And these are the festivals of the nations: the calends (the Roman New Year) [eight days after the Teveth (winter) solstice]; the Saturnalia [eight days before the solstice. When Adam saw the days growing shorter, he thought: "Woe unto me! Can it be because I have sinned that the world is returning to (primordial) emptiness and void!" — whereupon he sat eight days in fasting and in prayer. When, with the advent of the Teveth solstice, he saw the days growing progressively longer, he said: "It was (only) the natural course of things" — whereupon he celebrated an eight-day festival. The following year he established both (eight day periods as festivals). He dedicated them to Heaven; they (the heathens), to idolatry]; the Kratisis [the day of the king's investiture, which they established as a festival]; the Genusia [coronation day] of kings; the [king's] birthday; and the day of his death. These are the words of R. Meir. And the sages say: Every death where there is burning [i.e., where they burn his personal effects with him, as they do with kings], there is a festival [i.e., they establish a festival for idolatry on that day; and so, from year to year, all the days of his son. And all of the aforementioned days are of special significance to them and are forbidden (in the aforementioned activities) three days before]; and where there is no burning there is no festival day. But the day of the shaving of his beard, [which is not fixed for all, but which each one makes a festival day], and (the day of the cutting of) his locks [which he leaves behind him the whole year and which he cuts only from year to year, making a festival on that day], and the day that he comes up from the sea, [which he makes a festival day for having been saved], and the day that he is released from prison, and the day on which a gentile makes a feast for his son [-- On all of these occasions, the aforementioned activities] are forbidden, only on that day [ and not before ], and only for that man (celebrating his holiday) [because they are of relatively lesser significance.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
קלנדיא – eight days after the winter solstice [begins].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Introduction
Mishnah three delineates which idolatrous holidays are referred to in the previous two mishnayoth.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
סטרנורא – eight days prior to the solstice; since the first man (i.e., Adam) saw that the [length of the] day was gradually getting shorter. He said: Woe is me, lest because I sinned, the world is returning to become “null and void.” He stood and sat for eight days in fasting (and in prayer), since from the time that the solstice occurred, and he (i.e., Adam) saw that the days are gradually lengthening, he said: it is the nature of the world. He stood and made an eight-day festival. In the following year, they made both of them holy days and he established them [in honor of] the heavens, and they were established for idolatrous worship.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
These are the festivities of the idolaters: Kalenda, Saturnalia, Kratesis, the anniversary of accession to the throne and birthdays and anniversaries of deaths, according to Rabbi Meir. Kalenda, from which the English word calendar derives, refers to the first day of the month, and especially to the first day of the year. Saturnalia was a popular Roman holiday on the 17th of December, dedicated to the god, Saturn. Kratesis, which was on the first of August, commemorated the day that Augustus conquered Alexandria in Egypt. Note that I have used the names of these holidays as Albeck states that they should be read. Medieval scribes often did not know what these holidays were or what their names were and different forms of the words can be found in other versions of the mishnah. The anniversary of the accession of the king to the throne is also considered to be a day of celebration full of idolatrous practices. The final two days of idolatrous celebration are personal: one’s birthday and the anniversary of the death of a close relative. On these days non-Jews would make idolatrous celebrations. Interestingly, Jews did not traditionally celebrate birthdays because it was seen to be a non-Jewish custom.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
קרטסים – the day of taking hold of the kingship, and they established it as a holiday.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
But the Sages say: a death at which burning [of articles of the dead] takes place is attended by idolatry, but where there is not such burning there is no idolatry. The opinion in the previous section was that of Rabbi Meir, who held that pagans commemorate the anniversaries of all deaths. The Rabbis disagree with Rabbi Meir and hold that only deaths where the body and clothes were burned on a funeral pyre are celebrated by idolatrous acts. If the body was not burned on the pyre then the day is not accompanied by idolatry and it is therefore permitted to conduct business with the non-Jew three days before.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
גינוסיא – the day when they appoint the king.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
But the day of shaving ones beard and lock of hair, or the day of landing after a sea voyage, or the day of release from prison, or if an idolater holds a banquet for his son the prohibition only applies to that day and that particular person. As was previously stated it is forbidden to conduct business with non-Jews during the three days before the personal holidays mentioned in section two. In section three the mishnah lists pagan holidays that Jews can conduct business during the three days before and are only forbidden from doing so on the holiday itself. These include the day that the non-Jew shaves his beard and lock of hair, which refers to a lock of hair grown at the back of one’s head and is shaved once a year; the day of return from a long trip by sea; the day that one is released from prison and the day in which one marries off one’s son and makes him a celebratory feast.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
יום הלידה – the day on which the king is born
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English Explanation of Mishnah Avodah Zarah
Questions for Further Thought: • What is the difference between the personal holidays mentioned in section two of this mishnah and those mentioned in section three? Why is it forbidden to conduct business for the three days preceding some of them but not others?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
שריפה – where they burn the utensils in the manner that they burn them for kings.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
יש בה ע"ז – that is to say, that selfsame day they have a idolatrous holiday, and from year to year all the days of his son, and all these we consider until now, they value and it is forbidden [for us to interact with them] three days before [their festivals].
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
אבל יום תגלחת זקנו – which is not a set time for the group, but each person, when he shaves makes that day a festival.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
ובלוריתו – that he places his locks behind him all year long but does not sheer them other than on an annual basis, the day of his sheering he makes a holiday.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Avodah Zarah
ויום שעלה מן הים – And he offers sacrifices to idolatry on account that he was saved. In all of these, it is not prohibited other than on that day and not beforehand, and they do not consider it all that much.
