputed, as mentioned above, the length of the Tekiah is also disputed. According to the Riva and Rivam, the combined length of a Shevarim-Teruah is about eighteen kochos, or perhaps a bit longer to accommodate the length of the pause in the middle. (Each “koach” is the length of a minimum beat. The entire Shevarim-Teruah can be blown in about three seconds.) Therefore, the Tekiah before and after the Shevarim-Teruah should also be that long (Mateh Efrayim; Mishnah Berurah 590:14,15).

According to Rashi’s opinion that the Teruah need be only three kochos and the Shevarim only six-to-nine kochos, the Tekiah accompanying the Shevarim-Teruah need be only nine-to-twelve kochos long.

Based on the above, poskim conclude that the Tekiah for TaSHRaT should preferably be a bit more than eighteen kochos long, whereas the Tekiah for TaSHaT and TaRaT need be only nine kochos long.

What if the Tekiah ended earlier? It is not unusual that the teki’os that accompany TaSHRaT are not eighteen kochos long. Again the rav will make the decision. (For example, the Mateh Efrayim rules that a Tekiah for TaSHRaT that was only nine kochos long is kosher b’dei’evid, after the fact.)

SHOULD THE BLOWER PAUSE BETWEEN THE SHEVARIM AND THE TERUAH?

This interesting question is an early dispute. According to most opinions, there should be only a slight interruption between the Shevarim and Teruah of the Shevarim-Teruah (most rishonim, as explained by the Mishnah Berurah 590:18.) It should be noted that according to the Chazon Ish 136:1 and Avnei Nezer #443 there should be no interruption whatsoever between the Shevarim and the Teruah. Some even contend that a significant interruption between the Shevarim and the Teruah invalidates the blowing (see Mishnah Berurah 590:16 and Shaar HaTziyun ad loc.). Rabbeinu Tam disagrees, maintaining that someone would not change from a sobbing cry to a panting cry without stopping for a breath in between. Therefore, he maintains that one should pause, although not extensively, between the Shevarim and the Teruah.

HOW DO WE RULE IN THIS ISSUE?

There are different customs. Some communities follow Rabbeinu Tam’s opinion and blow every Shevarim-Teruah with a brief pause in the middle (Rama 590:4). However, most congregations today follow the Chayei Adam’s recommendation that the Shevarim-Teruah of the first blowings (before Musaf) are blown without a pause, whereas the baal tekiah should pause between Shevarim and Teruah when blowing during the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei.

Incidentally, the shofar soundings blown during Musaf should be treated with the same degree of importance as those blown earlier. According to many poskim, they are the main mitzvah of shofar blowing (see Tosafos, Pesachim 115a s.v. maskif; Mishnah Berurah.)

WHAT IF A WOMAN CANNOT BE IN SHUL FOR BOTH SETS OF SHOFAR BLOWINGS?

Shofar blowing is one of the time-bound positive mitzvos (mitzvas aseh she’hazman grama) from which women are exempt. Nevertheless, generations of women have been careful to hear shofar blowing, just as they are careful to shake the lulav and esrog on Sukos, another time-bound mitzvah from which they are exempt. Many poskim rule that since women have assumed responsibility to hear shofar blowing, they are now required to do so (Chayei Adam 141:7; on the other hand, see Shu’t Salmas Chayim #349). However, a woman does not need to hear more than thirty shofar sounds, although it is meritorious for her to hear the sounds blown during the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei.

DOES A WOMAN MAKE A BRACHA ON SHOFAR BLOWING?

The rishonim dispute whether one can recite a bracha on a mitzvah that one is not commanded to perform. Some contend that women should not recite the bracha because one cannot say “asher kideshanu be’mitzvosav ve’tzivanu,” “He who sanctified us in His mitzvos and commanded us,” when Hashem never commanded women to perform this mitzvah. Sefardim follow this opinion, and therefore Sefardic women do not recite a bracha on mitzvos such as shofar and lulav. Ashkenazim rule that one may recite ve’tzivanu even if one is not personally obligated, since Klal Yisrael collectively observes the mitzvos.

For the above reason, an Ashkenazic woman who did not hear the first blowings should recite the bracha before the shofar soundings during the repetition of Shemoneh Esrei or at the end of davening.

WHY DO WE BLOW SHOFAR BOTH BEFORE AND DURING MUSAF?

The Gemara explains that we repeat the shofar blowings in order to confuse the Satan and prevent him from prosecuting us (Rosh Hashanah 16b). This is surprising. Is the Satan so easily fooled? Most of us have discovered the Satan to be extremely clever. Does he not remember that we pulled the same prank on him in previous years and blew the shofar twice?

Tosafos explains the Gemara more deeply. The Satan is constantly afraid that Moshiach will come and put him out of business. Therefore, every time the shofar blows, the Satan leaps up, terrified that Moshiach has come, and forgets to prosecute us! When it is blown the first time, he is petrified that it might be the advent of Moshiach. When it is blown the second time, he is absolutely certain, and is beside himself with shock and consternation. Then he realizes, too late, that it is just Rosh Hashanah again. By that time, Hashem has reached our verdict without Satan’s interference.

How nice it would be if we sat on the edge of our chairs waiting for the Moshiach with the same intensity as the Satan!

How to Eat before Hearing Shofar

There are several articles on the website germane to different of our observances of Rosh Hashanah, which can be located there under the search words Shofar, Rosh Hashanah or Tashlich. Wishing everyone a kesivah vachasimah tovah, and a happy and healthy year to you and your loved ones.

 

Question:

slice of cake“I find it extremely difficult not to eat until the completion of Rosh Hashanah davening, and I understand that many Yeshivos make kiddush before blowing shofar. May I introduce this practice in my shul?”

Answer:

Before we discuss whether one may eat before hearing the shofar blowing, we must first analyze the issue of eating before performing any other mitzvah.

Regarding someone who returns home after a long day at work, the Gemara states: Our Sages built a fence to protect their words, so that a person should not return from the field in the evening and say, ‘I’ll eat a little, drink a little, sleep a little, and then recite kerias shma and pray,’ because we are concerned that sleep will overtake him, resulting in his sleeping the entire night without fulfilling his mitzvos. Instead, someone returning in the evening from the field should enter the Beis HaKenesses. If he usually studies Tanach, he should do so. If he usually studies Mishnah, he should do so. Then he should read kerias shma and pray.” (Nowadays, we refer to “reading kerias shma and praying” as “davening maariv.”) Only then should he go home to eat supper (Brachos 4b).

It would appear that Chazal prohibited eating, drinking and sleeping before performing the mitzvos one is obliged to fulfill. To determine whether this is relevant to the mitzvah of shofar, we need to resolve a few questions:

All or nothing?

The Taz asks: The Gemara says that he should not say, “I’ll eat a little, drink a little and sleep a little,” before first davening maariv. Did our Sages prohibit only performing all three, or did they prohibit any one of the three? If they, indeed, prohibited only all three, the prohibition reported by this Gemara would not apply unless someone planned to nap, eat and drink before hearing the shofar. On the other hand, if they prohibited any of the three, one may not eat or even drink before davening maariv, and we will need to discuss the ramifications  of the prohibition to eat or drink before hearing the shofar.

The Taz concludes that the Gemara prohibited doing any one of these three activities before fulfilling the mitzvah. His reasoning is that one may certainly not sleep for even a few minutes without first davening maariv, lest he fall asleep for the night and not fulfill his mitzvos. Thus, sleeping even “a little” must be prohibited before reciting shma and davening. If so, this implies that it is also prohibited to “eat a little” even if one does not drink or sleep, or to “drink a little” even if one does not eat or sleep (Taz, Orach Chayim 235:3).

Furthermore, based on another discussion that is beyond the scope of this article, the Shulchan Aruch rules that one may not begin eating even a half hour before the time for davening maariv begins. If it is already a half hour before the time for davening maariv, one must wait until the time of maariv arrives, then daven, and only then is it permitted to eat (Orach Chayim 235:2). Although the Taz disagrees, the consensus of late authorities accepts the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch (Mishnah Berurah 235:18.)

Despite the Shulchan Aruch’s conclusion that one may not eat prior to davening maariv, many authorities permit this, if one always davens maariv at a specific minyan or if someone is available to remind him to daven (see Magen Avraham 235:4; Mishnah Berurah 235:18). Others permit eating before davening maariv if one sets an alarm clock as a reminder.

Time for a good snack?

In a situation when one may not eat or drink before davening maariv, what eating or drinking is prohibited? Does this prohibition include even eating a snack, or does it only apply to a meal?

The wording of the Gemara, “a person should not return in the evening and say, ‘I’ll eat a little, drink a little,’” implies that even a small snack is prohibited, and this is indeed the opinion of some early authorities (Terumas HaDeshen #109). However, the consensus of later authorities is to follow the opinion of the Tur (Orach Chayim 235), who permits snacking before maariv, and prohibits only eating a meal (Magen Avraham 235:4).

One man’s snack is another’s meal

Now that we have distinguished between eating a snack, which is permitted, and eating a meal, which is not, we need to define our categories. At what point does the permitted snack become a forbidden meal?

To answer this question we will borrow from a related halachic discussion. The Mishnah rules that during Sukkos one is required to eat his meals in a sukkah, but casual (arai) eating and drinking is permitted outside the sukkah (Sukkah 25a). How does one define what is arai and what is not? The Mishnah and the Gemara conclude that eating up to a kebeitzah (the size of an egg) of bread or mezonos does not require a sukkah, but that one may not eat more than a kebeitzah of bread outside a sukkah (Sukkah 26b – 27a).

Since the Gemara holds that up to a kebeitzah of bread or mezonos is a snack that does not require a sukkah, the halachic authorities rule that this amount may be eaten before maariv (Mishnah Berurah 235:16; see also Shulchan Aruch 232:3).

The halachic authorities compare sukkah to maariv in yet another way. Just as one may eat an unlimited quantity of fruit or vegetables outside the sukkah, since this is always considered eating arai (Shulchan Aruch and Rama, Orach Chayim 639:2), one may eat an unlimited quantity of fruit or vegetables prior to davening maariv, since this qualifies as a snack and not a meal (see Magen Avraham 235:4).

BEVERAGE VERSUS FRUIT

This leads us to a basic question: If one may eat an unlimited quantity of fruit and vegetables outside the sukkah and before davening maariv, why is one limited in how much beverage one may drink before davening maariv? If halacha considers consuming fruits and vegetables as casual eating that is permitted before maariv, why should drinking be judged as any less casual?

The answer to this question lies in a terse comment of the Magen Avraham wherein he rules: One may drink as much as one wants outside the sukkah, but must be careful not to drink more than a kebeitzah of beverage before davening mincha, lest he drink too much and become intoxicated to the extent that he cannot daven (Magen Avraham 232:17). This ruling understands that the prohibition against drinking prior to davening is limited to intoxicating beverages (Mishnah Berurah 232:35). When the Gemara was concerned “that a person should not return from the field in the evening and say, ‘I’ll drink a little,’” the concern was only about alcoholic drinks.

Accordingly, once the time comes to perform a mitzvah (and perhaps even a half-hour before), one may not eat a meal or drink more than a kebeitzah of alcoholic beverage without first performing the mitzvah, but one may eat as much fruit and vegetables, and drink as much non-alcoholic beverages, as one desires. One may also snack on up to a kebeitzah of bread or mezonos, but no more.

NON-INTOXICATING EXCEPTION – KIDDUSH AND HAVDALAH

There are at least two mitzvos that stand as exceptions to the previous rule: The Shulchan Aruch prohibits all snacking and drinking before kiddush and havdalah, once the time to fulfill these mitzvos has arrived (Orach Chayim 271:4; 299:1).

Why is it prohibited to snack before kiddush and havdalah, whereas one may snack before one has davened maariv? The Magen Avraham explains that snacking is prohibited before reciting kiddush or havdalah because one is obligated to fulfill these mitzvos at the very beginning of the evening (Magen Avraham 235:4). I presume he means that Chazal prohibited snacking in order to guarantee that the mitzvah is performed immediately. However, regarding other mitzvos, where the concern is only that he might forget to perform the mitzvah altogether, it is sufficient to ban eating a meal or doing something that might result in not performing the mitzvah at all.

KIDDUSH VERSUS HAVDALAH

With this background, we can now explain the following curious difference between kiddush and havdalah. Prior to reciting kiddush, one is prohibited to drink anything, even water, whereas prior to reciting havdalah, although one may not snack or drink most beverages, one may drink water (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 271:4; 299:1). Why this distinction between kiddush and havdalah?

It seems that although both kiddush and havdalah should be fulfilled at the beginning of the evening, Chazal encouraged reciting kiddush early, in order to greet Shabbos as early as possible. On the other hand, although one should recite havdalah early in the night, one should not rush Shabbos out the door, but simply be certain to recite havdalah before engaging in after-Shabbos activities. Therefore, Chazal permitted drinking water before reciting havdalah, although they prohibited doing so before kiddush, to guarantee that people recite kiddush quickly.

For the same reason, there is another major difference between kiddush and havdalah. If someone began a meal early Friday afternoon and it extended into Shabbos, he must stop eating as soon as Shabbos arrives and recite kiddush. Although one may continue the meal after reciting kiddush and wait to daven maariv and recite shma after the meal is over, he may not continue the meal without first reciting kiddush.

However, if this happened when Shabbos ends, one has no requirement to recite havdalah until the meal is over. This is why we commonly extend seudah shlishis (in Yiddish called shalosh seudos) into the night, and bensch, daven maariv, and recite havdalah only when the meal is over.

DAY VERSUS NIGHT

So far, we have explained that once the time to perform a mitzvah arrives, one may not eat a meal or drink a significant quantity of intoxicating beverage before one has performed the mitzvah. We have also seen that some authorities prohibit even snacking. We have learned further that prior to reciting kiddush or havdalah, halacha prohibits any snacking or drinking at all, with the only exception that one may drink water prior to havdalah.

One possibility that we have not yet explored is whether there is a halachic difference between a mitzvah performed in the daytime and one performed at night. Perhaps there is less concern regarding a daytime mitzvah, and Chazal prohibited eating only prior to performing a nighttime mitzvah, lest eating after a hard day’s work cause one to fall asleep before performing the mitzvah. According to this suggestion, one could eat a meal before fulfilling the mitzvos of shofar, lulav or tefillin.

However, this distinction does not accord with the accepted halacha, as we find several instances where someone may not begin eating a meal before fulfilling a daytime mitzvah such as davening mincha (Mishnah Shabbos 9b), taking lulav (Sukkah 38a) or blowing shofar (Tosefta, Shabbos 1:4, as explained by Magen Avraham 235:4).

EARLY NIGHT SNACK

As mentioned above, although some authorities contend that prior to maariv one may not eat or drink anything, the consensus is to allow snacks, non-alcoholic beverages and small quantities of alcoholic drinks. Notwithstanding this decision, the Magen Avraham (692:7), after reaching this conclusion, makes the strange comment that one may eat a snack before the reading of the Megillah only in extenuating circumstances. This ruling is all the more confusing since it contradicts his own conclusion permitting snacking before fulfilling the Torah mitzvos of taking lulav and reciting shma (Magen Avraham 235:4; 652:4). Later authorities assume that only under extenuating circumstances did the Magen Avraham permit snacking before fulfilling any mitzvah (see Mateh Efrayim 588:2; Shu”t Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Deah #7 and others).

LET’S TALK ABOUT SHOFAR

Based on this Magen Avraham, many prominent authorities rule that someone who is weak or ill may recite kiddush and eat less than a kebeitzah of food prior to hearing the shofar, but emphasize that this should be done in private, so that other people will not assume that they may also be lenient (Mateh Efrayim 588:2). According to this position, snacking before shofar blowing is permitted only for the weak and the ill.

BEFORE SHOFAR OR AFTER?

If someone must eat before the end of Rosh Hashanah davening, is it better for him to eat before shofar blowing, or to hear shofar blowing first and then make kiddush and eat? On the one hand, as we have demonstrated, there is a prohibition against eating before fulfilling a required mitzvah, which would imply that he should first fulfill the mitzvah of shofar and only then eat. Although he would still eat before davening musaf, this is less of a concern than before shofar, since musaf is only miderabbanan and shofar is a Torah mitzvah.

On the other hand, one who eats before hearing the shofar thereby interrupts between the bracha recited over the shofar and the later shofar soundings.

FAMILY FEUD

It is curious to note a dispute between closely-related gedolim on this issue. Rabbi Akiva Eiger maintains that it is better not to eat before the shofar, but to hear shofar first and then eat, even though this results in the kiddush and the brachos on the food interrupting between the brachos of shofar and the later shofar blowing. He was more concerned about eating before fulfilling the mitzvah than he was about interrupting after the bracha.

On the other hand, his son-in-law, the Chasam Sofer (Shu”t Yoreh Deah #7, end) contends that someone ill who cannot wait to eat until the end of davening should discreetly make Kiddush and eat between shacharis and shofar blowing. He contends that it is better to eat before shofar than to interrupt between the bracha on shofar and the later soundings. (It is also noteworthy that the Chasam Sofer implies that someone who is ill may eat even a meal before shofar blowing.)

The above authorities all seem opposed to any eating before the shofar, except in extenuating circumstances. This places on a shaky footing the custom of making kiddush for the entire congregation before shofar.

However, the Sdei Chemed (vol. 8 pg 325 s.v. vishamati) cites several sources recording a practice in Ashkenazic communities to recite kiddush and eat a small snack before shofar blowing. The prevalent practice in Yeshivos reflects this approach, considering the long wait until davening is over as an extenuating circumstance. This became the subject of a major dispute among the great Torah leaders in America a generation ago, with Rav Henkin, zt”l, strongly opposed to the practice of eating before shofar blowing for anyone not clearly ill or weak, while Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l championed the practice of making kiddush before shofar.

HOW MUCH IS A SNACK?

One should bear in mind that the dispute among these authorities is only whether one may eat a snack before shofar and musaf. The prevalent yeshiva custom to recite kiddush  prior to shofar blowing is intended only to permit people to eat up to a kebeitzah-sized piece of cake. Unfortunately, the average hungry person placed in front of a huge pile of cake has difficulty restricting himself to less than a kebeitzah.

Although the early sources do not countenance this, a contemporary authority quotes a basis to be lenient: since everyone returns to shul for the rest of davening immediately after reciting kiddush, people will clearly remind one another to not miss shofar blowing (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah, Volume 2 52:14:52, quoting Rav Shelomoh Zalman Auerbach). (I personally categorize this last line of reasoning as a limud zechus, a rationale to explain behavior that seems to run against halacha, rather than as a solid reason to justify the practice.)

PROPOSED SOLUTION

For those who find it difficult to eat less than a kebeitzah, and are uncomfortable relying on this last heter, which clearly runs counter to the approach of most early authorities, I suggest the following: Many foods, such as potatoes, yams, quinoa, corn and rice are highly filling, even though they technical qualify as vegetables for these halachos. In order to fulfill the requirement of kiddush bimkom seudah – the halachic requirement that one eat a “meal” when fulfilling the mitzvah of Kiddush – one should eat at least a kezayis (an olive-sized piece) of cake, crackers, pretzels, or some other grain product. In order to avoid eating more than a kebeitzah of these items, which most authorities forbid, one should be careful to eat less than a kebeitzah of items made from the five grains, and then eat a substantive “snack” of potatoes or some other satisfying vegetable. This requires less self-discipline than restricting oneself to a kebeitzah of cake. I also strongly suggest that any shul or yeshiva that has a kiddush before shofar should instruct people not to eat more than a kebeitzah of cake.

CONCLUSION

When we hear the shofar blow, we should remember that we, the Jewish people, are crowning Hashem as our King and the King of the universe. Studying the laws that pertain to this mitzvah is an important way in which we can show our acceptance of His kingship.

 

The Creation of the “Permanent” Calendar

calendar-1568148-639x424When the Torah commands us to create a calendar, it includes two different responsibilities: First, to have Rosh Chodesh and the length of each month determined on the basis of when the new moon appears, and, second, to have the holiday of Pesach fall in the spring and the holiday of Sukkos in the autumn (in the northern hemisphere). Thus, we have two separate and very different requirements, one of having the months determined by the moon, which is a little more than every 29½ days, and having years that coordinate with the seasons, which follow the solar year, which is a bit less than 365¼ days.

To accomplish that the dates and holidays should fall according to the seasons, the halacha is that some years have 12 months, or approximately 354 days, and others have 13 months, or approximately 384 days. This ensures that the holidays fall in their appropriate seasons. The mitzvah of the Torah is that the head of the Sanhedrin should be in charge, every month, to decide whether a month is 29 days long or 30, and of deciding whether a year should have an extra month. In the latter case, he appointed a special committee, comprised of members of the Sanhedrin, to review the relevant information and determine whether the year should be 13 months (a leap year) or only 12 (a common year).

By the way, after the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, the main Beis Din was not located in Yerushalayim, but wherever the Nasi of the Jewish people resided, as long as it was in Eretz Yisrael. This included several communities at various times of Jewish history, including Teverya, Yavneh, and Shafraam.[i] Indeed, during this period, if the head of the Beis Din was in the Diaspora and there was no one of his stature remaining in Eretz Yisrael, the special Beis Din met outside the land of Israel.[ii]

Initially, all these decisions were made by the heads of the Sanhedrin, and, indeed, when Moshiach comes, we will again have this system. This was the system in place for thousands of years – from the time of Moshe Rabbeinu until about 250 years after the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash. At that time, the head of the Sanhedrin, Hillel Hanasi (not to be confused with his ancestor, Hillel Hazakein), realized that, because of Roman persecution, the Sanhedrin’s days were numbered and it would be necessary to switch to a different system for determining the calendar. Hillel Hanasi implemented a temporary Jewish calendar, which is the one that we currently use. Although many people refer to it as a “permanent calendar,” it will be in use only until we again have a Sanhedrin, which will then be in charge of the calendar.

Hillel’s calendar kept the same basic structure of 29- and 30-day months and 12- and 13-month years, but it is based purely on calculation and not on observation. The two major changes in this new calendar are:

  • A Leap of Fate

The leap years now occur following a regular pattern of seven leap years and 12 non-leap (usually called “common”) years in a 19 year cycle. The third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth years of the cycle are always leap years, and the rest are common years. This year is the nineteenth year of the cycle, and thus is a leap year.

  • The Haves versus the Have-nots

The length of most months is now predetermined. Tishrei, Shvat, Adar Rishon (which exists only in a leap year), Nissan, Sivan and Av always have 30 days; whereas Teiveis, regular Adar (in a common, non-leap year), Adar Sheini (in a leap year), Iyar, Tamuz and Elul are always only 29 days long. The two months of Cheshvan[iii] and Kislev are the only months whose length varies, sometimes 29 days and sometimes 30.[iv] A year in which both Cheshvan and Kislev have only 29 days is called chaseirah, lacking or defective; one in which Cheshvan has 29 days and Kislev has 30 is called kesidrah, as expected or regular; and one in which both Cheshvan and Kislev have 30 days is called sheleimah, full or excessive.

The terms chaseirah, kesidrah, and sheleimah apply in both common and leap years.[v] Thus, in the new calendar, all common years are either 353 days (if both Cheshvan and Kislev have 29 days), 354 days (if Cheshvan has 29 days and Kislev has 30) or 355 days (if both Cheshvan and Kislev have 30 days); all leap years are either 383 days (if both Cheshvan and Kislev have 29 days), 384 days (if Cheshvan has 29 days and Kislev has 30) or 385 days (if both Cheshvan and Kislev have 30 days). Since Adar in a common year always has 29 days, Adar Rishon always has 30 days, and Adar Sheini always has 29 days, like the regular Adar, the addition of an extra month of Adar in a leap year always adds exactly thirty days.

(Because the nineteen-year cycle synchronizes the lunar calendar with the solar year, the Hebrew and English dates of births, anniversaries and other occasions usually coincide on the nineteenth anniversary of the event. If yours does not, but is off by a day or two, do not fret. Your record keeping is accurate, but the cycle of nineteen years only relates to whether it is a leap year, not to whether the years are of the exact same length. The lengths of Cheshvan and Kislev are determined by other factors, and this will affect whether your 19th, 38th or 57th birthday or anniversary exactly coincides with its Hebrew/secular counterpart, or whether it is slightly off.)

The new calendar bases itself on an estimate, an average time that it takes the moon to revolve around the Earth. This molad calculation is that each new moon appears 29 days, 12 hours, and 793 chalakim (singular: chelek) or 793/1080 of an hour after the previous new moon. Once one knows when the new moon, called the molad, occurred on the previous Rosh Hashanah, one could now add either 12 or 13 times the above figure and determine the time of the molad in the next year, which is the most important factor in determining the date of the next Rosh Hashanah. (The term chelek, used on Shabbos Mevorchim when announcing when the molad is, equals 1/1080 of an hour, or 3 and 1/3 seconds.)

There is one other factor: Sometimes Rosh Hashanah takes place not on the day of the molad, but the next day, because the molad occurred on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah and would not be visible in Eretz Yisrael until the next day. When Rosh Hashanah was determined by the observation of witnesses, this information was important not only in determining when Rosh Hashanah falls, but also for interrogating potential witnesses testifying to the appearance of the new moon. However, Hillel’s calendar is no longer dependent on witnesses, Rosh Hashanah is still not established on a day when the molad falls on its afternoon, but is postponed. Based on this information, one can determine which day should be Rosh Hashanah in the coming year.

Another major innovation

Did you ever notice that Yom Kippur never falls on Friday or Sunday? If it did, we would observe two consecutive days that both have the stringency of Shabbos. Indeed, when the calendar was based on observation, this could and did happen.[vi]

However, Hillel Hanasi’s calendar included some innovations that were not part of the earlier calendar. His calendar does not allow Yom Kippur to fall on either a Sunday or a Friday, thus avoiding the difficulty of having two Shabbos-like days fall consecutively. Hillel Hanasi’s calendar also does not allow Hoshana Rabbah to fall on Shabbos, which would cause the cancellation of the Hoshanos ceremony. As long as the calendar was determined on the basis of eyewitness testimony, it was halachically more important to have Rosh Chodesh fall on its correct day than to be concerned about difficulties created when certain holidays fall on or next to Shabbos.[vii] However, once we are fulfilling the mitzvah in a less-preferred way with Hillel’s “permanent” calendar, keeping Yom Kippur from falling on Friday or Sunday, and Hoshana Rabbah from falling on Shabbos, are factors to be included in establishing the calendar.

In order to accommodate these innovations, Rosh Hashanah could fall only on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Shabbos, since if it falls on Sunday, Hoshana Rabbah falls on Shabbos; if Rosh Hashanah falls on Wednesday, Yom Kippur falls on Friday; and if Rosh Hashanah falls on Friday, then Yom Kippur falls on Sunday. This would mean that when Rosh Hashanah in the coming year would naturally fall on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, an extra day is added to the calendar to make sure that Rosh Hashanah falls on Monday, Thursday or Shabbos instead.[viii] This calendar concept of guaranteeing that Rosh Hashanah not fall on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday is called לא אד”ו ראש, lo adu rosh, meaning that the beginning of the year, Rosh Hashanah, does not fall on א, the first day of the week, Sunday; ד, Wednesday; or ו , Friday. It is predominantly for this reason that there was a need to have Cheshvan and Kislev sometimes 29 days and sometimes 30, in order to make the exact length of the years flexible.

Although the innovation of adding one day to the year so that Rosh Hashanah not fall on a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday seems relatively simple, it sometimes leads to more complex considerations. In some years, adjusting Rosh Hashanah to avoid Sunday, Wednesday and Friday creates a problem in the year before or the year after. Since Hillel Hanasi’s calendar did not allow a common year to be longer than 355 days and a leap year to be shorter than 383 days, the only way to avoid problems is to plan the calendar an additional year in advance and adjusting the calendar appropriately. In order to accomodate all these various calendar requirements, Hillel Hanasi established four rules, called dechiyos, which, together with the sod ha’ibur calculation and the 19 year leap year rotation, form the basis for determining our calendar.[ix]

To explain how this works, let us choose a sample year in which the molad calculation for Rosh Hashanah fell on Wednesday evening, and Rosh Hashanah therefore falls on Thursday, which is what we would expect. However, the next year’s molad for Rosh Hashanah falls on Tuesday less than two hours before the end of the day. Although the molad falls on Tuesday, it is too late in the day for this molad to be visible in Eretz Yisrael, and therefore, Rosh Hashanah cannot occur before Wednesday. However, since Rosh Hashanah cannot fall on a Wednesday because of the rule of lo adu rosh, it must be pushed off to Thursday, or two days after the molad. For this reason, that year must have an extra day. However, each year is limited how long it may be. In order to accommodate the proper dating of the second year, the year prior would have to have more days than the calendar allows. In order to resolve this, the year before is made longer than necessary. What is happening is that one Rosh Hashanah is postponed to allow that the next Rosh Hashanah should fall out in an acceptable way.

As I mentioned above, although the leap years follow an absolute nineteen-year cycle, whether the year is chaseirah, kesidrah, or sheleimah is determined by the other factors we have noted, and therefore does not follow the nineteen-year pattern. Rather, one first calculates when Rosh Hashanah should fall out based on the sod ha’ibur, checks the rules of the dechiyos to see what adjustments need to be made, and then determines on which day Rosh Hashanah should fall. As a result, whether the year in question needs to be chaseirah, kesidrah, or sheleimah requires calculating not only this year’s schedule, but also the coming year’s calendar requirements.

Based on all these calculations, there are seven prototype years for a common year and seven for a leap year that fulfill the calendar rules. Each of these fourteen prototype “years” is called by a three letter acronym in which the first letter identifies the day of the week of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the second letter denotes whether the year is chaseirah, kesidrah, or sheleimah, and the third letter identifies the day of the week of the first day of Pesach. No letter is used to denote whether the year is common or leap, because this is understood by knowing how many days of the week Pesach follows Rosh Hashanah. In a common year that is kesidrah, Pesach falls two days later in the week than Rosh Hashanah, and in a leap year, it falls four days later, the two additional days being the extra two days that the extra month of Adar Rishon, thirty days long, adds to the day of the week count. Of course, these calculations must be adjusted one day in either direction, if the year is chaseirah or sheleimah. Either way, calculating how many days are between Rosh Hashanah and Pesach tells us whether it is a common or leap year, so there is no need to include this in the acronym.

Thus, this year 5776 is known as בשז because Rosh Hashanah fell on Monday (ב), it is a sheleimah (ש) year in which both Cheshvan and Kislev contain 30 days, and the first day of Pesach falls on Shabbos (ז).

At this point, we have the basic information to figure out how our calendar operates. Although we may not realize it, we actually already have enough information at our fingertips that we could already calculate the calendars for the coming years – indefinitely.

Conclusion

We understand well why our calendar involves use of the solar year – after all, our seasons, and the appropriate times for our holidays, are based on the sun. But why did the Torah insist that our months follow the moon? It seems that we could live fine without months that are dependent on the moon’s rotation around the earth!

One answer to this question is that the waxing and waning of the moon is symbolic of our own our relationship with Hashem – which is sometimes better and sometimes less so. However, we know that we can always improve that relationship, just as the moon after its waning and almost disappearing always renews itself.

 

[i] Rosh Hashanah 31b

[ii] Berachos 63a; Rambam, Hilchos Kiddush HaChodesh 1:8

[iii] Although the correct name of the month is Marcheshvan, we will follow the colloquial use of calling it Cheshvan.

[iv] Rambam, Hilchos Kiddush Hachodesh 8:5

[v] By the way, because Kislev is sometimes 29 days and sometimes 30, the last day of Chanukah is sometimes on the second day of Teiveis, and sometimes on the third.

[vi] She’iltos of Rav Acha’ei Geon, #67; Rambam, Hilchos Shabbos 5:21; Ha’emek She’eilah ad loc., Note 22.

[vii] Ha’emek She’ailah ibid; Gri”z, Hilchos Kiddush Hachodesh

[viii] Rambam, Hilchos Kiddush Hachodesh 7:1.

[ix] Because these dechiyos are extremely technical, I did not explain all of them.

The Prayers of Rosh Hashanah

Reb Hershel, the chazan of the shul, decided to ask Rav Goldberg for a “chavrusa” to study the tefillos of Yomim Norayim in greater depth.

“I understand the basic translation of the Yom Tov Shemoneh Esrei,” began Rav Hershel. “But I would like to have a deeper comprehension of the Tefillos and Piyutim of the Yomim Nora’im davening.”

“Let us begin with the basic themes of the Rosh HaShanah Mussaf,” began Rav Goldberg. “As you know, Rosh HaShanah is the only time we have a Shemoneh Esrei of nine berachos. Shabbos and Yom Tov Shemoneh Esrei have seven berachos; the three introductory berachos which are praises of Hashem, the middle berachah in which we mention the special sanctity of the day (kedushas hayom), and the regular final three berachos. These final berachos are R’tzei, which is a request that our prayers (and the offerings in the Beis HaMikdash) be accepted, Modim, in which we acknowledge the kindness Hashem performs for us daily, and the berachah for peace (Sim shalom or Shalom rav).

“On Rosh HaShanah we add four inserts to the three introductory berachos: Zachreinu is inserted in the first berachah, Mi chomocha av horachamim in the second, and we make two changes to the third berachah. We insert a lengthy prayer ‘U’v’chein tein pachdecha’, and we close the berachah ‘Hamelech hakodosh’ rather than ‘Ha’keil hakodosh.’ With the exception of Hamelech hakodosh none of the other changes are mentioned in the Gemara (Berachos 12b). This makes a difference in halacha.”

“I believe that one who omitted Hamelech hakodosh must repeat Shemoneh Esrei,” observed Reb Hershel, “whereas someone who omitted any of the other inserts does not” (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 582:1,5).

“Precisely. We pasken that any addition to the tefillah not mentioned in the Gemara does not require repeating the tefillah if it is omitted. Of these four additions, only Hamelech hakodosh is mentioned by the Gemara (see also Mishnah Berurah 582:17). For the same reason, one does not repeat Shemoneh Esrei if he omitted U’chesov or B’sefer that are added to the last berachos of the Shemoneh Esrei. You should know that there are Rishonim who pasken differently, contending that one must repeat Shemoneh Esrei when omitting any of these additions (R’I quoted by Tur). However, the accepted p’sak is as you mentioned.”

“There is much discussion in early poskim about adding Zachreinu to the first berachah,” continued Rav Goldberg. “Some of the Geonim were opposed to adding it to the davening (see Tur 582).”

“But what could be wrong with adding it?” asked Reb Hershel. “It’s a beautiful prayer asking Hashem to grant a year of good life and write us into the Sefer HaChayim (the Book of Life).”

“The first three berachos of Shemoneh Esrei are intended to be praise of Hashem, to set the tone for the rest of the davening. There are no requests of any type in the first three berachos. For this reason, Bahag and other Geonim took issue with inserting any prayer into these berachos.”

“So why do we include it?” inquired Reb Hershel.

“Rav Hai Gaon and other Geonim contend that a prayer request that is for a public need may be recited during the first berachos. Therefore, they ruled that we recite Zachreinu in the first berachah and U’chesov and B’sefer in the last berachos. Furthermore, a source for the practice is found in the following statement of Chazal, ‘Just like the conclusion of the (middle) berachah of Shemoneh Esrei is different on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, so, too, the tefillah itself is different. One does not mention (supplications) in the first three and the last three berachos of Shemoneh Esrei except on the two days of Rosh HaShanah and on Yom Kippur. Even on these days it was permitted only with difficulty’ (Meseches Sofrim 19:8).

V’chein tein pachdecha

“Could you explain why we add such a lengthy insert into the third berachah, a berachah that rarely has anything added?” requested Reb Hershel.

 “Yes, according to our minhag, this special insert, u’v’chein tein pachdecha, is added to all the tefillos on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur,” replied the Rav. “Indeed, some opinions contend that one should recite it even on the weekdays of the Aseres Y’mei T’shuvah (Tur 582). Of course, we do not follow this approach and we recite it only on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. I personally feel a very close connection to this prayer, based on Klal Yisrael’s current situation.”

“Why is that?” asked Reb Hershel.

“Let us study the prayer. The prayer begins with three paragraphs, with an obvious progression. First, we ask Hashem to place awe of Him upon all the nations. The result is that all the peoples of the world will live in trepidation of Hashem’s existence and power. This is indeed somewhat unusual. We, the Jews, are asking Hashem to make all the nations of the world yirei Hashem, G-d fearing. We ask Him that they form a United Nations whose sole purpose is to serve Hashem.”

“Why should we be concerned about whether the non-Jews are G-d fearing?”

“The purpose of the world is that Hashem’s presence should be so obvious that everyone fears Him. Anytime that this is not the case, Hashem’s presence is in galus. We should feel tremendous loss as long as this has not happened, and we mourn this as-yet-unrealized hope. The seforim hakedoshim (holy writings) state that one should recite the words ‘galei k’vod malchuscha, ‘Reveal the glory of Your kingdom,’ with much emotion, ideally bringing oneself to tears (Yesod V’Shoresh Ha’Avodah). This is because we realize how the world should appear, and how far it is from that point now.”

Rav Goldberg continued. “In the next paragraph, u’v’chein tein kovod, we add to our previous request. Now that the entire world is completely united in Hashem’s service, we ask Him that His people and leaders be given a special place of honor. This would be the equivalent of the United Nations resolving that the only people in the world who have a mission is the Jews and that the only true leaders are the Gedolei Yisrael. This is exactly what will happen when Moshiach comes and all the nations of the world voluntarily accept his authority.”

“I never thought of it that way,” admitted Reb Hershel. “In light of current events, the possibility of this becoming the purpose of the organization sounds almost humorous.”

“Only because we fail to accept that Hashem’s salvation can come with the blink of an eye. As evil as the nations of the world are, Hashem could bring them to Tshuvah in a moment. The nations would realize the error of their ways, and they would recognize that the Torah and the Jews demonstrate the only goals that one should strive for. This is the first part of this prayer,” explained Rav Goldberg.

 “I can see why you identify so closely with this prayer,” responded Reb Hershel. “When we see how the Jews are treated so shabbily by the nations of the earth, how Jewish blood has no value in the eyes of the world, and they have the chutzpah to judge us without any basis in human decency!”

“And all this can change in an instant,” replied the Rav. “In actuality, they are making the job easier for Hashem,”

“What do you mean?” asked Reb Hershel.

“The Gemara teaches that in the days of Mashiach the nations of the world will claim that they committed no evil, and that all the good they did was for the benefit of the Jews. Hashem will prove them wrong and they will accept His judgment (Avodah Zarah 2b). But based on their current activities, all that is necessary is to open the records and minutes of the United Nations. I can’t imagine what kind of defense they will offer!”

Rav Goldberg continued his explanation. “In the third paragraph, we pray that the tzaddikim will celebrate that Hashem’s presence in this world is so obvious, and that all evil will dissipate like smoke.”

“This theme repeats itself in the prayer of Aleinu,” continued the Rav, “which we say daily, but figures significantly in the Mussaf Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh HaShanah. We coronate Hashem and emphasize how different we are from the nations of the earth.”

“Is this why we ‘fall korim’ and kneel when reciting Aleinu on Rosh HaShanah, but not the rest of the year?” interjected Reb Hershel.“Precisely,” replied the Rav. “However, I want to point out that according to many poskim there is a difference in custom between ‘falling korim’ at Aleinu on Rosh HaShanah, and falling korim on Yom Kippur as part of the ‘Seder Avodah’. When we ‘fall korim’ at Aleinu, one should place his knees on the floor and bow his head, but not completely prostrate himself. Only on Yom Kippur do we prostrate ourselves completely when we emulate what was done in the Beis HaMikdash. However, on Rosh HaShanah it is sufficient to demonstrate our total subservience to Hashem by kneeling and bowing. Other poskim feel that both on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur one should bow completely prostrate.” (Each community should follow the p’sak of its Rav or its custom.)

“In the second part of Aleinu, Al kein Nekaveh,” continued the Rav, “we express our hope that the entire world should also reach this recognition- similar to the message of U’v’chein tein pachdecha.”

“But Aleinu is part of Malchiyos, the fourth berachah of Mussaf, whereas U’v’chein tein pachdecha is part of Kedushah, the third berachah,” asked Reb Hershel. “Shouldn’t the entire theme be expressed in one place?”

“That is a very good question,” responded Rav Goldberg. “Let me explain. The Mishnah (Rosh HaShanah 32a) quotes a dispute whether Malchiyos is included in the berachah of kedushah (the third berachah) or the fourth berachah which emphasizes the sanctity of the day. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri contends that Malchiyos is included in kedushah because Hashem’s sanctity is manifest in his unique dominion (Aruch LaNer). Therefore, the appropriate place to discuss Malchiyos is together with kedushah. Rabbi Akiva rules that Malchiyos should be included with kedushas haYom since it is the major theme of the day. Although we pasken that Malchiyos is included in the fourth berachah, this is not because we reject Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri’s concepts. We accept the idea that Hashem’s unique monarchy is a manifestation of his Kedushah. Therefore, we add U’v’chein tein pachdecha to the berachah of kedushah.”

The Rav continued, “Returning to the insertion of the prayer of U’v’chein, the word u’v’chein reminds us of the words spoken by Esther as she entered King Achashveirosh’s inner chamber (Tur 582). In the words of Megillas Esther, ‘V’chein avo el hamelech asher lo kadas, and with this I will approach the king, which is against the law.’ When we daven, there is an element of ‘lo kadas,’ against the law. If we were to measure our sinfulness, we would not be permitted to daven. We do not approach Hashem to pray on the basis of our own merit, because we are deficient. Rather we pray only on the basis of Hashem’s kindness.

“Thus, we compare our request to Esther’s statement, ‘And with this I will approach the king, which is against the law.’ Esther acknowledged that her prayer was without rights. Yet she did so anyway. In the same vein, we ask Hashem to accept our tefillos even though we have no appropriate basis.”

Malchiyos

“You mentioned the theme of Malchiyos, and the three special berachos recited in Rosh HaShanah Mussaf,” Reb Hershel began to ask. “What is the origin of this triple theme?”

The Rav replied, “The Gemara states ‘Said the Holy One, blessed is He, “Recite before me on Rosh Hashanah Malchiyos, so that you will coronate me; Remembrances, so that you will be remembered before me for good; and with what? With the Shofar!”’ (Rosh HaShanah 16a). Based on this source, Chazal established three special berachos in the Mussaf Shemoneh Esrei to observe these themes. In each berachah, we recite ten pesukim, three from Chumash, three from Kesuvim, three from Nevi’im and then a final concluding pasuk from Chumash. The ten pesukim recited as part of Malchiyos all reflect Hashem’s dominion, the ten of Zichronos all mention that He remembers and is concerned about what we do, and the ten of Shofaros all refer to the shofar. As one reads the pesukim of Malchiyos, one should think, ‘With these words I coronate Hashem as King.’ While reciting Zichronos, one should acknowledge that all one’s deeds are recorded and reviewed by Hashem’s beis din (Yesod V’Shoresh Ha’Avodah). When reading the pesukim of Shofaros, one should think through all the wondrous events that happened in Jewish history that were punctuated by the blowing of the shofar, including Akeidas Yitzchok, Matan Torah, the conquest of Yericho. We should yearn to hear the blowing of Shofar that will accompany the arrival of Moshiach. ‘V’hayah ba’yom ha’hu yitaka b’shofar gadol,’ ‘And it will be on that day that the great shofar will be sounded.’”

“But the last pasuk of Malchiyos is Shema Yisrael, which makes no mention of Hashem as king?” queried Reb Hershel.

“Shema Yisrael is the ultimate coronation of Hashem as king (Rosh). Parshas Shema is referred to by Chazal as the passage whereby one accepts kabalas ol malchus Shamayim, the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven (Mishnah Berachos 13a). In the same vein, the Gemara states that one who has in mind that Hashem is King over everything above and below and all four directions of the world has satisfied the requirements of kavanah (Berachos 13b).

Asmachta

“I have a question,” asked Reb Hershel. “The specific tefillos that we say on Shabbos or Yom Tov are not required min haTorah. Even the poskim who rule that davening is a mitzvah min haTorah contend that only one tefillah a day is min haTorah, and that the details of the requirements are only miderabbanan. So how can the Gemara state that Hashem said that we are to recite three themes of Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros, when the details of our tefillos are only required miderabbanan?”

“You are raising a very important question that was asked many hundreds of years ago,” replied the Rav. The Ritva (Rosh HaShanah 16a) asks why does the Gemara say that ‘The Holy One, blessed is He, said’ when there is no commandment of the Torah to say Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros?”

The Rav continued: “Indeed, although there is no direct commandment in the Torah about Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros, there is an indirect reference. Rashi in Chumash (Bamidbar 10:10) derives from the pasuk, ‘And you shall blow the trumpets… and they will be for you a remembrance before your G-d, for I am Hashem, your G-d’ a reference to Shofaros, Zichronos and Malchiyos. These references are called ‘asmachta’, meaning that there is a hint in the pasuk, although it is not a mitzvah.”

The Rav proceeded, “The Ritva explains that many people errantly assume ‘asmachta’ means using a pasuk to remember a ruling Chazal introduced. (We should note that there are several very prominent rishonim, including the Rambam, the Kuzari and the Ramban, who accept the approach that the Ritva calls ‘errant.’) The Ritva explains that this is not the case at all. Asmachta is a source for a practice that Hashem wants us to perform, although he did not command it directly and left it to Chazal to implement. My Mashgiach, Rav Dovid Kronglas zt”l, used to explain the difference between asmachta and mitzvah in the following way:

“A man is thirsty and wants his son to bring him a cup of water. There are two ways the man can convey this message to his son. He can ask him, ‘Please bring me a cup of water’ or he can tell him, ‘I am thirsty.’ In both instances, the son knows that he should bring his father a cup of water. In the first instance the son was commanded to bring his father water, and in the second instance he was not. However, either way he knows that he should bring Dad a cup of water.

“Similarly, a mitzvah is similar to the first scenario described above, while an asmachta is similar to the second. The asmachta means that Hashem showed us in His Torah that He wants us to mention Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros, and to internalize these messages. However, Hashem did not command us to do it. Chazal commanded us to recite these pesukim. Thus, although one who recites the Mussaf is technically fulfilling a mitzvah miderabbanan, he is carrying out Hashem’s desires.”

“Therefore,” pointed out Reb Hershel, “One who davens the prayers of Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros with proper emotion is fulfilling a very high level of Hashem’s mission on Rosh HaShanah.”

“Thank you very much for your time, Rav Goldberg. I know that my tefillos will have more of a focus based on a deeper understanding of the themes of the various parts of the tefillah. I can only hope that I am a worthy shaliach for the congregation and that our tefillos are accepted.”

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