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Rosh Hashanah 12b

ראש השנה י״ב ע״ב

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

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Topic

The third-year tithes, the new year for vows, and the source for tying crops to a year once they reach one-third of their growth.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא: produce from two different years may not be tithed one for the other. In year two of the שמיטה cycle you give מעשר ראשון and מעשר שני, and in year three you give מעשר ראשון and מעשר עני. רבי יהושע בן לוי learns from 'שנת המעשר' that only one of the two earlier tithes, מעשר ראשון, continues in year three, so מעשר שני drops out. A הקש to נחלה shows that מעשר ראשון never stops. A second ברייתא brings two different sources for מעשר ראשון: רבי יהודה learns it from 'ובא הלוי', and רבי אליעזר בן יעקב learns it from נחלה. Next, the גמרא turns to vows. A vow 'for a year' lasts twelve months, but a vow 'for this year' ends at תשרי, because vows follow how people normally speak. Finally, a משנה says grain and olives belong to the year in which they reached one-third of their growth. רב אסי learns this from the פסוק linking שנת השמטה with סוכות. רבי זירא begins to respond, and his words continue on the next amud.

Opening lines

מִשֶּׁתָּבֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ —

Once the sun has set —

אֵין תּוֹרְמִין וּמְעַשְּׂרִין מִזֶּה עַל זֶה,

one may not separate תרומה and tithes from this batch for that one,

לְפִי שֶׁאֵין תּוֹרְמִין וּמְעַשְּׂרִין,

because one may not separate תרומה and tithes

לֹא מִן הֶחָדָשׁ עַל הַיָּשָׁן,

neither from the new produce for the old,

The steps (21)

  1. StatementOld and new produce cannot be tithed for each other; the year-two and year-three tithes
  2. QuestionAsking for the source of the third-year tithe rule
  3. Responseרבי יהושע בן לוי: the third year has only one tithe, so מעשר שני drops out
  4. ChallengeMaybe מעשר ראשון is also cancelled
  5. Resolutionמעשר ראשון is compared to נחלה, so it never stops
  6. ProofA second ברייתא also learns that מעשר שני is cancelled
  7. ChallengeThe second ברייתא asks: maybe מעשר ראשון is cancelled too
  8. Resolution'ובא הלוי': whenever the לוי comes, give him
  9. Statementרבי אליעזר בן יעקב's other source: the tithe is like an inheritance
  10. StatementA vow for 'a year' versus a vow for 'this year'
  11. ResolutionWhy one day is enough for a vow
  12. ChallengeWhy not end the year at ניסן?
  13. ResolutionVows follow how people normally speak
  14. StatementA משנה about when crops are tied to a year
  15. QuestionWhat does 'from when it sprouts' mean?
  16. ResponseIt means sprouting for seed
  17. QuestionWhat is the source for the one-third rule?
  18. Responseרבי יוחנן brings a פסוק about שמיטה and סוכות
  19. Challengeסוכות already falls in the eighth year
  20. ResolutionProduce that reached one-third in שביעית keeps its rules
  21. Challengeרבי זירא turns to רב אסי