## Rosh Hashanah Daf 3a

###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:1
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:1)

״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״,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**“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 He heard that Aaron had died, and that the clouds of glory had withdrawn** from the Jewish people, **and he thought** that **he had been granted permission to wage war against the Jewish people.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).


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:2
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:2)

וְאָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: אַל תִּקְרֵי ״וַיִּרְאוּ״, אֶלָּא ״וַיִּירָאוּ״, כִּדְרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ. דְּאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ, ״כִּי״ מְשַׁמֵּשׁ בְּאַרְבַּע לְשׁוֹנוֹת: אִי, דִּילְמָא, אֶלָּא, דְּהָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.


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

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.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:4
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:4)

וְאֵימָא רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה אִיָּיר!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:5
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:5)

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!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:6
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:6)

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!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:7
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:7)

וְאֵימָא תַּמּוּז! וְאֵימָא אָב! וְאֵימָא אֲדָר!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:8
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:8)

אֶלָּא אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, מֵהָכָא: ״וַיָּחֶל לִבְנוֹת בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשֵּׁנִי בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע לְמַלְכוּתוֹ״. מַאי ״שֵׁנִי״? לָאו שֵׁנִי לְיֶרַח שֶׁמּוֹנִין בּוֹ לְמַלְכוּתוֹ?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:9
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:9)

מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רָבִינָא: וְאֵימָא שֵׁנִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ! אִם כֵּן, ״שֵׁנִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ״ בְּהֶדְיָא הֲוָה כְּתִיב בֵּיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:10
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:10)

וְאֵימָא בְּשֵׁנִי בַּשַּׁבָּת! חֲדָא, דְּלָא אַשְׁכְּחַן שֵׁנִי בַּשַּׁבָּת דִּכְתִיב. וְעוֹד: מַקִּישׁ שֵׁנִי בָּתְרָא לְשֵׁנִי קַמָּא: מָה שֵׁנִי קַמָּא — חֹדֶשׁ, אַף שֵׁנִי בָּתְרָא — חֹדֶשׁ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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.**


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:11
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:11)

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״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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).


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:12
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:12)

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׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**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).


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:13
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:13)

וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ׳״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״וַיָּחֶל לִבְנוֹת וְגוֹ׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:14
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:14)

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׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **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).


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:15
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:15)

מִדְּקָאֵי בְּכִסְלֵיו וְקָרֵי לֵיהּ ״שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים״, וְקָאֵי בְּנִיסָן וְקָרֵי לֵיהּ ״שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים״ — מִכְּלָל דְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לָאו נִיסָן הוּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**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.


###### Rosh Hashanah 3a:16
[Rosh Hashanah 3a:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rosh%20Hashanah/r/3a:16)

בִּשְׁלָמָא הַיְאךְ — מְפָרֵשׁ דִּלְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא, אֶלָּא הַאי — מִמַּאי דִּלְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא? דִּילְמָא

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
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**