Rosh Hashanah 16

מתני׳ בארבעה פרקים העולם נידון בפסח על התבואה בעצרת על פירות האילן בראש השנה כל באי עולם עוברין לפניו כבני מרון שנאמר היוצר יחד לבם המבין אל כל מעשיהם ובחג נידונין על המים

MISHNA: At four times of the year the world is judged: On Passover judgment is passed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on Rosh HaShana all creatures pass before Him like sheep [benei maron], as it is stated: “He Who fashions their hearts alike, Who considers all their deeds” (Psalms 33:15); and on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water, i.e., the rainfall of the coming year.

גמ׳ הי תבואה אילימא הא תבואה דקיימא כל הני הרפתקי דעדו עלה אימת איתדון אלא תבואה דמזדרעא

GEMARA: The mishna taught that on Passover judgment is passed concerning grain. The Gemara asks: Which grain is judged on Passover? If we say it is the grain that is presently standing in the fields ready to be reaped between Passover and Shavuot, when was judgment passed with regard to all those events [harpatkei] that already happened to the grain while it was growing in the winter? Rather, the mishna must be referring to the grain that will be sown over the coming year.

למימרא דחד דינא מתדנא והתניא תבואה שאירע בה קרי או אונס קודם הפסח נידונית לשעבר לאחר הפסח נידונית להבא אדם שאירע בו קרי או אונס קודם יום הכפורים נידון לשעבר לאחר יום הכפורים נידון להבא

The Gemara asks further: Is this to say that only one judgment is passed concerning a particular crop, and no more? But isn’t it taught in a baraita: If grain suffers an incident or accident before Passover, it was judged in the past, the previous Passover; if this occurs after Passover, it was judged this Passover for the future. And similarly, if a person suffered an incident or accident before Yom Kippur, he was judged in the past, the previous Rosh HaShana; if this occurred after Yom Kippur, he was judged this Rosh HaShana for the future.

אמר רבא שמע מינה תרי דיני מתדנא אמר אביי הלכך כי חזי אינש דמצלח זרעא אפלא ליקדים וליזרע חרפא דעד דמטי למדייניה קדים סליק

Rava said: Learn from here that two judgments are passed concerning each crop, one covering the period between the time it is sown and Passover and another covering the period between Passover and the time it is harvested. Abaye said: Therefore, if a person sees that his slow-growing crops, those that are sown at the beginning of the winter but ripen only in the spring or summer, are doing well, he should quickly sow fast-growing crops, such as barley, which can be sown at the end of the winter and still ripen before Passover, as before it is brought to judgment on the next Passover it will already have successfully grown, since he knows that this year’s crops were judged for a favorable yield.

מני מתניתין לא רבי מאיר ולא רבי יהודה ולא רבי יוסי ולא רבי נתן

The Gemara raises a question about the mishna: Whose opinion is expressed in the mishna? It is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, and not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, and not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, and not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Natan.

דתניא הכל נידונים בראש השנה וגזר דין שלהם נחתם ביום הכפורים דברי רבי מאיר רבי יהודה אומר הכל נידונין בראש השנה וגזר דין שלהם נחתם כל אחד ואחד בזמנו בפסח על התבואה בעצרת על פירות האילן בחג נידונין על המים ואדם נידון בראש השנה וגזר דין שלו נחתם ביום הכפורים

The Gemara explains: As it is taught in a baraita: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed each in its own time: On Passover the sentence is sealed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water; and mankind is judged on Rosh HaShana, and the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur.

רבי יוסי אומר אדם נידון בכל יום שנאמר ותפקדנו לבקרים רבי נתן אומר אדם נידון בכל שעה שנאמר לרגעים תבחננו

Rabbi Yosei says: A person is judged every day, and not just once a year, as it is stated: “You visit him every morning” (Job 7:18), meaning that every morning an accounting is made and a judgment is passed. Rabbi Natan says: A person is judged every hour, as it is stated: “You try him every moment” (Job 7:18).

וכי תימא לעולם רבי יהודה היא וכי קתני מתניתין אגזר דין אי הכי קשיא אדם

And lest you say that actually, the mishna is taught in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, and when the mishna is taught, it is taught with regard to the sentence, and not the judgments, which are all passed on Rosh HaShana, if so, it is difficult with regard to mankind, as the mishna should have stated that the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur.

אמר רבא האי תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל היא דתנא דבי רבי ישמעאל בארבעה פרקים העולם נידון בפסח על התבואה בעצרת על פירות האילן בחג נידונין על המים ואדם נידון בראש השנה וגזר דין שלו נחתם ביום הכפורים וכי קתני מתניתין אתחלת דין

Rava said: The tanna of the mishna is a tanna from the school of Rabbi Yishmael, as a tanna from the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: At four times of the year the world is judged: On Passover concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water; and mankind is judged on Rosh HaShana and the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur. And when the mishna is taught, it is taught with regard to the beginning of the judgment process, i.e., the judgment of mankind is initially passed on Rosh HaShana.

אמר רב חסדא מאי טעמא דרבי יוסי כדקאמר טעמיה ותפקדנו לבקרים אנן הכי קאמרינן מאי טעמא לא אמר כרבי נתן בחינה עיוני בעלמא היא פקידה נמי עיוני בעלמא היא

Rav Ḥisda said: What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Yosei? The Gemara is astonished by this question: Why ask about his reason? He stated his reason, the verse that states: “You visit him every morning.” The Gemara explains: This is what we are saying: If Rabbi Yosei relies on this verse, what is the reason that he did not state his opinion in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Natan that a person is judged every hour? And if you say that he holds that the verse “You try him every moment” cannot serve as proof, because trying merely indicates examination and not actual judgment, then in the same way visiting merely indicates examination. If so, there is no clear proof from this verse.

אלא אמר רב חסדא טעמיה דרבי יוסי מהכא לעשות משפט עבדו ומשפט עמו ישראל דבר יום ביומו

Rather, Rav Ḥisda said: Rabbi Yosei’s reason is from here, another verse, which states: “To make the judgment of His servant and the judgment of His people Israel at all times, as each day may require” (I Kings 8:19), which indicates that the entire world is judged every day.

ואמר רב חסדא מלך וצבור מלך נכנס תחלה לדין שנאמר לעשות משפט עבדו ומשפט עמו ישראל מאי טעמא איבעית אימא לאו אורח ארעא למיתב מלכא אבראי ואיבעית אימא מקמי דליפוש חרון אף

§ About this verse Rav Ḥisda said: When a king and a community are brought before God for judgment, the king is brought in for judgment first, as it is stated: “To make the judgment of His servant,” and afterward: “And the judgment of His people Israel.” What is the reason for this? If you wish, say that it is not proper conduct for the king to stand outside and wait for the trial of his subjects to come to an end. And if you wish, say instead that the king is brought in first so that he may be judged before God’s anger intensifies due to the sins of the community, and consequently he may be saved from overly harsh judgment.

אמר רב יוסף כמאן מצלינן האידנא אקצירי ואמריעי כמאן כרבי יוסי ואיבעית אימא לעולם כרבנן וכדרבי יצחק דאמר רבי יצחק יפה צעקה לאדם בין קודם גזר דין בין לאחר גזר דין

Rav Yosef said: In accordance with whose opinion do we pray nowadays on a daily basis for the sick and afflicted? The Gemara repeats the question: In accordance with whose opinion? It is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, who holds that one is judged every day, and so there is reason to pray every day in order to affect the outcome of his judgment. And if you wish, say that actually, normative practice is even in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis, who hold that one is judged only once a year, but also in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yitzḥak. As Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Crying out to God is beneficial for a person both before his sentence has been issued and after his sentence has been issued.

תניא אמר רבי יהודה משום רבי עקיבא מפני מה אמרה תורה הביאו עומר בפסח מפני שהפסח זמן תבואה הוא אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא הביאו לפני עומר בפסח כדי שתתברך לכם תבואה שבשדות ומפני מה אמרה תורה הביאו שתי הלחם בעצרת מפני שעצרת זמן פירות האילן הוא אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא הביאו לפני שתי הלחם בעצרת כדי שיתברכו לכם פירות האילן

§ It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Akiva: For what reason did the Torah say: Bring the omer offering on the second day of Passover? It is because Passover is the time of grain, the beginning of the grain harvest season, and therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Bring the omer offering before Me on Passover so that the grain in the fields will be blessed for you. And for what reason did the Torah say: Bring the offering of the two loaves from the new wheat on Shavuot? It is because Shavuot is the time of the fruits that grow on a tree, when it begins to ripen, and therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Bring the offering of the two loaves before Me on Shavuot so that the fruits that grow on a tree will be blessed for you.

ומפני מה אמרה תורה נסכו מים בחג אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא נסכו לפני מים בחג כדי שיתברכו לכם גשמי שנה ואמרו לפני בראש השנה מלכיות זכרונות ושופרות מלכיות כדי שתמליכוני עליכם זכרונות כדי שיעלה זכרוניכם לפני לטובה ובמה בשופר

And for what reason did the Torah say: Pour water onto the altar in the Temple on the festival of Sukkot? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Pour water before Me on the festival of Sukkot so that the rains of the year, which begin to fall after Sukkot, will be blessed for you. And recite before Me on Rosh HaShana verses that mention Kingships, Remembrances, and Shofarot: Kingships so that you will crown Me as King over you; Remembrances so that your remembrance will rise before Me for good; and with what will the remembrance rise? It will rise with the shofar.

אמר רבי אבהו למה תוקעין בשופר של איל אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא תקעו לפני בשופר של איל כדי שאזכור לכם עקידת יצחק בן אברהם ומעלה אני עליכם כאילו עקדתם עצמכם לפני

Similarly, Rabbi Abbahu said: Why does one sound a blast with a shofar made from a ram’s horn on Rosh HaShana? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Sound a blast before Me with a shofar made from a ram’s horn, so that I will remember for you the binding of Isaac, son of Abraham, in whose stead a ram was sacrificed, and I will ascribe it to you as if you had bound yourselves before Me.

ואמר רבי יצחק למה תוקעין בראש השנה למה תוקעין רחמנא אמר תקעו אלא למה מריעין מריעין רחמנא אמר זכרון תרועה אלא למה תוקעין ומריעין כשהן יושבין

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Why does one sound [tokin] a blast on Rosh HaShana? The Gemara is astonished by the question: Why do we sound a blast? The Merciful One states in the verse: “Sound [tiku] a shofar” (Psalms 81:4). Rather, the question is: Why does one sound a staccato series of shofar blasts [terua] in addition to a long continuous shofar blast [tekia]? The Gemara is still surprised by the question: Sound a terua? The Merciful One states: “In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns [terua]” (Leviticus 23:24). Rather, Rabbi Yitzḥak asked about the common practice in Jewish communities, which is not explicitly stated in the Torah: Why does one sound a long, continuous shofar blast [tekia] and then a staccato series of shofar blasts [terua] while the congregation is still sitting before the silent prayer,

ותוקעין ומריעין כשהן עומדין כדי לערבב השטן

and then sound again a tekia and a terua while they are standing in the Amida prayer? He answers: In order to confuse the Satan, for this double blowing of the shofar demonstrates Israel’s love for the mitzva, and this will confuse Satan when he brings his accusations against Israel before the heavenly court, and the Jewish people will receive a favorable judgment.

ואמר רבי יצחק כל שנה שאין תוקעין לה בתחלתה מריעין לה בסופה מאי טעמא דלא איערבב שטן

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said, playing on the double meaning of the word meri’in, which can mean either sound a terua or cause misfortune: Any year during which, due to some mishap, the shofar was not sounded at its beginning will suffer evil and misfortune at its end. What is the reason? Because Satan was not confused, and he was able to put forward his accusations, so that the Jewish people would be punished.

ואמר רבי יצחק כל שנה שרשה בתחלתה מתעשרת בסופה שנאמר מראשית השנה מרשית כתיב ועד אחרית סופה שיש לה אחרית

§ The Gemara brings a series of statements in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak, all of which relate to judgment: And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Any year that is poor [rasha] and troubled at its beginning will be made rich at its end, for it is stated: “From the beginning [mereishit] of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:12). The word meireishit is written defectively, without an alef, so that it may also be understood in the sense of rashut, poverty. The verse continues: “And until the end [aḥarit] of the year,” which means that the end of the year will have expectations of good things in the end [aḥarit].

ואמר רבי יצחק אין דנין את האדם אלא לפי מעשיו של אותה שעה שנאמר כי שמע אלהים אל קול הנער באשר הוא שם

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A man is judged only according to his deeds at the time of his judgment, and not according to his future deeds, as it is stated with regard to Ishmael: “For God has heard the voice of the lad where he is” (Genesis 21:17). Although Ishmael and his descendants would act wickedly in the future, his prayer was heard and answered because he was innocent at the time.

ואמר רבי יצחק שלשה דברים מזכירין עונותיו של אדם אלו הן קיר נטוי ועיון תפלה ומוסר דין על חבירו דאמר רבי אבין כל המוסר דין על חבירו הוא נענש תחלה שנאמר ותאמר שרי אל אברם חמסי עליך וכתיב ויבא אברהם לספוד לשרה ולבכותה

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Three matters evoke a person’s sins, and they are: Endangering oneself by sitting next to an inclined wall that is about to collapse; expecting prayer to be accepted, as that leads to an assessment of one’s status and merit; and passing a case against another to Heaven, for Rabbi Avin said: Anyone who passes a case against another to God is punished first. Praying for God to pass judgment on another causes one’s own deeds to be examined and compared with the deeds of the other, as it is stated: “And Sarai said to Abram: My anger be upon you; I have given my maid into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes; let the Lord judge between me and you” (Genesis 16:5), and it is written afterward: “And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her” (Genesis 23:2). Sarah called upon Heaven to pass judgment between her and her husband, and therefore she was punished and died first.

ואמר רבי יצחק ארבעה דברים מקרעין גזר דינו של אדם אלו הן צדקה צעקה שינוי השם ושינוי מעשה צדקה דכתיב וצדקה תציל ממות צעקה דכתיב ויצעקו אל ה׳ בצר להם וממצוקותיהם יוציאם שינוי השם דכתיב שרי אשתך לא תקרא את שמה שרי כי שרה שמה וכתיב וברכתי אותה וגם נתתי ממנה לך בן שינוי מעשה דכתיב וירא האלהים את מעשיהם וכתיב וינחם האלהים על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות להם ולא עשה

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A person’s sentence is torn up on account of four types of actions. These are: Giving charity, crying out in prayer, a change of one’s name, and a change of one’s deeds for the better. An allusion may be found in Scripture for all of them: Giving charity, as it is written: “And charity delivers from death” (Proverbs 10:2); crying out in prayer, as it is written: “Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses” (Psalms 107:28); a change of one’s name, as it is written: “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be” (Genesis 17:15), and it is written there: “And I will bless her, and I will also give you a son from her” (Genesis 17:16); a change of one’s deeds for the better, as it is written: “And God saw their deeds” (Jonah 3:10), and it is written there: “And God repented of the evil, which He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10).

ויש אומרים אף שינוי מקום דכתיב ויאמר ה׳ אל אברם לך לך מארצך והדר ואעשך לגוי גדול ואידך ההוא זכותא דארץ ישראל הוא דאהניא ליה

And some say: Also, a change of one’s place of residence cancels an evil judgment, as it is written: “And the Lord said to Abram: Go you out of your county” (Genesis 12:1), and afterward it is written: “And I will make of you a great nation” (Genesis 12: 2). The Gemara explains: And the other one, i.e., Rabbi Yitzḥak, who does not include a change of residence in his list, holds that in the case of Abram, it was the merit and sanctity of Eretz Yisrael that helped him become the father of a great nation.

ואמר רבי יצחק חייב אדם להקביל פני רבו ברגל שנאמר מדוע את הולכת אליו היום לא חדש ולא שבת מכלל דבחדש ושבת איבעי לה למיזל

The Gemara cites two more statements in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak, relating to the Festivals: And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A person is obligated to go out and greet his teacher on a Festival, as it is stated that the husband of the Shunamite woman asked, when she was readying herself to go to the prophet: “Why will you go to him today; it is neither the New Moon nor Shabbat” (II Kings 4:23). By inference, we learn that on the New Moon and on Shabbat, which in this context means a Festival that is a day of rest, she was required to go.

ואמר רבי יצחק חייב אדם לטהר את עצמו ברגל שנאמר ובנבלתם לא תגעו

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A person is obligated to purify himself on a Festival, as it is stated: “And their carcasses you shall not touch; they are impure to you” (Leviticus 11:8). This verse is referring to the Festivals, as taught in the following baraita.

תניא נמי הכי ובנבלתם לא תגעו יכול יהו ישראל מוזהרין על מגע נבילה תלמוד לומר אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן בני אהרן מוזהרין בני ישראל אין מוזהרין

This is also taught in a baraita: The verse states: “And their carcass you shall not touch.” One might have thought that ordinary Jews are prohibited from touching an animal carcass. Therefore, the verse states: “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people” (Leviticus 21:1). It is derived from here that the sons of Aaron are prohibited from defiling themselves, but the children of Israel, i.e., non-priests, are not prohibited from doing so.

והלא דברים קל וחומר ומה טומאה חמורה כהנים מוזהרין ישראלים אינן מוזהרין טומאה קלה לא כל שכן אלא מה תלמוד לומר ובנבלתם לא תגעו ברגל

But are these matters not an a fortiori inference? If, with regard to of severe impurity, i.e., contact with a human corpse, priests are prohibited from defiling themselves, while ordinary Israelites are not prohibited from doing so, in the case of light impurity, e.g., touching an animal carcass, is it not all the more so that Israelites be permitted to defile themselves? Rather, what is the meaning when the verse states: “And their carcass you shall not touch?” It means that on a Festival all are obligated to purify themselves.

אמר רבי כרוספדאי אמר רבי יוחנן שלשה ספרים נפתחין בראש השנה אחד של רשעים גמורין ואחד של צדיקים גמורין ואחד של בינוניים צדיקים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר לחיים רשעים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר למיתה בינוניים תלויין ועומדין מראש השנה ועד יום הכפורים זכו נכתבין לחיים לא זכו נכתבין למיתה

§ The Gemara goes back to discuss the Day of Judgment. Rabbi Kruspedai said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Three books are opened on Rosh HaShana before the Holy One, Blessed be He: One of wholly wicked people, and one of wholly righteous people, and one of middling people whose good and bad deeds are equally balanced. Wholly righteous people are immediately written and sealed for life; wholly wicked people are immediately written and sealed for death; and middling people are left with their judgment suspended from Rosh HaShana until Yom Kippur, their fate remaining undecided. If they merit, through the good deeds and mitzvot that they perform during this period, they are written for life; if they do not so merit, they are written for death.

אמר רבי אבין מאי קרא ימחו מספר חיים ועם צדיקים אל יכתבו ימחו מספר זה ספרן של רשעים גמורין חיים זה ספרן של צדיקים ועם צדיקים אל יכתבו זה ספרן של בינוניים

Rabbi Avin said: What is the verse that alludes to this? “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, but not be written with the righteous” (Psalms 69:29). “Let them be blotted out of the book”; this is the book of wholly wicked people, who are blotted out from the world. “Of the living”; this is the book of wholly righteous people. “But not be written with the righteous”; this is the book of middling people, who are written in a separate book, not with the righteous.

רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר מהכא ואם אין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת מחני נא זה ספרן של רשעים מספרך זה ספרן של צדיקים אשר כתבת זה ספרן של בינוניים

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: This matter is derived from here: “And if not, blot me, I pray You, out of Your book which you have written” (Exodus 32:32). “Blot me, I pray You”; this is the book of wholly wicked people, who are blotted out from the world. “Out of Your book”; this is the book of wholly righteous people, which is special and attributed to God Himself. “Which You have written”; this is the book of middling people.

תניא בית שמאי אומרים שלש כתות הן ליום הדין אחת של צדיקים גמורין ואחת של רשעים גמורין ואחת של בינוניים צדיקים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר לחיי עולם רשעים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר לגיהנם שנאמר ורבים מישני אדמת עפר יקיצו אלה לחיי עולם ואלה לחרפות לדראון עולם בינוניים יורדין לגיהנם

It is taught in a baraita: Beit Shammai say: There will be three groups of people on the great Day of Judgment at the end of days: One of wholly righteous people, one of wholly wicked people, and one of middling people. Wholly righteous people will immediately be written and sealed for eternal life. Wholly wicked people will immediately be written and sealed for Gehenna, as it is stated: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall wake, some to eternal life and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). Middling people will descend to Gehenna to be cleansed and to achieve atonement for their sins,