## Rosh Hashanah Daf 20b

###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:1
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:1)

הַאי מִיחֲזֵי כְּשִׁקְרָא, הַאי לָא מִיחֲזֵי כְּשִׁקְרָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In **this** case, where the witnesses withhold testimony about what they saw and the New Moon is pushed off to the next day, it **looks like a lie,** as the moon might have been seen by others as well, and people will wonder why the New Moon was not sanctified the previous day. In **that** case, where the witnesses testify about something that they did not see and the New Moon is a day early, it **does not look like a lie,** as everybody knows that it is possible that only a few people saw the new moon.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:2
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:2)

אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: יָכֵילְנָא לְתַקּוֹנֵי לְכוּלַּהּ גּוֹלָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Shmuel said: I am able to fix** the calendar **for the entire Diaspora** without witnesses. Shmuel was an expert on the movement of the celestial bodies and on the principles governing leap years and additional days added to months.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:3
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:3)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּא אֲבוּהּ דְּרַבִּי שִׂמְלַאי לִשְׁמוּאֵל: יָדַע מָר הַאי מִילְּתָא דְּתַנְיָא בְּסוֹד הָעִיבּוּר: נוֹלַד קוֹדֶם חֲצוֹת אוֹ נוֹלַד אַחַר חֲצוֹת? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מִדְּהָא לָא יָדַע מָר — אִיכָּא מִילֵּי אַחְרָנְיָיתָא דְּלָא יָדַע מָר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abba, the father of Rabbi Simlai, said to Shmuel: Does the Master know** the meaning of **this statement, as it is taught** in a *baraita* dealing with **the secret of addition,** which discusses calendric calculations: Differentiate between when **the *molad* occurred before midday and** when **the *molad* occurred after midday? He said to him: No,** I do not know what this means. **He said to him: Since the Master does not know this, there are** probably **other matters that the Master does not know,** and therefore you must not establish a calendar, relying upon calculations that were made based on faulty or insufficient knowledge.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:4
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:4)

כִּי סְלֵיק רַבִּי זֵירָא, שְׁלַח לְהוּ: צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּהֵא לַיְלָה וָיוֹם מִן הֶחָדָשׁ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
As for the meaning of this obscure *baraita*, **when Rabbi Zeira went up** from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael, **he sent** back a letter to his colleagues in Babylonia: In order for a day to be sanctified as the New Moon, **it is necessary that** both **the night and the day be of the new** month. That is to say, the *molad* must occur before the beginning of the night.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:5
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:5)

וְזוֹ שֶׁאָמַר אַבָּא אֲבוּהּ דְּרַבִּי שִׂמְלַאי: מְחַשְּׁבִין אֶת תּוֹלַדְתּוֹ. נוֹלַד קוֹדֶם חֲצוֹת — בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁנִּרְאָה סָמוּךְ לִשְׁקִיעַת הַחַמָּה. לֹא נוֹלַד קוֹדֶם חֲצוֹת — בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁלֹּא נִרְאָה סָמוּךְ לִשְׁקִיעַת הַחַמָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And this is what Abba, the father of Rabbi Simlai, said:** The *baraita* means as follows: **They calculate the *molad*;** if **the *molad* occurred before midday,** so that there are at least six more hours left of the day, **it is known that** the moon **will be visible close to sunset.** If, however, **the *molad* did not occur before midday,** so that there are fewer than six hours left of the day, **it is known that** the moon **will not be visible close to sunset.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:6
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:6)

לְמַאי נָפְקָא מִינַּהּ? אָמַר רַב אָשֵׁי: לְאַכְחוֹשֵׁי סָהֲדֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **What is the practical difference** that this statement makes? In any case, the court is dependent upon the testimony of witnesses. **Rav Ashi said:** This information is used **to refute the witnesses,** as if the witnesses claim that they saw the new moon at a time when it was not visible according to the calculations, they are clearly false witnesses.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:7
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:7)

אָמַר רַבִּי זֵירָא אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבְּעָה שָׁעֵי מִכַּסֵּי סֵיהֲרָא. לְדִידַן — שֵׁית מֵעַתִּיקָא וְתַמְנֵי סְרֵי מֵחַדְתָּא, לְדִידְהוּ — שֵׁית מֵחַדְתָּא וְתַמְנֵי סְרֵי מֵעַתִּיקָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Zeira said** that **Rav Naḥman said:** For **twenty-four hours the moon is covered,** i.e., not visible. This occurs between the last sighting of the old moon and the first sighting of the new moon. **For us,** in Babylonia, it is not visible for **six** hours **of the old** moon **and eighteen** hours **of the new; for them,** in Eretz Yisrael, it is not visible for **six** hours **of the new** moon **and eighteen** hours **of the old.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:8
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:8)

לְמַאי נָפְקָא מִינַּהּ? אָמַר רַב אָשֵׁי: לְאַכְחוֹשֵׁי סָהֲדֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **What is the practical difference** that this statement makes? **Rav Ashi said:** It is used **to refute the witnesses,** as if they testify that they saw two moons, the old and the new, within a single twenty-four hour period, they are certainly false witnesses.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:9
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:9)

אָמַר מָר: צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּהֵא לַיְלָה וָיוֹם מִן הֶחָדָשׁ. מְנָלַן? רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר: ״מֵעֶרֶב עַד עֶרֶב״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **The Master said** above: In order for a day to be sanctified as the New Moon, **it is necessary that** both **the night and the day be of the new** moon. The Gemara asks: **From where do we** derive this? **Rabbi Yoḥanan said:** The verse states: **“From evening to evening** shall you celebrate your Shabbat” (Leviticus 23:32). This teaches that the day follows the night for all the calculations pertaining to the Festivals and New Moons.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:10
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:10)

רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אָמַר: ״עַד יוֹם הָאֶחָד וְעֶשְׂרִים לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּעָרֶב״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Reish Lakish said:** It is derived from the verse that states: “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, **until the twenty-first day of the month at the evening”** (Exodus 12:18). This teaches that the Festival terminates at the end of the day, and a new day begins in the evening.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:11
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:11)

מַאי בֵּינַיְיהוּ? אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: מַשְׁמָעוּת דּוֹרְשִׁין אִיכָּא בֵּינַיְיהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **What is** the practical difference **between** these two derivations? **Abaye said:** There is no practical difference between them. **The interpretation of the meaning** of the verse **is** the difference **between them.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:12
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:12)

רָבָא אָמַר: חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה אִיכָּא בֵּינַיְיהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava said:** There is a practical difference **between them** with regard to the hours before **midnight.** According to Rabbi Yoḥanan, who derives the *halakha* from the verse: “From evening to evening,” the previous day ends at nightfall. Therefore, if the new moon was seen only at the beginning of the night of the thirtieth, the thirtieth is not sanctified as the New Moon. However, according to Reish Lakish, who derives the *halakha* from the verse with regard to Passover: “Until the twenty-first day of the month at the evening,” the moon may be sanctified if it was seen before midnight. Eating unleavened bread on Passover is an obligation only on the first night until midnight. After that time, it is optional. The verse states: “You shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at the evening,” implying that it is not obligatory but optional to eat unleavened bread. Since the optional time of eating unleavened bread begins at midnight, after the conclusion of the obligatory time, the conclusion of that time is also at midnight on the twenty-first day. This implies that there is a concept of a day beginning at midnight. Accordingly, if the new moon was seen at the beginning of the night of the thirtieth, the thirtieth can still be sanctified as the New Moon.


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:13
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:13)

אָמַר רַבִּי זֵירָא אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: כֹּל סְפֵיקָא לְקַמֵּיהּ שָׁדֵינַן. לְמֵימְרָא דַּחֲמֵיסַר וְשִׁיתְּסַר עָבְדִינַן, אַרְבֵּיסַר לָא עָבְדִינַן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ With regard to the extra Festival day that is observed in the Diaspora, **Rabbi Zeira said** that **Rav Naḥman said: Any** time that an extra Festival day is observed out of **uncertainty** with regard to the calendar, **we cast it forward,** i.e., it is observed on the following day and not on the preceding day. **That is to say,** owing to the uncertainty **we observe** *Sukkot* in the Diaspora on **the fifteenth and the sixteenth** of Tishrei, but **not** on **the fourteenth.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 20b:14
[Rosh Hashanah 20b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/20b:14)

וְלֶיעְבַּד נָמֵי אַרְבֵּיסַר? דִּלְמָא חַסְּרוּהּ לְאָב וְחַסְּרוּהּ לֶאֱלוּל!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **But** why not **observe** it **also on the fourteenth,** as **perhaps** both the month of **Av and** the month of **Elul were made short?** In that case, the day that is considered the fourteenth of Tishrei in the Diaspora would actually be the fifteenth of Tishrei, and therefore it should also be observed as *Sukkot*.