## Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana

###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:1
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NOTE TO COMMENTARY ON THE MISHNAYOT
References to the Mishna are often confusing, as the division of each chapter into individual mishnayot changes from edition to edition. Therefore, we have reluctantly adopted the policy of referencing mishnayot according to the page number of the Babylonian Talmud where the mishna appears, such as: Mishna, *Menaḥot* 65a. Mishnayot which have no Talmud tractate are also referenced according to the Vilna edition, such as: Mishna, *Bikkurim* 1:10. One obvious exception is the references within *Rosh HaShana*, where cross-references to the mishna, translation and notes appear according to the order we have followed here.
Likewise, references to the *Tosefta* are according to the Vilna edition. (Despite some other editions being considered more reliable, the Vilna Talmud edition is still more accessible, and in none of the references does the edition make any substantial difference.)
References to the Jerusalem Talmud have the chapter and mishna according to the Venice 1523 edition, which is the cornerstone for most printed editions. We have used the Hebrew name Yerushalmi, for example, “Yerushalmi, *Ḥagiga* 2:2.”
Unless otherwise specified, a citation of the Talmud refers to the Babylonian Talmud, and a citation of a page or a commentary refers to *Massekhet Rosh HaShana*.
Citations of the Rif and his commentators are according to the pages of *Hilkhot Rav Alfas* printed at the back of the Vilna edition – for example, “*Nimukei Yosef*, *Sanhedrin* 4b,” does not refer to page 4b of the Talmud, but rather to the page numbering of the *Hilkhot Rav Alfas* section in the back of the book (which, in this case, corresponds to page 25a in the Talmud).
In the commentary to the Maḥzor, the names Maimonides and Nahmanides are used; in these notes, we have used the Hebrew acronyms Rambam and Ramban.
The *Tur*, *Shulḥan Arukh* and commentaries around them are written in longhand; however, we have abbreviated the names of their components, such as, “*Shulḥan Arukh*, ḤM 34:16.” OḤ stands for *Oraḥ Ḥayyim*, YD for *Yoreh De’ah*, and ḤM for *Ḥoshen Mishpat* (*Even HaEzer* is not referred to in these notes). Some commentaries only wrote on one of the components, and those we have left unspecified, such as “*Magen Avraham* 131:16,” omitting OḤ.
Rabbi David Fuchs
CHAPTER ONE
The term “Rosh HaShana” appears only once in the Bible – not in the Torah but in the book of Ezekiel (40:1): “On Rosh HaShana, on the tenth of the month.” Rosh HaShana clearly refers here, not to a day, but to the first month of the year. The only month in which the tenth day has special significance is Tishrei. Indeed, the sages taught that the verse is referring to the Yom Kippur of a Jubilee year (*Arakhin* 12a).
If, however, Rosh HaShana indicates “the first month,” then it should not refer to Tishrei, but to Nisan, since prior to leaving Egypt the Israelites were explicitly instructed: “This month [Nisan] shall be to you the first of the months” (Ex. 12:2), and the Torah consistently numbers months “the first,” “the second,” “the third month” etc. on this basis.
The sages resolved this apparent contradiction by distinguishing between four functionally different years*.*They designated four dates to serve as Rosh HaShana for each of those years – as well as four different times when the world is judged.
The Talmud (20a) reads the word “month” (*Ḥodesh*) in the aforementioned command “This month shall be to you…” as referring to the new moon. This verse is understood to have been spoken as God shows Moses and Aaron the new moon, commanding them to declare a new month only when the new moon is seen. The procedure became known as *Kiddush HaḤodesh* – the consecration of the month.
The mishna does not articulate this logical segue; it moves seamlessly into treatment of the details of the consecration of the month, concentrating on two areas: When is consecration of the month considered so crucial that the laws of Shabbat may be suspended for that purpose; and upon whose testimony can the court rely in order to declare a new month.
רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לַמְּלָכִים *New Year for kings*… Years are numbered in the Bible in relation to the reign of a given king – “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* [literally, the month of glory], which is the second month…” (I Kings, 6:1). The sages identified the month Ziv with Iyar (see Rashi ad loc., Yerushalmi *Rosh HaShana* 1:1 and the *Zohar* on *Parashat Bemidbar* for explanations of this identification), concluding that the years of the reign of all Jewish kings begin in Nisan. Even if a king was crowned in Adar he would only reign a month before entering his second year. Both Talmuds (*Rosh HaShana* 2b; Yerushalmi ad loc.) deduce this from the fact that the exodus from Egypt was mentioned in the verse. The Talmud also established that while the New Year for Jewish kings begins in Nisan, the New Year for Gentile monarchs begins in Tishrei.
The existence of a fixed method of counting the years is especially significant in dating legal documents. In the Second Temple period, when Judea had no king, a similar method of counting the years was employed in dating documents. The Talmud calls that system “*minyan shetarot*,” the tally of the documents, beginning one thousand years after the exodus (*Avoda Zara* 10a).
וְלָרְגָלִים *And festivals.*When the calendar is discussed in the Torah, the three pilgramage festivals are always listed chronologically, beginning with Pesaḥ (Ex. 23 and 34; Lev. 22–23; Num. 28–29; Deut. 16).
The Talmud (4a) suggests that this order has ramifications significant beyond establishing the relative importance of the festivals. The Torah (Deut. 23:22) prohibits delaying the fulfillment of one’s vows, and the sages interpreted this to prohibit postponement for one year at most. According to Rabbi Shimon, this year is a cycle of pilgrimage festivals, in the order that they appear in the verse. One who vows shortly after Pesaḥ will not violate the prohibition unless he postpones fulfilling his vow for five pilgrimage festivals, i.e. until Sukkot passes a second time. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov agrees that the order of the festivals as they appear in the verse is crucial, though he adopts a much stricter approach. Since Sukkot is the last of the festivals, if one vowed on the eve of Sukkot, he must fulfill that vow by the end of Sukkot, eight days later. (Both views were eventually rejected; one who dedicates an offering has a complete cycle of three pilgrimage festivals in which to fulfill his vow, beginning from the time he makes the vow. See Rambam, *Hilkhot Ma’aseh HaKorbanot* 14:13).
רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לְמַעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה *New Year for animal tithes*. In Temple times, all livestock were required to be tithed. When the newborn calves and lambs were counted, the tenth animal of each species was designated to be slaughtered and eaten in Jerusalem (Lev. 27:32). If only nine young of a particular species were born on a farm in a given year, no tithe was required, even if a tenth was born in the following year. If nineteen young were born in a given year, only one was designated as an animal tithe, and so on. “New Year for animal tithes,” then, was the cut-off point. Any animal born thereafter was attributed to the flock of the following year. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon postpone this date by one month, to align the New Years of cattle and of arable produce; however, the majority of the sages rule that the New Year for cattle be the first of Elul, as it is the end of the calving season (*Rosh HaShana* 8a), and enables one to complete his tithing before the Tishrei holidays (*Bekhorot* 57b–58b). The debate remains unresolved: The Rambam rules in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon (*Hilkhot Bekhorot* 7:6), and *Sefer Mitzvot Gadol* rules in accordance with the opinion of the first *tanna*cited in the mishna (Positive Commandment 212).
רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לַשָּׁנִים *New Year for years.*The date of creation is debated in the Talmud (10b–12a); Rabbi Yehoshua suggests the first of Nisan, while Rabbi Eliezer holds that it is the first of Tishrei. This dispute is not decided in the Talmud (10b–12a), but the consensus among later sages was that the world was created in Tishrei. This opinion is also reflected in the additional prayer on Rosh HaShana in the Remembrances blessing: “This day is the opening of all Your works, a remembrance of the very first day” (page 533), as well as several times in the Rosh HaShana liturgy.
וְלַשְּׁמִטִּין וְלַיּוֹבְלוֹת *Sabbatical years and Jubilees.*The Sabbatical year, with its various laws, begins and ends in Tishrei (see Deut. 31:10). The same is true of the Jubilee year (Lev. 25:9), which tragically, was no longer in practice in the Mishnaic period.
לַנְּטִיעָה וְלַיְרָקוֹת *Tree-planting and vegetables.*One may not eat the fruits a tree produces during the three years after it was planted, and the fruits that grow in the fourth year must be eaten in Jerusalem. These years are counted from Tishrei, such that a tree planted in Elul completes its first year within a month. Vegetables are tithed immediately after their harvest. Just as Elul distinguishes the calves and lambs of one year from those of the next, so the first of Tishrei is the cut-off date for the vegetables of a given year, and those harvested afterwards are tithed with the produce of the following season.
רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לָאִילָן *New Year for trees.*Unlike vegetables, tithed at harvest, the determination of the year to which fruits belong for purposes of tithing takes place while the fruits are still in the early stages of their development. Shevat falls late in winter, when most trees are dormant or blossoming. That year’s produce, in terms of both tithes and the Sabbatical year, will develop only in the following months. Beit Shammai rule that every New Year should coincide with a new moon; Beit Hillel, however, hold the critical date to be mid-month, when most of the winter’s rain has already fallen (*Rosh HaShana* 14a). The Meiri points out that this marks the midpoint between Tevet, when winter begins in earnest, and Nisan, which opens the spring. The custom to eat fruits of the land of Israel on *Tu BiShvat* stems from this mishna (*Magen Avraham* 131:16).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:2
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בְּאַרְבָּעָה פְרָקִים הָעוֹלָם נִדּוֹן *There are four times when the world is judged.*The sages understood that judgment for a given year must take place adjacent to the implementation of that reward or punishment. Failure to do so could lead to a situation where an individual who repented is punished for past crimes. According to this approach, until the consequences of one’s actions have been visited upon the world, one can still repent. Consequently, in the spring, judgment for the spring crops is rendered; in the autumn for the autumn rainfall, etc.
בַּפֶּסַח, עַל הַתְּבוּאָה *At Pesaḥ for the crops*. The first grain harvest (that of the barley) begins on the first day of Ḥol HaMo’ed Pesaḥ (Mishna, *Menaḥot* 65a; cf. Deut. 16:8–9 and Rashi ad loc.).
בָּעֲצֶרֶת, עַל פֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן *At Shavuot for fruit trees*. First fruits are brought to the Temple only from Shavuot until Sukkot (Rashi, *Rosh HaShana* 16a, based on Mishna *Bikkurim* 1:10).
כִּבְנֵי מָרוֹן *Like sheep.*The meaning of the term כבני מרון is unclear. Rav Sa’adia Gaon (*Sefer HaEgron*) translates it as “on parade.” The Talmud (18a) cites three possible explanations: “sheep,” used here, is reflected in the ancient prayer *Untaneh Tokef* – “As a shepherd’s searching gaze meets his flock…” (page 565). Another reading, suggested by Shmuel, “Like David’s battalions,” is an apt metaphor for the judgment that we undergo on Rosh HaShana. Just as soldiers are reviewed and counted before entering battle, but not all of those who set out will return, on Rosh HaShana we are judged for life itself. The interpretation of the term as referring to “sheep,” while similar, is a more sympathetic one as it evokes the image of a caring shepherd (cf. Ps. 23:1).
הַיֹּצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם, הַמֵּבִין אֶל־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם *“He forms the hearts of all, and discerns all their deeds.”* This verse is understood in the context of the one it immediately follows – “He looks down from the place of His dwelling, at all the inhabitants of earth” – evoking the image of God viewing all the world at a glance (*Rosh HaShana* 18a). The parallelism in the verse moves us from “hearts” to “deeds” and from God’s creation to His knowledge of all. While judging the world as a whole, God is aware of our many different actions, an awareness stemming from His intimate knowledge of the “heart.” Taken in the context of our mishna, this verse reflects the paradox of divine knowledge, which is simultaneously general and particular (*Tosefot Yom Tov*).
וּבֶחָג, נִדּוֹנִין עַל הַמַּיִם *And at Sukkot they are judged for the water.*By Sukkot, at the threshold of autumn, the wells and reservoirs are empty; the *Hoshanot* recited on Sukkot are requests for rain, and the Four Species of plants represent the world’s need for water (*Shibolei HaLeket* 366). This cycle of rain prayers peaks on Hoshana Raba, the last day of the festival, and the final day of judgment for rainfall (Rashi, *Yoma* 21b). The Kabbalists considered Hoshana Raba the culmination of the process of judgment which opened on Rosh HaShana (*Zoha*r, *Parashat Tzav*). The Mishna does not use the names, “Shavuot” and “Sukkot,” that we use today. Shavuot is called *Atzeret*, “an Assembley,” recalling the day the nation stood as one to receive the Torah (Ramban, Lev. 23:36), while Sukkot, “the time of our rejoicing,” is simply called *Ḥag* – “the Festival.”


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:3
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הַשְּׁלוּחִים יוֹצְאִין *The messengers go out.*Chapter two describes two systems by which the communities of the Diaspora were informed of the new month declared in Jerusalem. The more reliable system involved dispatching messengers; members of the rabbinic community would travel to the various communities in the Diaspora. These journeys were taxing – six hundred kilometers, for instance, from Jerusalem to the Jewish centers of Babylonia – and unless there was a festival in a given month, informing the Diaspora of the precise date of the first of the month was not of critical importance.
עַל אֱלוּל מִפְּנֵי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה *For Elul because of Rosh HaShana.*By Torah law, Rosh HaShana is a single day. It became a two-day festival because even in Jerusalem, it was not until the middle of the thirtieth day of Elul that it could be determined whether that day would be the first of Tishrei or not. The message, in any case, could not be conveyed beyond the city until the festival was over – and so a second day of the festival would be kept, as is practiced today even in Israel (Rif,*Beitza*3a; Tosafot,*Rosh HaShana*18a).
מִפְּנֵי תַקָּנַת הַמּוֹעֲדוֹת *To set the festivals.*Regardless of the new moon, the Diaspora communities kept Rosh HaShana on the thirtieth and thirty-first days from the first of Elul. Messengers would set out from Jerusalem immediately after the festival, however, so that the hearts of Diaspora Jews “need not beat [in terror] on Yom Kippur” (Rashi, *Rosh HaShana*18a).
וּכְשֶׁהָיָה בֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם *When the Temple stood.*One who was ritually impure on Pesaḥ could not bring the Paschal lamb then, but had the opportunity to bring it instead a month later. “Pesaḥ Katan” lost its practical significance with the loss of the Temple service. Some commentators point out that, as the Fast of Av was not instituted until this loss, the messengers were dispatched for only six months when the Temple stood as well (Meiri*, Tiferet Yisrael*).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:4
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עַל שְׁנֵי חֳדָשִׁים *There are two months*. For these two months, the Shabbat prohibitions were suspended for witnesses to the new moon to enable them to travel to Jerusalem and testify. The messengers could then start out for the Diaspora immediately after Shabbat, avoiding an extra day’s delay.
שֶׁבָּהֶן הַשְּׁלוּחִין יוֹצְאִין *For on these the messengers would go out.*The previous mishna listed six months when the messengers would set out to the Diaspora; but Shabbat prohibitions were suspended only for these two months. The commandment to celebrate the festivals “in their due times” (Lev. 23:37) both delays the messengers until the date of Rosh Ḥodesh has been officially declared and affords their mission a special urgency (*Rosh HaShana*21b, and Rashi ad loc.).
וּבָהֶן מְתַקְּנִין אֶת הַמּוֹעֲדוֹת *By these the dates of the festivals are set.*Not only the timing of Pesaḥ, but also that of Shavuot, is determined by Rosh Ḥodesh Nisan (Shavuot begins at the close of the forty-nine-day count from the second day of Pesaḥ). However, Shabbat prohibitions were not suspended for Elul, as the uncertainty whether Rosh HaShana was established on the thirtieth or thirty-first day of Elul remained (*Tosafot Yom Tov*).
מִפְּנֵי תַקָּנַת הַקָּרְבָּן *To set the offerings*. When the Temple was standing, an additional (“*musaf*”) offering was sacrificed on the new moon, making it essential that the declaration of the new moon coincide with its appearance. Therefore, testifying about the new moon does justify desecrating the Shabbat in itself; however, after the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai decreed that the Shabbat prohibitions would no longer be suspended for the other months (ibid.).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:5
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נִרְאָה בַעֲלִיל *Clearly seen.*The meaning of the word *ba’alil* is not certain; in his commentary on Psalm 12:7, Rashi cites no less than four possibilities. The Talmud (21b) understands the word to mean “clearly,” but the suggestion “high in the sky” may also be appropriate (Bartenura). The mishna addresses the dilemma of a witness who sees the moon on Friday night but assumes that, if it is so clearly visible, someone closer to Jerusalem must surely have seen it as well. Rabbi Yose holds that, in that case, the Shabbat prohibitions are not suspended; but the Rabbis hold that one should not assume that others will testify. The new moon appears only briefly and is extremely narrow; few people see it in any given month, and it is always possible that there are clouds obscuring it from view over Jerusalem.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:6
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אִם מְעַכֵּב אַתָּה אֶת הָרַבִּים *If you prevent the public coming.*This case deals with a different dilemma. Only one pair of witnesses is needed to consecrate the new moon, meaning that technically, all those who arrive after the first pair have wasted an arduous journey. However, the sages sought to encourage witnesses to go and testify (see mishna 2:6) rather than feel that their journey so far had been wasted, so that they and others would be keen to come in future months. The mishna states that Rabbi Akiva prevented forty pairs of witnesses from proceeding to Jerusalem. According to Rabbi Yehuda (*Rosh HaShana* 22a), Rabbi Akiva would never have done this, and he substitutes one Zepher of Gader who was sanctioned by Rabban Gamliel and demoted from his leadership position (but see note to 4:4). According to the Meiri, this took place on Shabbat. Even in that case, the Rabbis preferred to allow the witnesses to proceed with their journey, rather than being frustrated and so refraining from coming in the future.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:7
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לֹא שֶׁמִּצְטָרְפִין זֶה עִם זֶה *They cannot testify together.*In principle, valid testimony can only be provided by two legally eligible, unrelated men, who witnessed the event about which they are testifying together. Testimony regarding sighting of the moon is valid even from two witnesses who witnessed it individually.
רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר *Rabbi Shimon says.*Rabbi Shimon’s argument is based on the Biblical source of the rules of calendar testimony: the command “This month shall be for you…” (Ex. 12:2–3) was addressed to two brothers, Moses and Aaron – surely showing that related witnesses are acceptable for this unique kind of testimony. However, the rabbis read the verse differently; for them, Moses and Aaron are archetypal of the judges charged with accepting the testimony and establishing the new moon (Rashi, 22a).
וְעַבְדּוֹ הַמְשֻׁחְרָר *His liberated slave.*A non-Jewish slave who is liberated is Jewish. Some restrictions, however, related to the concept of *yiḥus* (lineage), still apply to him – for instance, a priest may not marry a former maidservant (Mishna, *Kiddushin* 69a). The Talmud (*Sanhedrin* 36b) rules that while a person of less than optimal lineage may testify – and, indeed, judge – monetary disputes, he may not judge capital cases.
וְקִבְּלוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים *The priests accepted.*The Mishna (*Ketubot* 12a) mentions a court of priests, in parallel with, but tolerated by, the Sanhedrin. The priests traditionally emphasized lineage, and, in this case, presumably held the view (later expressed by Rabbi Shimon), that relatives are eligible to testify, and liberated slaves are ineligible to testify as to the sighting of the new moon because it has the legal status of capital cases (see *Tosafot*, 22a). It may be that the Sanhedrin overruled the priests’ autonomous court in this case, or possibly the priests simply heard the witnesses first, to give them time to prepare the Musaf offering for Rosh Ḥodesh.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:8
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אֵלּוּ הֵן הַפְּסוּלִין These are *invalid witnesses.*The types of witnesses whose testimony is inherently suspect are discussed at length in tractate *Sanhedrin* (24b–27b). While convicted criminals who violated Torah law are clearly ineligible, the ones listed here are “borderline” cases. The Talmud understands them to be either sophisticated forms of thieves – or social outcasts, who do not contribute to the common good. (This debate continued among the early commentaries, see Tosafot, *Sanhedrin* 24b–25a.)
הַמְשַׂחֵק בַּקֻּבְיָא *One who plays with dice.*A gambler. One view, maintained by Rashi, is that any payment of a gambling debt is made under duress, as the loser had never really believed that he would lose and consequently never believed he would have to pay, so his commitment to pay if he lost was not made on good faith. Therefore, one who gambles and forces others to pay when they lose is a thief by rabbinic law. Rabbeinu Tam and others argue that gambling payments are made in good faith and are valid; a person, however, who makes his living in this way is opting out of the productive life of society, making him an untrustworthy figure within it. This view considers recreational gambling a deplorable pastime, but does not invalidate the gambler as a witness if he also does productive work. This more lenient view was accepted by later decisors of halakha (*Shulḥan Arukh,*ḤM 34:16).
וּמַלְוֵי בָרִבִּית *One who lends on interest.*Usury is a heinous crime, prohibited three times in the Torah (Ex. 22:24–6; Lev. 25:35–7; Deut. 23:20–1), and harshly condemned by the Prophets (see Ezek. 18:13). The question is then, why is it mentioned in the mishna which deals with thieves by rabbinic law? Perhaps, lending with interest is not really theft, but rather a violation of the value of charity, exploiting another person’s neediness (*Pnei Yehoshua*, *Bava Metzia* 62a). The standard explanation is that the mishna refers to people who engage in “*avak ribit*” (“dust,” or taint, of usury) – legitimate transactions in which the creditor has an unfair advantage, easy profit without risk; these transactions are only rabbinically forbidden (*Nimukei Yosef*, *Sanhedrin*4b).
וּמַפְרִיחֵי יוֹנִים *One who sends out pigeons.*The Talmud (*Sanhedrin* 25a) classes the professional pigeon racer together with the dice player – this is another form of gambling. The Rambam suggests that dove-keepers were known for trying to attract their neighbors’ birds back to their own dovecotes (*Hilkhot Edut* 10:4).
וְסוֹחֲרֵי שְׁבִיעִית *One who trades the produce of the Sabbatical year.* Produce that grows in the *shemitta* year may not be gathered for commercial purposes (Mishna, *Shevi’it* 7:3), as during that year the fruits are designated for eating, and not for any other purpose (*Bekhorot* 12b). This is a biblical prohibition, but it is not articulated in the Torah, which is why even usually scrupulous people may rationalize transgressing it (Meiri*, Rosh HaShana* 22a).
The common thread among all of the activities listed is a willingness to stretch or transgress the law for financial gain; someone who is willing to compromise his morals for profit is liable to bear false witness for a bribe (Rashi ad loc.).
וַעֲבָדִים *Slaves*. A non-Jew who was purchased by a Jew as a slave must undergo partial conversion to Judaism. The conversion process is only completed when the slave is liberated, as was the case in Tuvia’s household (see mishna seven). A slave, then, is not yet Jewish, and cannot serve as a witness.
הָאִשָּׁה *Women*. Women are not eligible to testify in formal courts (*Shevuot* 30a), but are considered trustworthy (Tosafot, *Gittin* 2b). The four categories listed above (prior to the slaves) who are considered suspect, are disqualified from any testimony that a woman may not give. However, a woman’s testimony is valid in certain cases, such as that of an *aguna* (literally, “anchored”), a woman whose husband is missing and requires evidence of his death in order to remarry. For this important need, many of the rules of evidence are suspended (*Yevamot* 122a). In the Talmud, Rav Ashi deduces that those who fall into the categories listed in this mishna are eligible for this important testimony (22a).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:9
[Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Massekhet Rosh HaShana 1:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Rosh%20HaShana%20Mahzor/s/Massekhet%20Rosh%20HaShana/r/1:9)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019:**
מִי שֶׁרָאָה *One who sees.*At the chapter’s close we return to the dilemma of one who sights the new moon on Shabbat. His testimony is so important that the prohibitions of Shabbat are suspended for him and others in order to facilitate it. A disabled person who cannot walk must be carried, and the witness and his escort may carry weapons for defense and food for the journey. These allowances apply only if they are able to reach the court and testify on the same day.
וְאִם צוֹדֶה לָהֶם *If there is danger*. Literally “if there is an ambush awaiting them.” Possible dangers include wild animals and violent people, including the sectarians discussed in chapter two, who may wish to target witnesses (Rashi).
אֵלֶּה מוֹעֲדֵי ה׳ “*These are the appointed times of the*LORD*.”*Leviticus 23:4 introduces a list of the “sacred assemblies” that Israel is commanded to convene throughout the year. The mishna here underscores complexity in the verse: On the one hand, these are “the appointed times of the LORD”; on the other, it is Israel who are commanded to “convene them.” The courts play a genuine role in investing these times with sanctity. The command is to do this, literally translated, “in *their* [the festivals’] appointed times,” and this overrides the prohibitions of Shabbat. The same command is understood to mean that the new month cannot be consecrated retroactively, such that if the court cannot declare it in time, it is postponed until the next day (mishna 3:1; however, see note to mishna 2:8). A journey to testify on Shabbat, then, should only be undertaken if the witnesses will arrive within that night and day (Ritva).