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Rosh Hashanah 31b

ראש השנה ל״א ע״ב

Learn Rosh Hashanah 31b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The סנהדרין's exiles, where witnesses must go, and the nine תקנות of רבן יוחנן בן זכאי

Overview

The amud finishes the list of places the סנהדרין moved to, ending in טבריה, the lowest of them all. רבי אלעזר counts six exiles from a פסוק, and רבי יוחנן teaches that the redemption will rise from that lowest point. A new משנה teaches that witnesses for the new month go only to the court's meeting place, even if the ראש בית דין is elsewhere. In the גמרא, רב אשי uses this משנה to challenge אמימר, who banned a woman for not following him to מחוזא. אמימר answers that the rule protects only witnesses of the new month, while in a money case 'the borrower is a servant to the lender.' A ברייתא then lists nine תקנות of רבן יוחנן בן זכאי, and the ninth is disputed: רב פפא says it was cancelling the כרם רבעי rule, and רב נחמן בר יצחק says it was moving the crimson strip of יום כיפור. Each side challenges the other, and the discussion ends with רב נחמן בר יצחק explaining that רבן יוחנן בן זכאי suggested the strip rule while still a student. That answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וּמִיַּבְנֶה לְאוּשָׁא, וּמֵאוּשָׁא לְיַבְנֶה,

and from Yavne to Usha, and from Usha to Yavne,

וּמִיַּבְנֶה לְאוּשָׁא, וּמֵאוּשָׁא לִשְׁפַרְעָם,

and from Yavne to Usha, and from Usha to Shefaram,

וּמִשְּׁפַרְעָם לְבֵית שְׁעָרִים,

and from Shefaram to Beit She'arim,

וּמִבֵּית שְׁעָרִים לְצִפּוֹרִי,

and from Beit She'arim to Tzippori,

The steps (28)

  1. StatementThe rest of the list of places the סנהדרין moved to
  2. Proofטבריה is the lowest place, and a פסוק hints at it
  3. Statementרבי אלעזר counts six exiles
  4. Statementרבי יוחנן: the redemption will come from the lowest point
  5. Statementמשנה: Witnesses go to the court's meeting place, not to the ראש בית דין
  6. StatementThe story: אמימר puts a woman under a ban
  7. Challengeרב אשי challenges אמימר from the משנה
  8. Resolutionאמימר explains why the woman had to follow him
  9. StatementNo sandals on the platform, and the count of nine enactments
  10. StatementThe eighth enactment: a convert's bird-offering money
  11. StatementThe ninth enactment is disputed
  12. Statementרב פפא: the fourth-year vineyard rule and its borders
  13. StatementThe reason: to fill Jerusalem's markets with fruit
  14. Statementרבי אליעזר wants to give his vineyard away to the poor
  15. StatementThe students: your colleagues already permitted it
  16. ConclusionThe colleagues were רבן יוחנן בן זכאי
  17. StatementThe ninth ordinance was about the crimson strip
  18. StatementPeople still peeked, so the strip was moved to the goat
  19. QuestionWhy didn't רב נחמן בר יצחק agree with רב פפא?
  20. Responseרבן יוחנן בן זכאי was רבי אליעזר's teacher, not his colleague
  21. ResolutionStudents would not say 'your teacher' to their teacher
  22. QuestionWhy didn't רב פפא agree with רב נחמן בר יצחק?
  23. ResponseDid the crimson strip still turn white in רבן יוחנן בן זכאי's time?
  24. Proofרבן יוחנן בן זכאי's 120 years
  25. ProofThe crimson strip stopped turning white forty years before the destruction
  26. ProofHis תקנות came only after the destruction
  27. QuestionHow would the other אמורא answer?
  28. ResponseHe suggested it while still a student