## Rosh Hashanah Daf 23b

###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:1
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:1)

זוֹ בֵּירָם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**This is** the town called **Biram.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:2
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:2)

מַאי גּוֹלָה? אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: זוֹ פּוּמְבְּדִיתָא. מַאי כִּמְדוּרַת הָאֵשׁ? תָּנָא: כׇּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד נוֹטֵל אֲבוּקָה בְּיָדוֹ וְעוֹלֶה לְרֹאשׁ גַּגּוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna taught: He would wave the torch back and forth and up and down, until he would see the entire Diaspora before him alight like one large bonfire. The Gemara asks: **What is** the meaning in this context of the term **Diaspora,** which certainly cannot be referring to the entire Diaspora across the world? **Rav Yosef said: This** is referring to the city of **Pumbedita** in Babylonia. The Gemara further asks. **What is** the meaning of the phrase: **Like** one large **bonfire?** It is **taught** in a *baraita*: **Each and every** individual would **take a torch in his hand and ascend to the top of his roof** and light it. In this manner, the entire city would present the appearance of a large bonfire.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:3
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:3)

תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר: אַף חָרִים וּכְיָיר וּגְדֹר וְחַבְרוֹתֶיהָ. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי: בֵּינֵי וּבֵינֵי הֲווֹ קָיְימִי. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי: לְהָךְ גִּיסָא דְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל הֲווֹ קָיְימִי. מָר חָשֵׁיב דְּהַאי גִּיסָא, וּמָר חָשֵׁיב דְּהַאי גִּיסָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**It is taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:** Torches were **also** lit at **Ḥarim, and Kayar and Geder, and its neighboring places. There are** those **who say** that the places added by Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar **are located between** the places mentioned in the mishna, whereas **there are** those **who say** that **they are located on the other side of Eretz Yisrael,** on the side nearer Babylonia. **The Sage** in the mishna **enumerates** the places found **on one side** of Eretz Yisrael, **whereas the Sage** in the *baraita* **enumerates** the places found **on the other side.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:4
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:4)

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: בֵּין כׇּל אַחַת וְאַחַת שְׁמוֹנֶה פַּרְסָאוֹת. כַּמָּה הָווּ לְהוּ? תְּלָתִין וְתַרְתֵּין, וְהָא הָאִידָּנָא טוּבָא הָווּ! אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: אִסְתַּתּוֹמֵי אִסְתַּתּוּם לְהוּ דַּרְכֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Between each and every one** of the stations **there was** a distance of **eight parasangs.** The Gemara asks: **How many** parasangs **are these** in total? **Thirty-two** parasangs. The Gemara further asks: **Isn’t** the distance from the Mount of Olives to Beit Baltin **now** much **greater** than thirty-two parasangs? **Abaye said:** The direct **routes have become blocked,** and therefore people nowadays must use indirect routes, making the journey much longer.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:5
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:5)

דִּכְתִיב: ״לָכֵן הִנְנִי שָׂךְ אֶת דַּרְכֵּךְ בַּסִּירִים״, רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק אָמַר מֵהָכָא, דִּכְתִיב: ״נְתִיבוֹתַי עִוָּה״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara provides a source for this claim. **As it is written: “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns,** and make a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths” (Hosea 2:8). **Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said:** It is derived **from here, as it is written: “He has made my paths crooked”** (Lamentations 3:9), which indicates that over the course of the exile the routes have become longer.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:6
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:6)

**מַתְנִי׳** חָצֵר גְּדוֹלָה הָיְתָה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם וּבֵית יַעְזֵק הָיְתָה נִקְרֵאת, וּלְשָׁם כׇּל הָעֵדִים מִתְכַּנְּסִין. וּבֵית דִּין בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתָם שָׁם. וּסְעוּדוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת עוֹשִׂין לָהֶם, בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיְּהוּ רְגִילִין לָבֹא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **There was a large courtyard in Jerusalem, which was called Beit Ya’zek. And there all the witnesses** coming to testify about the new moon would **gather, and the court** of seventy-one judges would **examine them there. And they** would **prepare great feasts for them, so that they would be** willing and **accustomed to coming** and submitting their testimony.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:7
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:7)

בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה לֹא הָיוּ זָזִין מִשָּׁם כׇּל הַיּוֹם. הִתְקִין רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן שֶׁיְּהוּ מְהַלְּכִין אַלְפַּיִם אַמָּה לְכׇל רוּחַ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Initially,** when witnesses would arrive on Shabbat from a distant place, **they would not move from there all day,** as they had left their Shabbat limit, and it was consequently prohibited for them to walk more than four cubits in any direction once they had completed their mission. Concerned that this limitation would discourage witnesses from coming, **Rabban Gamliel the Elder instituted that** the witnesses **be** permitted to **walk two thousand cubits in each direction.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:8
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:8)

וְלֹא אֵלּוּ בִּלְבַד, אֶלָּא אַף חֲכָמָה הַבָּאָה לְיַילֵּד, וְהַבָּא לְהַצִּיל מִן הַדְּלֵיקָה וּמִן הַגַּיִיס וּמִן הַנָּהָר וּמִן הַמַּפּוֹלֶת — הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ כְּאַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר, וְיֵשׁ לָהֶם אַלְפַּיִם לְכׇל רוּחַ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The mishna continues: **And not only these** witnesses are granted two thousand cubits from their new place, **but** this applies **also** to **a midwife who comes to deliver** a child, **and one who comes to rescue** Jews **from a fire, from** an invasion of gentile **troops, from** a flooding **river, or from** the **collapse** of a building. All **these are** considered **like the inhabitants of the city** where they arrive, **and** therefore **they have two thousand cubits in each direction.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:9
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:9)

**גְּמָ׳** אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: ״בֵּית יַעְזֵק״ תְּנַן, אוֹ ״בֵּית יָזֵק״ תְּנַן? ״בֵּית יַעְזֵק״ תְּנַן — לִישָּׁנָא מְעַלְּיָא הוּא, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְעַזְּקֵהוּ וַיְסַקְּלֵהוּ״, אוֹ דִלְמָא ״בֵּית יָזֵק״ תְּנַן — לִישָּׁנָא דְצַעֲרָא הוּא, כְּדִכְתִיב: ״וְהוּא אָסוּר בָּאזִיקִּים״?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** **A dilemma was raised before** the Sages: What is the correct reading of the mishna? Did **we learn: Beit Ya’zek, or** did **we learn: Beit Yazek?** The Gemara explains the difference between these two versions. **Did we learn: Beit Ya’zek,** which is **an lofty term,** indicating that it was a fine place where the witnesses had a pleasant experience, **as it is written: “And he dug it [*vaye’azzekehu*] and cleared it of stones”** (Isaiah 5:2), which shows that the root *a-z-k* denotes improvement? **Or perhaps we learned: Beit Yazek,** which **is a term of distress,** reflecting the fact that the witnesses who arrived there on Shabbat were not permitted to move from there all day, **as it is written: “And he was bound with chains [*bazikim*]”** (Jeremiah 40:1).


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:10
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:10)

אָמַר אַבָּיֵי, תָּא שְׁמַע: סְעוּדוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת הָיוּ עוֹשִׂין לָהֶם שָׁם, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהוּ רְגִילִים לָבוֹא. דִּלְמָא תַּרְתֵּי הֲווֹ עָבְדִי בְּהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abaye said: Come** and **hear** the mishna: **They would prepare great feasts for them there, so that they would be accustomed to come** and submit their testimony. This indicates that the witnesses were made welcome, in accordance with the name Beit Ya’zek. The Gemara rejects this argument: **Perhaps they performed two** practices **for them,** i.e., they provided feasts but they also restricted their movement. Therefore, there is no proof from the mishna for this version of the name.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:11
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:11)

**מַתְנִי׳** כֵּיצַד בּוֹדְקִין אֶת הָעֵדִים? זוּג שֶׁבָּא רִאשׁוֹן — בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ רִאשׁוֹן. וּמַכְנִיסִין אֶת הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁבָּהֶן, וְאוֹמְרִין לוֹ, אֱמוֹר כֵּיצַד רָאִיתָ אֶת הַלְּבָנָה: לִפְנֵי הַחַמָּה, אוֹ לְאַחַר הַחַמָּה? לִצְפוֹנָהּ, אוֹ לִדְרוֹמָהּ? כַּמָּה הָיָה גָּבוֹהַּ, וּלְאַיִן הָיָה נוֹטֶה, וְכַמָּה הָיָה רָחָב. אִם אָמַר לִפְנֵי הַחַמָּה — לֹא אָמַר כְּלוּם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **How do they examine the witnesses** who come to testify about the new moon? They deal with them in order, as **the pair** of witnesses **that arrives first they examine first. They bring in the greater of** the two witnesses, **and they say to him: Say how you saw the moon.** Was it **in front of the sun or behind the sun? To its north or to its south? How high was** the moon over the horizon, **and in which direction did it tilt? And how wide was** it? **If,** for example, **he said** that he saw the moon **in front of the sun, he has not said anything** of substance, as this is impossible and therefore he is either mistaken or lying.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:12
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:12)

וְאַחַר כָּךְ הָיוּ מַכְנִיסִין אֶת הַשֵּׁנִי וּבוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ. אִם נִמְצְאוּ דִּבְרֵיהֶם מְכֻוּוֹנִים — עֵדוּתָן קַיֶּימֶת. וּשְׁאָר כׇּל הַזּוּגוֹת, שׁוֹאֲלִין אוֹתָן רָאשֵׁי דְבָרִים. לֹא שֶׁהָיוּ צְרִיכִים לָהֶם, אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יֵצְאוּ בְּפַחֵי נֶפֶשׁ, בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיְּהוּ רְגִילִים לָבוֹא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And after** they finish hearing the first witness’s testimony, **they would bring in the second witness and examine him** in a similar manner. **If their statements match, their testimony is accepted** and the court sanctifies the New Moon. **And** the court then **asks all the other pairs** of witnesses certain **general matters,** without probing into all the details. They do this **not** because **they require** the additional testimony, **but so that** the witnesses **should not leave disappointed,** and **so that the witnesses should be accustomed to coming** to testify, and will not hesitate to come the next time, when they might be needed.


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:13
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:13)

**גְּמָ׳** הַיְינוּ לִפְנֵי הַחַמָּה, הַיְינוּ לִצְפוֹנָהּ; הַיְינוּ לְאַחַר הַחַמָּה, הַיְינוּ לִדְרוֹמָהּ! אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: פְּגִימָתָהּ — לִפְנֵי הַחַמָּה, אוֹ לְאַחַר הַחַמָּה? אִם אָמַר לִפְנֵי הַחַמָּה — לָא אָמַר כְּלוּם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The Gemara asks: **In front of the sun is** the same as **to its north,** and **behind the sun is** the same as **to its south.** Why would the court ask the witnesses both sets of questions? **Abaye said:** The first question does not refer to the moon’s position relative to the sun, but to **the concave side** of the moon, whether it was **before the sun,** pointing toward it, **or behind the sun,** pointing away from it. **If he said** that it was **before the sun, he has said nothing.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 23b:14
[Rosh Hashanah 23b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/23b:14)

דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן, מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״הַמְשֵׁל וָפַחַד עִמּוֹ עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו״, מֵעוֹלָם לֹא רָאֲתָה חַמָּה פְּגִימָתָהּ שֶׁל לְבָנָה, וְלֹא פְּגִימָתָהּ שֶׁל קֶשֶׁת. פְּגִימָתָהּ שֶׁל לְבָנָה — דְּחָלְשָׁה דַּעְתַּהּ. פְּגִימָתָהּ שֶׁל קֶשֶׁת — דְּלָא לֵימְרוּ עוֹבְדֵי הַחַמָּה

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**As Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is** the meaning of that **which is written: “Dominion and fear are with Him, He makes peace in His high places”** (Job 25:2)? It means that **the sun has never seen the concave** side **of the** new **moon, nor** has it ever seen **the concave** side **of a rainbow,** both of which always face away from the sun. It has never seen **the concave** side **of the moon, as** the moon would be **distressed** by a sense of inadequacy if its concave side faced the sun. Therefore the sun sees only the full roundness of its convex side. In this way He makes peace in His high places between the sun and the moon. Furthermore, the sun has never seen **the concave** side **of a rainbow, so that the worshippers of the sun not say,** as though the sun is a god,