Arachin 9b

ערכין ט׳ ע״ב

Arakhin 9b

Learn Arachin 9b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 9b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

How full and short months shape the calendar, and the dispute between רב הונא and עולא (ערכין ט׳ ע״ב)

Overview

The גמרא asks what lies behind the dispute between רב הונא and עולא over how many full and short months a year may have. It answers that they follow two sides of a ברייתא about whether a leap year's extra month is thirty days or twenty-nine. A ברייתא then says ראש השנה falls only on the weekday of the עומר waving or the day after. That fits עולא, but seems to rule out רב הונא, who allows eight full months. רב הונא answers that עולא has the same problem, so the ברייתא is assigned to אחרים, who hold that the weekday moves exactly four days a year (five in a leap year). רב משרשיא shows how אחרים can still have ראש השנה on the weekday of the waving. The גמרא then explains the lesson of אחרים and why rare extra days are not counted. Finally, it brings שמואל and רבי as support for רב הונא, and answers a challenge from a נזיר vow by noting that vows follow ordinary speech. רבי's story continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. QuestionWhat is the root of their disagreement?
2. ResponseThey argue about the length of a leap year's extra month
3. ChallengeA ברייתא about which weekdays שבועות and ראש השנה fall on
4. ChallengeThe ברייתא works well for עולא
5. ResponseHow each weekday comes about for עולא
6. ChallengeThe ברייתא does not fit רב הונא
7. Rejectionעולא has the same problem
8. ResolutionThe ברייתא follows אחרים
9. Challengeאחרים cannot explain the 'day of waving' case
10. ResolutionHow a leap year lets ראש השנה match the day of the waving
11. QuestionWhy did אחרים need to give a fixed count
12. ResponseMonths may follow a fixed order, not only the sighting of the moon
13. ChallengeThe extra days that build up over the years
14. ResolutionDays that do not come every year are not counted
15. Proofשמואל agrees with רב הונא about the length of the year
16. StatementHow the year can be 356, 352, or 354 days
17. ChallengeChallenge from a נזיר vow 'like the days of the moon'
18. ResolutionVows follow how people normally talk
19. Proofרבי made nine deficient months
20. Resolutionרבי שמעון suggests a leap year explains it