INTRODUCTION
HaShem's calendar is the basis for the celebration of Rosh Chodesh (the new moon) and all of the moedim (festivals). This calendar is derived by astronomical observation and careful calculation. This ability to build a calendar is considered important and necessary, in the oral law:
Shabbath 75a ... he who is able to calculate the cycles[1] and planetary courses but does not, one may
hold no conversation with him.[2]
As it exists today, the Biblical, or Hebrew,
calendar is a lunar solar calendar that is based on calculation rather than
observation. This calendar is the official calendar of
The dictionary defines a "calendar" as:
cal en dar (kal n d r) n. [[ME calender < L kalendarium , account book < kalendae , CALENDS]] 1 a system of determining the beginning, length, and divisions of a year and for arranging the year into days, weeks, and months 2 a table or chart that shows such an arrangement, usually for a single year 3 a list or schedule, as of pending court cases, bills coming before a legislature, planned social events, etc. adj. such as that appearing on certain popular, conventional calendars [calendar art, a calendar girl] vt. to enter in a calendar; specif., to schedule ca len dri cal (k len dri k l) or ca len dric (-drik ) adj. [3]
In the encyclopedia we find the following enigmatic statement:
"CALENDAR. People have kept track of the days by the march of daylight and darkness and of the changing seasons in order to know when to plant crops and to get ready for winter. Sometimes they kept the record by notching a stick or knotting a cord once every day. They also watched the changing positions of the sun and stars, the changes of the moon, and the habits of plants and animals. The making of an exact calendar, however, has perplexed mankind for ages because the divisions of time by days, weeks, months, and years do not seem to fit together properly.[4]"
The perplexity men have regarding the calendar is primarily due to a lack of attention to God's word and the oral law. Anyone who has ever desired to observe HaShem's festivals, His moedim, His appointed times, has encountered HaShem's calendar. The scriptures are replete with references to various calendar references. There are the "Rosh Chodeshim", the new moons, the Sabbath, as well as the festivals. In addition to particular days, HaShem's calendar includes months and years. All of these are introduced in:
Genesis 1:14-19 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs
to mark seasons and days and years, And let them be lights in the expanse of
the sky to give light on the earth." And it was
so. God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the
lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, To govern the day and the night,
and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there
was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
When HaShem introduces His calendar, He does so by creating the astronomical bodies which will mark off the various seasons, days, and years. HaShem's calendar is completely defined by the sun and the moon. This is in stark contrast to the Gregorian calendar which does not tie it's days or months, to either the sun or the moon. In the Gregorian calendar, the days are arbitrarily set to start and end at midnight. This makes it impossible to determine when one day ends, and another day begins, by observation. You must rely on a man made timekeeping device. The Gregorian calendar creates the same problem with months. The Gregorian months are totally arbitrary and have no connection with the sun or the moon. Without a "paper calendar" one can not tell where one month starts and another begins. The months have no intrinsic connection to the sun or the moon, or any other astronomical body.
The Gregorian calendar is a modified version of the Julian calendar. The only difference being the specification of leap years. The Julian calendar specifies that every year that is a multiple of 4 will be a leap year. This leads to a year that is 365.25 days long, but the current accepted value for the tropical year is 365.242199 days. To correct this error in the length of the year and to bring the vernal equinox back to March 21, Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull declaring that Thursday October 4, 1582 would be followed by Friday October 15, 1582 and that centennial years would only be a leap year if they were a multiple of 400. This shortened the year by 3 days per 400 years, giving a year of 365.2425 days.
The following chart gives some insights into the Biblical / Hebrew and the Gregorian calendars:
Months of the Year -
Gregorian / Western Calendar
January 31 days; from Roman republican calendar month Januarius,
named for Janus, god of beginnings and doorways.
February 28 days usually, 29 in leap year; from Roman republican
calendar month Februarius, named for Februa, the feast of purification held on
the 15th.
March 31 days; from Roman republican calendar month Martius, named for the god Mars.
April 30 days; from Roman republican calendar month Aprilis. The Romans considered the
month sacred to the goddess Venus, and its name may derive from that of her
Greek equivalent, Aphrodite.
May 31 days; from Roman republican calendar month Maius, probably named for the
goddess Maia.
June 30 days; from Roman republican calendar month Junius, probably named for the
goddess Juno.
July 31 days; from Roman republican calendar month Julius, named for Julius Caesar in
44 BC.
August 31 days; from Roman republican calendar month Augustus, named for the emperor
Augustus in 8 BC.
September 30 days; seventh month of early Roman republican
calendar, from Latin septem, or seven.
October 31 days; eighth month of early Roman republican calendar, from Latin octo, or
eight.
November 30 days; ninth month of early Roman republican calendar,
from Latin nove, or nine.
December 31 days; tenth month of early Roman republican calendar,
from Latin decem, or ten.
Months of the Year -
Biblical / Jewish Calendar
Tishri (Ethanim) 30 days; Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fall during this month; regarded as birth
month of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
mazzaroth is the scales, symbolizing the weighing
of one's deeds between Rosh Hashanah, the new year
and Yom HaKippurim, the Day of Atonement. The tribe associated with this month is Dan.
Heshvan (Bul) 29 or 30 days; mazzaroth is the
scorpion. The tribe associated with this month is Naphtali.
Kislev 29 or 30 days; Chanukah begins on
25th day; mazzaroth is the bow. The tribe associated with this month is Gad.
Tevet 29 days; fast of Tevet on 10th day; mazzaroth is the
goat. The tribe associated with this month is Asher.
Shevat 30 days; new year for trees, or arbor day, on 15th
day; mazzaroth is the water bearer. The tribe associated with this month is Yoseph.
Adar 29 or 30 days; birth and death of Moses on 7th day; fast of Esther on 13th day; Purim on
14th day; mazzaroth is the fish. The tribe
associated with this month is Benjamin.
Nisan (Aviv) 30 days; Passover begins on
the 15th day; entire month regarded as a prolonged festival
and a blessed month in which to die; no public mourning
is permitted; mazzaroth is the ram. The tribe associated with this month is
Reuben.
Iyar (Zif) 29 days; Israeli Independence Day on 5th; no marriages may be celebrated by the Orthodox until after
17th day; mazzaroth is the bull. The tribe associated with this month is
Shimon.
Sivan 30 days; Hag Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, starts on
6th day; mazzaroth is the twins. The tribe associated with this month is Levi.
Tammuz 29 days; fast of Tammuz on 17th day,
commemorating the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem
and the breaking of the tablets of the Torah; mazzaroth is the crab. The tribe
associated with this month is
Av 30 days; fast of Av on the 9th day; mazzaroth is the
lion. The tribe associated with this month is Issachar.
Elul 29 days; month is devoted to penitence and spiritual preparation for Day of
Judgment; mazzaroth is the virgin. The tribe associated with this month is
Zebulon.
The names of the Jewish
months are actually Babylonian and were brought back to
BIBLICAL CALENDAR BACKGROUND[5]
The Jewish calendar, defined by God's method, is not like the Gregorian calendar. The Biblical calendar uses the sun and the moon to define days, months, and years. This calendar does not start on an arbitrary date determined by some great personality like Caesar or Yeshua, but rather it starts at the creation of the world. This starting point has several obvious advantages:
A. The calendar does not need to be changed with the coming of another man. This avoids a considerable amount of disruption.
B. The calendar starts at the "beginning" of the world, which is the first time that there is any need or reference for a calendar.
C. All of man's beginnings, will coincide with HaShem's beginnings, and the astronomical beginnings.
D. The year contains a running total of the age of creation, preserved for future generations.
The Biblical calendar
shows that the world was created in what is 3762 BC on the Gregorian calendar
(The Gregorian calendar will not be invented for thousands of years, though).
The years, on the Biblical calendar, are designated "AM" for anno mundi, which is Latin for
"year of the world". This system starts its count from the creation
of the world. There is, therefore, no designation of BC or AD as there is in
the Gregorian calendar.
The Biblical calendar is
tied to both the lunar month and the solar year. The lunar cycle is used to
derive months, and the lunar cycle is adjusted, via intercalation, to keep
synchronized with the solar year. There are two beginnings to the Jewish
calendar year, Nisan and Tishrei - reflecting the dual nature of the Jewish
calendar - lunar and solar, respectively. Nisan is the month of the Exodus from
Because the solar year
exceeds twelve lunar months by about eleven days, a 13th month of 30 days is intercalated, or
inserted, seven times in each 19-year cycle. Other adjustments to the calendar
are required periodically to make sure that the festival of Passover follows the first day of Spring.[6]
The problem with strictly lunar calendars is that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year, so a 12-month lunar calendar loses about 11 days every year and a 13-month lunar gains about 19 days every year. The months on such a calendar "drift" relative to the solar year. On a 12 month calendar, the month of Nisan, which is supposed to occur in the Spring, occurs 11 days earlier each year, eventually occurring in the Winter, the Fall, the Summer, and then the Spring again. To compensate for this drift, an extra month was added, or intercalated: a second month of Adar. The intercalated Adar II, is added seven out of nineteen years. The month of Nisan would occur 11 days earlier for two or three years, and then would jump forward 29 or 30 days, balancing out the drift.
The Biblical year harmonizes the solar and lunar cycle, using the 19-year cycle of Meton (c. 432 B.C.E.) Meton discovered that after nineteen years the years reckoned using the sun and the moon get back into synch (almost.) It corrects so that certain dates should not fall on certain days for religious convenience. The Jewish year has six possible lengths: 353, 354, 355, 383, 384, 385 days, according to the day and time of the new year lunation, and position in the Metonic cycle. Time figures from 6 p.m. the previous night. The lunation of year 1 is calculated to be on a Monday (our Sunday night) at 11:11:20 p.m. The world began with a hypothetical year 0, corresponding to 3762 B.C.E. Calculations for the calendar are figured in the ancient Babylonian unit of halaqim "parts" of the hour = 1/1080 hour.
According to Jewish tradition, the year 1 of the Biblical calendar was the time of tohu and bohu, "formless and void", referred to in Genesis 1:1. Nothing was yet created, and only a virtual clock started to tick on the first day of that year, heard, as it were, only by the Creator. On the first day of the week (Sunday) the twenty-fourth day of Elul, corresponding to August 22, 3760 AM. He said: Let there be light! And creation began. It concluded by the following Sabbath (Saturday) which was the first day of Tishri, year 2.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:5-6 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as
Hashem my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are
entering to take possession of it. You shall guard and You shall do them, for
this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear
about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and
understanding people."
"You shall guard and you shall do..." Rabbi Shmuel
bar Nahman said in the name of Rebbe Yonatan, from where do we know that it is
a mitzvah for each man to calculate the seasons and the months? It is written,
"You shall guard and you shall do, for it is evidence, in the eyes of the
nations, of the wisdom and understanding that has been given to you." What
is the wisdom and understanding that
Midrash
Rabbah - Esther IV:1 1. THEN THE KING SAID TO THE WISE MEN, WHO KNEW THE TIMES (1, 13). Who were these? R. Simon
said: These were the tribe of Issachar, as it says, And of the children of
Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to
know what Israel ought to do (I Chronicles XII, 32). R. Tanhuma said: This
means, for fixing the calendar: R. Jose b. Kazrath said: For intercalation. (‘
To know what Israel ought to do’:
Divrei
Hayamim (I Chronicles) 12:23-38 These are the numbers of the men
armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to
him, as HaShem had said: Men of Judah, carrying shield and spear--6,800 armed
for battle; Men of Simeon, warriors ready for battle--7,100; Men of Levi--4,600,
Including Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, with 3,700 men, And Zadok, a
brave young warrior, with 22 officers from his family; Men of Benjamin, Saul's
kinsmen--3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to Saul's house until then; Men
of Ephraim, brave warriors, famous in their own clans--20,800; Men of half the
tribe of Manasseh, designated by name to come and make David king--18,000; Men
of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do--200
chiefs, with all their relatives under their command; Men of Zebulun,
experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help
David with undivided loyalty-- 50,000; Men of Naphtali--1,000 officers,
together with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears; Men of Dan, ready for
battle--28,600; Men of Asher, experienced soldiers prepared for battle--40,000;
And from east of the Jordan, men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
armed with every type of weapon--120,000. All these were fighting men who
volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron
fully determined to make David king over all
Midrash
Rabbah - Genesis VI:1 1. AND GOD SAID: LET THERE BE LIGHTS (I, 14). R.
Johanan began thus: Who appointest the moon for seasons (Ps. CIV, 19). R.
Johanan commented: The orb of the sun alone was created to give light. If so,
why was the moon created? ‘For seasons’: in order to sanctify new moons and
years thereby.[7] R.
Shila of Kefar Temarta[8] said in
R. Johanan's name: Yet even so, The sun knoweth its coming (ib.): from the sun
one knows its coming [sc. of the month], for we count the beginning of the
month only from sunset. Justa Habra[9] said in
R. Berekiah's name: And they journeyed Irom Rameses
in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first
month, etc. (Num. XXXIII, 3): but if you count by the moon, then so far
there were only thirteen sunsets?[10] Hence
it follows that we count not from the moon but from sunset.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis VI:3 3. R.
Tanhum and R. Phinehas in R. Simon's name said: After calling them GREAT, He
actually casts a slur [on one by writing] THE GREAT LIGHT... AND THE SMALL
LIGHT (I, 16)! The reason is because it penetrated into its neighbour's
territory.[11] R.
Phinehas said: In respect of all other sacrifices it is written, And one
he-goat for a sin-offering,[12] whereas
in respect of New Moon it is written, And one
he-goat for a sin-offering for the Lord (Num. XXVIII,15): The Holy One, blessed
be He, said: ‘It was I who caused it to enter its neighbor's domain.’[13] Then if
that [sc. the moon] which entered with permission was thus disparaged by Holy
Writ, think how much more one is deserving of this who enters without
permission! R. Levi said in the name of R. Jose b. Lai: It is but natural that
the great should count by the great, and the small by the small. Esau[14] counts
[time] by the sun, which is large, and Jacob by the moon, which is small. Said
R. Nahman: That is a happy augury. Esau counts by the sun, which is large: just
as the sun rules by day but not by night, so does Esau enjoy this world, but
has nought in the World to Come. Jacob counts by the moon, which is small: just
as the moon rules by day and by night, so has Jacob a portion in this world and
in the World to Come. R. Nahman made another observation, thus: R. Nahman said:
As long as the light of the greater luminary functions, the light of the
smaller one is not noticeable, but when the light of the greater one sets, the
light of the smaller one becomes noticeable; even so, as long as the light of
Esau prevails, the light of Jacob cannot be distinguished; but when the light
of Esau sets, that of Jacob shall be distinguished, as it is written, Arise,
shine,... For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
peoples, but upon thee the Lord will arise, and His glory shall be seen upon
thee (Isaiah 60:1).
HISTORY
The Jewish calendar is primarily lunar, with each month beginning on the new moon, when the first sliver of moon becomes visible, after the dark of the moon. In ancient times, the new months used to be determined by observation. When people observed the new moon, they would notify the Sanhedrin. When the Sanhedrin heard testimony from two independent, reliable eyewitnesses that the new moon occurred on a certain date, they would declare the Rosh Chodesh (first of the month) and send out messengers to tell people when the month began.
With the decline of the Sanhedrin, calendrical matters were
decided by the Palestinian patriarchate (the official heads of the Jewish
community under Roman rule). Jewish persecution under Constantius II (reigned
337-361) and advances in Astronomical science led to the gradual replacement of
observation by calculation. According to Hai ben Sherira (died 1038)--the head
of a leading Talmudic academy in
In the fourth century, Hillel II established a fixed calendar based on mathematical and astronomical calculations. This calendar, still in use, standardized the length of months and the addition of months over the course of a 19 year cycle, so that the lunar calendar realigns with the solar years. Adar II is added in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle. The new year that began Thursday, October 2, 1997 AD (Jewish calendar year 5758 AM) was the first year of the cycle.
The year number on the Jewish calendar represents the number of years since creation, as calculated by adding up the ages of people in the Bible back to the time of creation. However, it is important to note that this date is not necessarily supposed to represent a scientific fact. There is some evidence to suggest that the AM years need to have 240 / 241 years added, to coincide with actuality. It is this authors opinion that the AM years were adjusted to preclude the Messiahship of Yeshua. Jews do not generally use the words "A.D." and "B.C." to refer to the years on the Gregorian calendar. "A.D." means "the year of our L-rd," and most Jews do not believe Yeshua is the L-rd. Instead, we use the abbreviations C.E. (Common or Christian Era) and B.C.E. (Before the Common Era).[16]
Months of the Jewish Year
The "first month" of the Jewish calendar is the month of Nisan, in the spring, when Passover occurs. However, the Jewish New Year is in Tishri, the seventh month, and that is when the year number is increased. This concept of different starting points for a year is not as strange as it might seem at first glance. The American "new year" starts in January, but the new "school year" starts in September, and many businesses have "fiscal years" that start at various times of the year. Similarly, the Jewish calendar has different starting points for different purposes.
The Biblical / Jewish calendar has the following months:
|
Month |
Length |
Gregorian Equivalent |
|
|
|
|
|
Nisan |
30 days |
March-April |
|
Iyar |
29 days |
April-May |
|
Sivan |
30 days |
May-June |
|
Tammuz |
29 days |
June-July |
|
Av |
30 days |
July-August |
|
Elul |
29 days |
August-September |
|
Tishri |
30 days |
September-October |
|
Heshvan |
29 or 30 days |
October-November |
|
Kislev |
30 or 29 days |
November-December |
|
Tevet |
29 days |
December-January |
|
Shevat |
30 days |
January-February |
|
Adar |
29 or 30 days |
February-March |
|
Adar II |
29 days |
March-April |
In leap years, Adar has 30 days. In non-leap years, Adar has 29 days.
The length of Heshvan and Kislev are determined by complex calculations involving the time of day of the full moon of the following year's Tishri and the day of the week that Tishri would occur in the following year.
Note that the number of days between Nisan and Tishri is always the same. Because of this, the time from the first major festival (Passover in Nisan) to the last major festival (Succoth in Tishri) is always the same.
The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar. Before I get into
the calculation, let me try to explain lunar calendars. Each month goes from
new moon to new moon. Between moladot (new moons) is (according to Hebrew
calendar) 29 days, 12 hours (abbreviated h) and 793 (of 1080) halekim (parts
abbreviated p). If one knows one new moon, they could find any other new moon
by adding or subtracting this interval. It also happens that every 19 solar
years corresponds to exactly 235 lunar months. This means you can devise a 19
lunar year cycle made up of 12 years of 12 lunar months and 7 years of 13 lunar
months that corresponds to an equivalent 19 solar years. The Hebrew calendar
has 13 month (leap) years in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years
of this cycle. In the Hebrew calendar the leap month is done by adding a second
Adar of 30 days.
Now if the Hebrew
calendar was based only on this, we could easily calculate one Rosh Hashanah to the next, and the months would
alternate 29 and 30 days. Things would be easy, but this is not the case. First
the extra 793 halokim ,parts, have to be balanced off. Also Rosh Hashanah must
be moved to prevent certain calendar facts from happening (like Yom HaKippurim, the Day of Atonement, from landing on
Friday or Sunday). These reasons mean a year can have 353, 354, 355 days in
non-leap-years, and 383, 384 and 385 in leap-years. To balance this off, in
short years (353 and 383 days) Kislev is shortened to 29 days and in long years
(355 and 385 days) Heshvan is lengthened to 30 days. Now before things get
really hopeless, there is a simple method here.
For any year, find the
day of the molad of Rosh Hashanah and apply the rules to get the real Rosh
Hashanah.
Do the same for the
following year.
Find the number of
days between to get the year length.
Use the table to find
out the adjustments.
|
Year
length |
leap
year |
Heshvan
length |
Kislev
length |
|
353 |
No |
29 |
29 |
|
354 |
No |
29 |
30 |
|
355 |
No |
30 |
30 |
|
383 |
Yes |
29 |
29 |
|
384 |
Yes |
29 |
30 |
|
385 |
Yes |
30 |
30 |
The inter-calculation
of the Gregorian and the Hebrew date is not that complex. The trick is not to
calculate one from the other, but to set some base date to calculate from. To
convert one to the other you first calculate the number of days from the base
date, and then calculate the other from that number of days.
In order for the Jewish calendar to operate accurately, two factors have to be taken into account. Firstly, the Torah commands: 'Shamor Et Chodesh Ha'aviv..' 'Observe the month of Aviv..':
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:1 Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the
Passover of HaShem your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of
Aviv, which is the first of the year, and today is called Nisan, is the month in which the festival of Pesach (Passover) occurs and since the word Aviv also means "Spring" we learn that Pesach must always fall in the Spring. In order to achieve this, the position of the sun has to be known in order to calculate the seasons. Secondly, the Mitzvah 'Uverashei Chodsheichem Takrivu Ola..' 'On your New Moons you shall offer..etc':
Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:11 "'On the first of every month, present
to HaShem a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a
year old, all without defect.
This shows that the months have to calculated according to the position of the moon. Hence we have a LUNAR SOLAR system, one that is determined by both the sun and the moon.
The Bible generally designates the months by number, 'First Month, Fifth Month, etc. However, there are four months actually named in the Bible, so it is probable that, originally, they all had designated names. The four we know are:
|
Aviv |
The 1st month (Deuteronomy 16.1) |
|
Ziv |
The second month (1 Kings 6:1) |
|
Bul |
The 8th month (1 Kings 6:38) |
|
Ethnaim |
The 7th month (1 Kings 8:2) |
The Palestinian Talmud states that the names of the months, as we know them today, were adopted at the time of the Babylonian exile.
THE FOUR NEW YEARS
The Mishna, in Tractate Rosh Hashanah, discusses four 'New Years.' They are:
1st Tishri
1st Nisan
1st Elul
15th Shevat.
1st Tishrei; The new year for years: Simply the birthday of the world.
1st Nisan: The New Year for Kings: Whenever a new king came to the throne, the beginning of his reign was dated from Nisan 1st, irrespective of when he really started to reign.
1st Elul; The New Year for Animals: The beginning of the tax year for tithing animals
15th Shevat; The New Year for Trees: The beginning of the tax year for tithing produce
How the Months were determined
In the Torah, The first day of the new month, known as Rosh Chodesh (the New Moon), is placed on par with festivals. The silver trumpets were blown in the Temple, shofars were blown throughout the land, and special Additional Sacrifices were offered. We can see from the Tanach how important this day was. From the book of Samuel, we see that they had a festive meal, from the book of Amos, we see that no business was done and from the book of Kings, we see that people went to visit the prophets, on this day.
The exact day of the new month was determined by observation of the moon and by seeing when the new crescent actually appeared...
On the 30th of each month the members of the High Court, the
Sanhedrin, assembled in a particular courtyard in Jerusalem (Beit Ya'azek) and
waited to receive testimony from two reliable witnesses. If they came, then the
moon was sanctified. It was considered a very great Mitzvah to come to
Rosh
Hashanah 23b MISHNAH. THERE WAS A LARGE COURT IN JERUSALEM
CALLED BETH YA'AZEK. THERE ALL THE WITNESSES USED TO ASSEMBLE AND THE BETH DIN
USED TO EXAMINE THEM. THEY USED TO ENTERTAIN THEM LAVISHLY THERE[17] SO THAT
THEY SHOULD HAVE AN INDUCEMENT[18] TO
COME. ORIGINALLY THEY USED NOT TO LEAVE THE PLACE THE WHOLE DAY,[19] BUT
RABBAN GAMALIEL THE ELDER INTRODUCED A RULE THAT THEY COULD GO TWO THOUSAND
CUBITS FROM IT IN ANY DIRECTION. THESE WERE NOT THE ONLY ONES [TO WHOM THIS
CONCESSION WAS MADE]. A MIDWIFE WHO HAS COME [FROM A DISTANCE] TO HELP IN
CHILDBIRTH OR ONE WHO COMES TO RESCUE FROM A FIRE OR FROM BANDITS OR FROM A
RIVER IN FLOOD OR FROM A BUILDING THAT HAS FALLEN IN — ALL THESE ARE ON THE
SAME FOOTING AS THE RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN, AND MAY GO TWO THOUSAND CUBITS [ON
SABBATH] IN ANY DIRECTION.
GEMARA. The question was raised: Do we read here
Beth Ya'azek or Beth Ya'zek? Do we read Beth Ya'azek, regarding the name as an
elegantia[20] based
on the Scriptural expressions, And he ringed it round and cleared it of stones?[21] Or do
we read Beth Ya'zek, taking the name to connote constraint,[22] as it
is written, being bound in chains?[23] — Abaye
said: Come and hear [a proof that it is the former]: THEY USED TO ENTERTAIN
THEM LAVISHLY THERE SO THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE AN INDUCEMENT TO COME. [This is
not conclusive], as perhaps they treated them in both ways.[24]
MISHNAH. HOW DO THEY TEST THE WITNESSES? THE PAIR
WHO ARRIVE FIRST ARE TESTED FIRST. THE SENIOR OF THEM IS BROUGHT IN AND THEY
SAY TO HIM, TELL US HOW YOU SAW THE MOON — IN FRONT OF THE SUN OR BEHIND THE
SUN?[25] TO THE
NORTH OF IT OR THE SOUTH? HOW BIG WAS IT, AND IN WHICH DIRECTION WAS IT
INCLINED?[26] AND HOW
BROAD WAS IT? IF HE SAYS [HE SAW IT] IN FRONT OF THE SUN, HIS EVIDENCE IS
REJECTED.[27] AFTER
THAT THEY WOULD BRING IN THE SECOND AND TEST HIM. IF THEIR ACCOUNTS TALLIED,
THEIR EVIDENCE WAS ACCEPTED, AND THE OTHER PAIRS WERE ONLY QUESTIONED BRIEFLY,[28] NOT
BECAUSE THEY WERE REQUIRED AT ALL, BUT SO THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISAPPOINTED,
[AND] SO THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISSUADED FROM COMING.[29]
GEMARA. ‘IN FRONT OF THE SUN’ is surely the same as ‘TO THE NORTH OF IT’, and ‘BEHIND THE SUN’ is surely the same as TO THE SOUTH OF IT’?[30] — Abaye said: [It means], whether the concavity of the moon is in front of the sun or behind the sun.