Rosh Hashanah 3
״וַיִּשְׁמַע הַכְּנַעֲנִי מֶלֶךְ עֲרָד״, מָה שְׁמוּעָה שָׁמַע? שָׁמַע שֶׁמֵּת אַהֲרֹן, וְנִסְתַּלְּקוּ עַנְנֵי כָּבוֹד, וּכְסָבוּר נִיתְּנָה רְשׁוּת לְהִלָּחֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. וְהַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיִּרְאוּ כׇּל הָעֵדָה כִּי גָוַע אַהֲרֹן״,
“And when the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel” (Numbers 21:1). What report did he hear? He heard that Aaron had died, and that the clouds of glory had withdrawn from the Jewish people, and he thought that he had been granted permission to wage war against the Jewish people. And this is as it is written: “And all the congregation saw that [ki] Aaron was dead, and they wept for Aaron thirty days, all the house of Israel” (Numbers 20:29).
וְאָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: אַל תִּקְרֵי ״וַיִּרְאוּ״, אֶלָּא ״וַיִּירָאוּ״, כִּדְרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ. דְּאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ, ״כִּי״ מְשַׁמֵּשׁ בְּאַרְבַּע לְשׁוֹנוֹת: אִי, דִּילְמָא, אֶלָּא, דְּהָא.
About this, Rabbi Abbahu said: Do not read the verse as: “And they saw [vayiru]”; rather, read it as: “And they were seen [vayeira’u]” by others, because the cover of the clouds of glory had been removed from them. And the next word, “that [ki],” should be understood as meaning because, in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: The word ki is used in the Bible in four senses: If, perhaps, but, and because. Therefore, the verse should be understood as follows: And all the congregation was seen, i.e., revealed, because Aaron had died. This shows that at the time of Aaron’s death Sihon was still alive; perforce, Moses’ oration, which was delivered after he had slain Sihon, must have occurred later.
מִי דָּמֵי? הָתָם כְּנַעַן, הָכָא סִיחוֹן! תָּנָא: הוּא סִיחוֹן, הוּא עֲרָד, הוּא כְּנַעַן. סִיחוֹן — שֶׁדּוֹמֶה לִסְיָיח בַּמִּדְבָּר, כְּנַעַן — עַל שֵׁם מַלְכוּתוֹ, וּמָה שְׁמוֹ — עֲרָד שְׁמוֹ. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי: עֲרָד — שֶׁדּוֹמֶה לְעָרוֹד בַּמִּדְבָּר, כְּנַעַן — עַל שֵׁם מַלְכוּתוֹ, וּמָה שְׁמוֹ — סִיחוֹן שְׁמוֹ.
The Gemara raises an objection against this proof: Is it comparable? There, the verse is speaking of Canaan, king of Arad, whereas here, the verse is speaking of Sihon. What proof, then, can be brought from the one with regard to the other? The Gemara explains: A Sage taught in a baraita: All three names are referring to the same person: He is Sihon, and he is Arad, and he is also Canaan. He was called Sihon because he was similar in his wildness to a foal [seyyaḥ] in the desert; and he was called Canaan after his kingdom, as he ruled over the Canaanite people; and what was his real name? Arad was his name. Some say an alternative explanation: He was called Arad because he was similar to a wild ass [arod] in the desert; and he was called Canaan after his kingdom; and what was his real name? Sihon was his name.
וְאֵימָא רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה אִיָּיר!
The Gemara raises another question: Granted, when counting the years from the exodus from Egypt, Av and the following Shevat are both part of the same year, but it has not been established that the counting of years from the Exodus is specifically from Nisan. Say that the New Year for this purpose is in the following month, the month of Iyyar.
לָא סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן״, וּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי נַעֲלָה הֶעָנָן מֵעַל מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדוּת״, מִדְּקָאֵי בְּנִיסָן וְקָרֵי לַהּ ״שָׁנָה שֵׁנִית״, וְקָאֵי בְּאִיָּיר וְקָרֵי לַהּ ״שָׁנָה שֵׁנִית״ — מִכְּלָל דְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לָאו אִיָּיר הוּא!
The Gemara rejects this proposal: It should not enter your mind to say this, as it is written: “And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the Tabernacle was established” (Exodus 40:17), and it is written: “And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle of the testimony” (Numbers 10:11). It may be argued as follows: From the fact that when the Bible speaks of Nisan, which is the first month, it calls it “the second year,” and when it speaks of the following Iyyar, which is the second month, it also calls it “the second year,” by inference, Rosh HaShana is not at the beginning of Iyyar. Were it the case that the New Year begins in Iyyar, Nisan and the following Iyyar would not occur in the same year, as the year would have changed in Iyyar.
וְאֵימָא רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה סִיוָן? לָא סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ, דִּכְתִיב: ״בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם״, וְאִם אִיתָא — ״בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאת וְגוֹ׳״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ!
The Gemara asks further: And say that the New Year for this purpose is in the third month, the month of Sivan. The Gemara rejects this suggestion: It should not enter your mind to say this, as it is written: “In the third month, after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1). And if it is so that the New Year is the beginning of Sivan, the verse should have said: In the third month, in the second year after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, as a new year had started.
וְאֵימָא תַּמּוּז! וְאֵימָא אָב! וְאֵימָא אֲדָר!
The Gemara continues: But perhaps one could say that the New Year for counting the Exodus is in the fourth month, the month of Tammuz; or say that it is in the fifth month, the month of Av; or say that it is in the twelfth month, the month of Adar. There is no clear refutation that these months are not the New Year.
אֶלָּא אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, מֵהָכָא: ״וַיָּחֶל לִבְנוֹת בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשֵּׁנִי בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע לְמַלְכוּתוֹ״. מַאי ״שֵׁנִי״? לָאו שֵׁנִי לְיֶרַח שֶׁמּוֹנִין בּוֹ לְמַלְכוּתוֹ?!
Rather, Rabbi Elazar said: It is from here that it is derived that the years of a king’s rule are counted from Nisan, as it is stated: “And he began to build in the second month, in the second, in the fourth year of his reign” (II Chronicles 3:2). What is the meaning of the words “the second”? Doesn’t it mean second to the month from which Solomon’s reign is counted? This is clear proof that the years of a king’s rule are counted from the first month, i.e., the month of Nisan.
מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רָבִינָא: וְאֵימָא שֵׁנִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ! אִם כֵּן, ״שֵׁנִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ״ בְּהֶדְיָא הֲוָה כְּתִיב בֵּיהּ.
Ravina strongly objects to this: Why not say that the words “the second” are referring to the second day of the month? The Gemara answers: If so, it should have explicitly stated: “On the second of the month,” as that is the formulation usually used in the Bible to refer to a specific day of the month.
וְאֵימָא בְּשֵׁנִי בַּשַּׁבָּת! חֲדָא, דְּלָא אַשְׁכְּחַן שֵׁנִי בַּשַּׁבָּת דִּכְתִיב. וְעוֹד: מַקִּישׁ שֵׁנִי בָּתְרָא לְשֵׁנִי קַמָּא: מָה שֵׁנִי קַמָּא — חֹדֶשׁ, אַף שֵׁנִי בָּתְרָא — חֹדֶשׁ.
The Gemara raises another objection: Why not say that the words “the second” are referring to the second day of the week? This argument is rejected for two reasons: First, we have not found the second day of the week ever being written; nowhere does the Bible give the day of the week on which a particular event transpired. And further, the verse juxtaposes the second instance of the word “second” to the first instance of the word “second”: Just as the first “second” is referring to a month, so too, the latter “second” is referring to a month.
תַּנְיָא כְּווֹתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מִנַּיִין שֶׁאֵין מוֹנִין לָהֶם לַמְּלָכִים אֶלָּא מִנִּיסָן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיְהִי בִשְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וְגוֹ׳״, וּכְתִיב: ״וַיַּעַל אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן אֶל הֹר הָהָר עַל פִּי ה׳ וְגוֹ׳״, וּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי בְּאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בְּעַשְׁתֵּי עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ״.
It is taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan: From where is it derived that one counts the years of kings’ reigns only from the month of Nisan? As it is stated: “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord” (I Kings 6:1). And it is written: “And Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month” (Numbers 33:38). And it is later written: “And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 1:3).
וּכְתִיב: ״אַחֲרֵי הַכּוֹתוֹ אֶת סִיחוֹן וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיִּשְׁמַע הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיִּרְאוּ כׇּל הָעֵדָה כִּי גָוַע אַהֲרֹן וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיְהִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית וְגוֹ׳״.
And it is written: “After he had slain Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon” (Deuteronomy 1:4). And it says: “And when the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard” (Numbers 33:40). And it says: “And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, and they wept for Aaron thirty days” (Numbers 20:29). And it says: “And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the Tabernacle was established” (Exodus 40:17).
וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיָּחֶל לִבְנוֹת וְגוֹ׳״.
And it says: “And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from off the Tabernacle of the testimony” (Numbers 10:11). And it says: “In the third month, after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1). And it says: “And he began to build in the second month, in the second, in the fourth year of his reign” (II Chronicles 3:2). This list of verses summarizes Rabbi Yoḥanan’s explanation.
אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: לֹא שָׁנוּ אֶלָּא לְמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲבָל לְמַלְכֵי אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם — מִתִּשְׁרִי מָנִינַן, ״שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״דִּבְרֵי נְחֶמְיָה בֶּן חֲכַלְיָה וַיְהִי בְחֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵיו שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים וְגוֹ׳״, וּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי בְּחֹדֶשׁ נִיסָן שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא וְגוֹ׳״.
§ Rav Ḥisda said: They taught that the years of a king’s rule are counted from the first of Nisan only with regard to the Jewish kings of Israel, but the years of the kings of the gentile nations of the world are counted from Tishrei, as it is stated: “The words of Nehemiah, son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the capital” (Nehemiah 1:1). And it is written: “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king” (Nehemiah 2:1).
מִדְּקָאֵי בְּכִסְלֵיו וְקָרֵי לֵיהּ ״שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים״, וְקָאֵי בְּנִיסָן וְקָרֵי לֵיהּ ״שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים״ — מִכְּלָל דְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לָאו נִיסָן הוּא.
From the fact that when the Bible speaks of the month of Kislev it calls it the twentieth year, and when it speaks of the following Nisan it also calls it the twentieth year, by inference, the New Year for gentile kings does not begin in Nisan. Were it the case that the New Year did begin in Nisan, Kislev and the following Nisan would not occur in the same year.
בִּשְׁלָמָא הַיְאךְ — מְפָרֵשׁ דִּלְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא, אֶלָּא הַאי — מִמַּאי דִּלְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא? דִּילְמָא
The Gemara raises an objection: Granted, in this second verse it is explicitly stated that the count relates to the years of Artaxerxes. But as for that first verse, from where is it known that the count relates to the years of Artaxerxes? Perhaps
לְמִנְיָנָא אַחֲרִינָא הוּא? אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: ״שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים״ ״שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים״ — לִגְזֵירָה שָׁוָה: מָה הָתָם לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא, אַף הָכָא לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא.
it follows some other count. Rav Pappa said: The meaning of the first instance of the expression “the twentieth year” may be inferred from the second instance of the expression “the twentieth year” by way of a verbal analogy: Just as there the reference is to the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, so too, here the reference is to the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.
וּמִמַּאי דְּמַעֲשֶׂה דְּכִסְלֵיו קָדֵים, דִּילְמָא מַעֲשֶׂה דְּנִיסָן קָדֵים?
The Gemara raises another question: Even though those two events took place in the same year, from where is it known that the incident that occurred in Kislev took place first? Perhaps the incident that occurred in Nisan took place first, in which case it is possible that even the years of gentile kings are counted from Nisan.
לָא סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ, דְּתַנְיָא: דְּבָרִים שֶׁאָמַר חֲנָנִי לִנְחֶמְיָה בְּכִסְלֵיו, אֲמָרָן נְחֶמְיָה לַמֶּלֶךְ בְּנִיסָן.
The Gemara answers: It should not enter your mind to say this, as it is taught in a baraita: The words that Hanani told Nehemiah in the month of Kislev, Nehemiah told the king in the month of Nisan.
דְּבָרִים שֶׁאָמַר חֲנָנִי לִנְחֶמְיָה בְּכִסְלֵיו — שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״דִּבְרֵי נְחֶמְיָה בֶּן חֲכַלְיָה וַיְהִי בְחֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵיו שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים וַאֲנִי הָיִיתִי בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה. וַיָּבֹא חֲנָנִי אֶחָד מֵאַחַי הוּא וַאֲנָשִׁים מִיהוּדָה וָאֶשְׁאָלֵם עַל הַיְּהוּדִים הַפְּלֵיטָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁאֲרוּ מִן הַשֶּׁבִי וְעַל יְרוּשָׁלִָם. וַיֹּאמְרוּ לִי הַנִּשְׁאָרִים אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁאֲרוּ מִן הַשְּׁבִי שָׁם בַּמְּדִינָה בְּרָעָה גְדוֹלָה וּבְחֶרְפָּה וְחוֹמַת יְרוּשָׁלִַם מְפוֹרָצֶת וּשְׁעָרֶיהָ נִצְּתוּ בָאֵשׁ״.
The baraita explains: The words that Hanani said to Nehemiah in Kislev are as it is stated: “The words of Nehemiah, son of Hachaliah: And it came to pass in the month Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came out of Judah, he and certain men; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me: The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province suffer much hardship and insult; and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:1–3).
אֲמָרָן נְחֶמְיָה לַמֶּלֶךְ בְּנִיסָן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיְהִי בְּחֹדֶשׁ נִיסָן שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא הַמֶּלֶךְ יַיִן לְפָנָיו וָאֶשָּׂא אֶת הַיַּיִן וָאֶתְּנָה לַמֶּלֶךְ וְלֹא הָיִיתִי רַע לְפָנָיו. וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ מַדּוּעַ פָּנֶיךָ רָעִים וְאַתָּה אֵינְךָ חוֹלֶה אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם רֹעַ לֵב וָאִירָא הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד. וָאוֹמַר לַמֶּלֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ לְעוֹלָם יִחְיֶה מַדּוּעַ לֹא יֵרְעוּ פָנַי אֲשֶׁר הָעִיר בֵּית קִבְרוֹת אֲבוֹתַי חֲרֵבָה וּשְׁעָרֶיהָ אוּכְּלוּ בָאֵשׁ״.
Nehemiah told these words to the king in Nisan, as it is stated: “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence. And the king said to me: Why is your face sad, seeing that you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of the heart. Then I was very much afraid, and I said to the king: Let the king live forever: Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of the tombs of my ancestors, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?” (Nehemiah 2:1–3).
״וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל מַה זֶּה אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ וָאֶתְפַּלֵּל אֶל אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם. וָאוֹמַר לַמֶּלֶךְ אִם עַל הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב וְאִם יִיטַב עַבְדְּךָ לְפָנֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁלָחֵנִי אֶל יְהוּדָה אֶל עִיר קִבְרוֹת אֲבוֹתַי וְאֶבְנֶנָּה. וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַשֵּׁגַל יוֹשֶׁבֶת אֶצְלוֹ עַד מָתַי יִהְיֶה מַהֲלָכְךָ וּמָתַי תָּשׁוּב וַיִּיטַב לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיִּשְׁלָחֵנִי וָאֶתְּנָה לוֹ זְמָן״.
“Then the king said to me: For what do you ask? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king: If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judea, to the city of the graves of my ancestors, that I may rebuild it. And the king said to me, the consort also sitting by him: For how long shall your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time” (Nehemiah 2:4–6).
מֵתִיב רַב יוֹסֵף: ״בְּיוֹם עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ בַּשִּׁשִּׁי בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתַּיִם לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ״, וּכְתִיב: ״בַּשְּׁבִיעִי בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתַּיִם בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ״. וְאִם אִיתָא — ״בַּשְּׁבִיעִי בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלֹשׁ״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ!
Rav Yosef raised an objection against the rule established by Rav Ḥisda that the years of gentile kings are counted from Tishrei from the verse that states: “On the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king” (Haggai 1:15), and it is written immediately afterward: “In the seventh month, in the second year, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying” (Haggai 2:1). And if it were so that the years of gentile kings are counted from Tishrei, what the verse needed to state is: In the seventh month in the third year, as a new year had already started for him.
אָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: כּוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ כָּשֵׁר הָיָה, לְפִיכָךְ מָנוּ לוֹ כְּמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
Rabbi Abbahu said in answer to this objection: Cyrus was a virtuous king, and consequently Haggai counted the years of his reign like those of the kings of Israel, i.e., from Nisan.
מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב יוֹסֵף: חֲדָא — דְּאִם כֵּן קָשׁוּ קְרָאֵי אַהֲדָדֵי, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְשֵׁיצִיא בַּיְתָא דְנָא עַד יוֹם תְּלָתָא לִירַח אֲדָר דִּי הִיא שְׁנַת שֵׁית לְמַלְכוּת דָּרְיָוֶשׁ מַלְכָּא״, וְתַנְיָא: בְּאוֹתוֹ זְמַן לַשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה עָלָה עֶזְרָא מִבָּבֶל וְגָלוּתוֹ עִמּוֹ, וּכְתִיב: ״וַיָּבֹא יְרוּשָׁלִַם בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי הִיא שְׁנַת הַשְּׁבִיעִית לַמֶּלֶךְ״, וְאִם אִיתָא — ״שְׁנַת הַשְּׁמִינִית״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ.
Rav Yosef strongly objects to this explanation for two reasons: One objection is that if this is so, the verses contradict each other, as it is written: “And this house was finished on the third of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king” (Ezra 6:15), and it is taught in a baraita: At that same time in the following year Ezra went up from Babylonia together with his company of exiles. And it is written in the Bible: “And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king” (Ezra 7:8). And if it were so that this king’s years were counted like those of the kings of Israel, what the verse needed to state is: Which was in the eighth year of the king.
וְעוֹד: מִי דָּמֵי? הָתָם כּוֹרֶשׁ, הָכָא דָּרְיָוֶשׁ! תָּנָא: הוּא כּוֹרֶשׁ, הוּא דָּרְיָוֶשׁ, הוּא אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא. כּוֹרֶשׁ — שֶׁמֶּלֶךְ כָּשֵׁר הָיָה, אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא — עַל שֵׁם מַלְכוּתוֹ, וּמָה שְׁמוֹ — דָּרְיָוֶשׁ שְׁמוֹ.
And further, a second objection: Are Rav Yosef’s objection and Rabbi Abbahu’s resolution comparable? There, Rabbi Abbahu speaks of Cyrus, whereas here, the verses speak of Darius, and it was never said about Darius that he was a virtuous king. The Gemara explains: This is not difficult, as the Sages taught in a baraita: All three names are referring to the same person: He is Cyrus; he is Darius; and he is also Artaxerxes. He was called Cyrus [Koresh] because he was a virtuous [kasher] king; he was called Artaxerxes after his kingdom, i.e., this was his royal title; and what was his real name? Darius was his name.
מִכׇּל מָקוֹם קַשְׁיָא! אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק, לָא קַשְׁיָא: כָּאן קוֹדֶם שֶׁהֶחְמִיץ, כָּאן לְאַחַר שֶׁהֶחְמִיץ.
The Gemara notes: In any case, it is difficult, as in one place his years are counted from Nisan, whereas in another place they are counted from Tishrei. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is not difficult, as it can be explained as follows: Here, where his years are counted from Nisan like the kings of Israel, it speaks of him before he became corrupt, whereas there, where his years are counted from Tishrei, it speaks of him after he became corrupt.
מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רַב כָּהֲנָא: וּמִי הֶחְמִיץ? וְהָכְתִיב:
Rav Kahana strongly objects to this explanation: Did he really become corrupt after Ezra went to Eretz Yisrael? But isn’t it written:
