Rosh Hashanah 10

ופירות נטיעה זו אסורין עד חמשה עשר בשבט אם לערלה ערלה ואם לרבעי רבעי

And if the planting, layering, or grafting took place more than thirty days before Rosh HaShana, the fruit of this planting is prohibited until the fifteenth of Shevatof the fourth year since the tree’s planting, even though the three years were already completed the previous Rosh HaShana. This principle applies both for orla during the year of orla, when it is prohibited to eat the fruit, and for fourth-year produce during the year of fourth-year produce, which must be eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed before it is eaten outside Jerusalem.

מנא הני מילי אמר רבי חייא בר אבא אמר רבי יוחנן ומטו בה משמיה דרבי ינאי אמר קרא ובשנה הרביעית ובשנה החמישית

The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived, that the prohibitions of orla and fourth-year produce extend past Tishrei until the fifteenth of Shevat? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said, and some determined that it was stated in the name of Rabbi Yannai: The verse states: “Three years shall it be as prohibited to you; it shall not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be sacred for praise-giving to the Lord. And in the fifth year shall you eat of its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase; I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:23–25).

פעמים שברביעית ועדיין אסורה משום ערלה ופעמים שבחמישית ועדיין אסורה משום רבעי

The baraita explains: The repetition of the word “and,” indicated by the conjunctive vav that joins these verses, teaches that there are times that the tree is already in its fourth year and yet the fruit is forbidden as orla, from the verses “three years…and in the fourth year”; and there are times that the tree is already in its fifth year and yet the fruit is forbidden as fourth-year produce, from the verses “in the fourth year…and in the fifth year.”

לימא דלא כרבי מאיר דאי רבי מאיר הא אמר יום אחד בשנה חשוב שנה דתניא פר האמור בתורה סתם בן עשרים וארבעה חדש ויום אחד דברי רבי מאיר

The Gemara suggests: Let us say that this baraita is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, as, if it were in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, didn’t Rabbi Meir say that even one day in a year is considered a year? As it is taught in a baraita: The term bullock [par] mentioned in the Torah without specification is referring to a bullock that is twenty-four months and one day old, as although it is known by tradition that a bullock is three years old, once it is one day into its third year, it is already considered three years old; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir.

רבי אלעזר אומר בן עשרים וארבעה חדש ושלשים יום שהיה רבי מאיר אומר כל מקום שנאמר עגל בתורה סתם בן שנה בן בקר בן שתים פר בן שלש

The baraita continues: Rabbi Elazar says: The term bullock is referring to an animal that is twenty-four months and thirty days old. As Rabbi Meir would say: Wherever a calf [egel] is stated in the Torah without specification, the reference is to a calf that is one year old; a young ox [ben bakar] is referring to a cow that is two years old; and a bullock is referring to a cow that is three years old. Since the baraita dealing with planting requires that the tree be planted thirty days before Rosh HaShana, rather than one day, it would seem that it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir.

אפילו תימא רבי מאיר כי קאמר רבי מאיר יום אחד בשנה חשוב שנה בסוף שנה אבל בתחלת שנה לא

The Gemara rejects this argument: Even if you say that the baraita is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, it can be explained as follows. When Rabbi Meir said that one day in a year is considered a full year, this is only when the day is at the end of the year; since the count of a new year is about to begin, the day is considered like a whole year. But if the day is at the beginning of the year, that one day is not considered like a whole year.

אמר רבא ולאו קל וחומר הוא ומה נדה שאין תחילת היום עולה לה בסופה סוף היום עולה לה בתחלתה שנה שיום אחד עולה לה בסופה

Against this claim Rava said: But can we not invoke an a fortiori argument to prove just the opposite? Whereas in the case of a menstruating woman, where the beginning of the day is not counted as a full day at the end of her seven-day period of ritual impurity and instead she must wait until the end of the seventh day and immerse in a ritual bath only in the evening, yet nevertheless the end of the day is counted as a full day at the beginning of her ritually impure period, since if she experienced bleeding shortly before sunset that day is considered as the first day of her seven-day period of impurity; if so, in the case of a year, where one day is counted as a full year at the end of the year,

אינו דין שיום אחד עולה בתחלתה

is it not right that one day should count as a full year at the beginning of the year?

ואלא מאי רבי אלעזר שלשים ושלשים בעי דתנן אין נוטעין ואין מבריכין ואין מרכיבין ערב שביעית פחות משלשים יום לפני ראש השנה ואם נטע והבריך והרכיב יעקור דברי רבי אלעזר רבי יהודה אומר כל הרכבה שאינה קולטת בשלשה ימים שוב אינה קולטת רבי יוסי ורבי שמעון אומרים שתי שבתות

Rather, what opinion does it follow? If the baraita was not taught in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, does it follow the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, who holds that only thirty days are considered like a year? If so, then thirty days and another thirty days are required: Thirty days for the planting to take root, and another thirty days to count as a year. As we learned in a mishna: One may not plant, layer, or graft trees on the eve of the Sabbatical Year less than thirty days before Rosh HaShana, and if one planted, layered, or grafted, he must be uproot it, as the planting will take root only in the seventh year; this is the statement of Rabbi Elazar. Rabbi Yehuda says: Any grafting that does not take root within three days will never take root. Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon say: Two weeks are needed for the planting to take root.

ואמר רב נחמן אמר רבה בר אבוה לדברי האומר שלשים צריך שלשים ושלשים לדברי האומר שלשה צריך שלשה ושלשים לדברי האומר שתי שבתות צריך שתי שבתות ושלשים יום ואי נמי כרבי יהודה סבירא ליה שלשה ושלשים בעי

And on this topic Rav Naḥman said that Rabba bar Avuh said: According to the statement of the one who says thirty days, this means that it requires thirty days for the planting to take root and another thirty days to count as a year. And according to the statement of the one who says three days, this means that it requires thirty-three days. And according to the statement of the one who says two weeks, this means that it requires two weeks for the planting to take root and another thirty days to count as a year. And if the tanna of the mishna holds in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda that only three days are needed for the planting to take root, it still requires three days for the planting to take root and thirty days to count as a year. If so, the baraita cannot be understood even in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar.

אלא לעולם רבי מאיר וכי קאמר שלשים לקליטה

Rather, it must be understood as follows: The baraita was actually taught in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, and when it says thirty days, it is referring to the time needed for the planting to take root.

אי הכי שלשים ואחד בעי קא סבר יום שלשים עולה לכאן ולכאן

The Gemara raises a difficulty: If so, it requires thirty-one days; thirty days for the planting to take root and one more day to count as a year. The Gemara answers: This is theoretically correct, but he holds that the thirtieth day is counted for here and for there, i.e., it counts as both the thirtieth day for taking root and as a day that is counted as a year.

אמר רבי יוחנן ושניהן מקרא אחד דרשו ויהי באחת ושש מאות שנה בראשון באחד לחדש רבי מאיר סבר מדאכתי יום אחד הוא דעייל בשנה וקא קרי לה שנה שמע מינה יום אחד בשנה חשוב שנה

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: And both of them, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar, who disagree about how much time must pass to count as a year, expounded the same verse. As the verse states: “And it came to pass in the one and six hundredth year, in the first month on the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from off the earth” (Genesis 8:13). Rabbi Meir holds: From the fact that it was only one day into the year, as it was still the first day of the first month, and yet it is called the six hundred and first year, learn from here that one day in a year is already considered a year.

ואידך אי כתיב בשש מאות ואחת שנה כדקאמרת השתא דכתיב באחת ושש מאות שנה שנה אשש מאות קאי ומאי אחת אתחלתא דאחת קאמר

And the other tanna, Rabbi Elazar, expounds the verse as follows. If it had written: In the six hundred and first year, it would be as you said. However, now that it is written: “In the one and six hundredth year,” I can say that the word “year” relates to “six hundredth,” thereby teaching that it is still considered the six hundredth year. And what is meant by “one”? That it is the beginning of one year, but not that the first day counts as a year.

ורבי אלעזר מאי טעמא דכתיב בראשון באחד לחדש מדאכתי יום אחד הוא דעייל בחדש וקא קרי ליה חדש שמע מינה יום אחד בחדש חשוב חדש ומדיום אחד בחדש חשוב חדש שלשים יום בשנה חשובין שנה וחדש למנוייו ושנה למנוייה

The Gemara asks: And with regard to Rabbi Elazar, what is the rationale for his opinion? From where does he learn that thirty days are counted as a year? As it is written: “In the first month on the first day of the month.” Since it was only one day into the month, and yet it is called a month, learn from here that one day in a month is already considered a month. And since one day in a month is already considered a month, likewise thirty days in a year are already considered a year, as a month is calculated according to its unit, and a year is calculated according to its unit. If one unit by which a month is calculated, i.e., a day, counts as a full month, so too, one unit by which a year is calculated, i.e., a month, counts as a full year.

מכלל דתרוייהו סבירא להו בניסן נברא העולם

§ The Gemara comments: By inference, both of them, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar, hold that the world was created in Nisan and that the years are counted from that month, as, if the world were created in Tishrei and the count started then, the first day of the first month of the six hundred and first year would already have been six months into the year for the purpose of counting years.

תניא רבי אליעזר אומר בתשרי נברא העולם בתשרי נולדו אבות בתשרי מתו אבות בפסח נולד יצחק בראש השנה נפקדה שרה רחל וחנה בראש השנה יצא יוסף מבית האסורין

It is taught in a baraita that the tanna’im disagreed about this point: Rabbi Eliezer says: In Tishrei the world was created; in Tishrei the Patriarchs were born; in Tishrei the Patriarchs died; on Passover Isaac was born; on Rosh HaShana Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered by God and conceived; on Rosh HaShana Joseph came out from prison;