Rosh Hashanah 12a

ראש השנה י״ב ע״א

Learn Rosh Hashanah 12a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Rosh Hashanah 12a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

When the מבול began (רבי אליעזר vs. רבי יהושע), and א' תשרי as the new year for vegetables and tithes

Overview

This amud finishes the מחלוקת between רבי אליעזר (the מבול began in מרחשון) and רבי יהושע (it began in אייר). The ברייתא continues רבי אליעזר's passage: because people changed their ways, הקב"ה changed nature and brought the flood. The גמרא asks two questions on רבי אליעזר. First, how is מרחשון the 'second month'? Answer: it is second after תשרי, the month of judgment. Second, what was 'changed' if rain falls in מרחשון anyway? Answer: following רב חסדא, the flood waters were boiling hot, as shown by the word 'שכך' (cooled down). A ברייתא then rules that Jewish sages count the flood like רבי אליעזר and the sun-and-moon cycles like רבי יהושע. Next the גמרא returns to the משנה's 'new year for vegetables'. It explains that this means the rabbinic vegetable tithe, distinguishes it from the Torah tithe, and explains why the words 'tithes' and 'vegetables' are plural. The amud ends with a new ברייתא about picking vegetables on ערב ראש השנה, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (21)

1. StatementGod changed nature because the people changed their ways
2. ChallengeHow does 'second month' fit רבי אליעזר?
3. ResolutionSecond to the month of judgment
4. ChallengeFor רבי אליעזר, what was 'changed'?
5. ResolutionThe change was boiling water, following רב חסדא
6. ProofExplaining both halves and proving the water was hot
7. StatementHow the sages actually count: the flood like רבי אליעזר, the seasons like רבי יהושע
8. StatementBack to the משנה: the new year for vegetables, with a ברייתא's longer list
9. QuestionWhat does 'for vegetables' mean?
10. ResponseIt means the vegetable tithe
11. ChallengeIsn't that the same as 'tithes'?
12. ResolutionOne is a rabbinic tithe, the other a Torah tithe
13. ChallengeWhy not list the Torah tithe first?
14. ResolutionIt was dear to him, so he put it first
15. ChallengeAnd what about our משנה, which mentions only vegetables?
16. ResolutionIf the rabbinic tithe follows תשרי, the Torah tithe surely does
17. ChallengeWhy does the text say tithes in the plural?
18. ResolutionThe plural includes two kinds of tithe
19. ChallengeWhy does the text say vegetables in the plural?
20. ResolutionTwo kinds of vegetables with two tithing moments
21. StatementNew ברייתא: picking vegetables before and after sunset on the eve of ראש השנה