R. Yehudah says: If one apprehended that beth-din might intercalate Rosh Hashanah, he puts down two eruvin and says: "My eruv for the first day is to the east, and for the second day to the west" (or) "for the first day to the west, and for the second day to the east." "My eruv is for the first day, and on the second day, as the people of my city" (or) "My eruv is for the second day, and on the first day, as the people of my city." [If he were afraid that the great beth-din might intercalate Elul, so that there would be two holy days (the thirtieth and the thirty-first of Elul), and he had to go in one direction on the first day and in another direction on the second, he puts down two eruvin on the eve of yom tov, one in either direction, and says, etc.] And the sages did not concur with him. [For they hold that they are one sanctity. And the halachah is in accordance with the sages vis-à-vis the two days of Rosh Hashanah. For it is not because of doubt alone that two days were instituted, (doubt as to) whether beth-din had sanctified the thirtieth day or the thirty-first day and one of them is chol (i.e., not yom tov), but also because of the possibility that witnesses (had come) from minchah on, in which instance that day is observed as holy, and the next day as holy, both (together) being reckoned as one sanctity. But with the other festivals of the exile, where they instituted two days only because of doubt, our not knowing when the great beth-din had sanctified the new moon, the sages concur with R. Yehudah that they are two distinct sanctities. (The "sages" here are R. Yossi.)]
Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
שמא תעבר – lest the Great Jewish Court would make Elul a leap month (i.e., adding a 30th day to what is ordinarily only 29 days), and there will be two Holy Days, the thirtieth of Elul and the thirty-first, and he would need to go on the first day to one side and on the second day to the other side by making two Eruvin, and place them on the eve of Yom Tov, one on this side and the other on the other and say, etc. (i.e., that my Eruv for the first day will be in one direction and my Eruv for the second day will be in the other direction – like in the previous Mishnah).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eruvin
Introduction
In the time of the Mishnah, every Hebrew month had either 28 or 29 days, but people would not know before the end of the month how many days any given month had. This was decided by the testimony of witnesses who would come to the court in Jerusalem and testify that they had seen a new moon (we will learn about this in tractate Rosh Hashanah). Therefore, before the calendar was fully fixed, on the 28th day of a month, a person would not know if the next day will be Rosh Hodesh (the first of the month) or the last day of the preceding month. This was an especially significant problem on the last day of Elul, the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah. Until witnesses came one would not know if the next day was Rosh Hashanah or not. Our mishnah deals with the problem of setting up an eruv in such a situation.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
ולא הודו לו חכמים – for they hold that it is one [day] of holiness. And the Halakha is according to the Sages regarding the two holy days of Rosh Hashanah. But not because doubt alone they established this lest the Jewish Court should sanctify the thirtieth day or the thirty-first day (as Rosh Hashanah/Rosh Hodesh), and one of them is a weekday. But because lest witnesses should come from the time of Minha/afternoon and beyond (and state that they saw the New Moon), and they would observe that day as holy and the morrow as holy and both of them would be one holiness. But, the rest of the Holy Days of the Diaspora, that they did not establish other than from doubt, for we don’t know when the Great Jewish Court sanctified the month, the Sages agree with Rabbi Yehuda that they are two [days of] holiness. And the Sages that are mentioned here are Rabbi Yossi.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eruvin
Rabbi Judah says: [if on the eve of the] New Year a man was afraid that [the preceding month of Elul] might be intercalated, he may prepare two eruvs and make this declaration: “My eruv for the first day is that to the east and the one for the second day is that to the west”; “the one for the first day is that to the west and the one for the second day is that to the east”; “my eruv is for the first day, and for the second I shall be as the people of my town”; “my eruv is for the second day, and for the first I shall be as the people of my town.” The person described in this mishnah finds himself on the 28th of Elul, assuming that the next day is going to be Rosh Hashanah, but not knowing if the day after will also be Rosh Hashanah. If witnesses come the next day by a certain time, then it and it alone will be Rosh Hashanah, but if they do not come, then the following day will also be Rosh Hashanah. The problem therefore is how to set up an eruv for both days? Rabbi Judah says that he can treat these two days as if they were two separate entities of holiness, just as Rabbi Eliezer in yesterday’s mishnah said concerning the festival which precedes or comes after Shabbat.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eruvin
But the sages did not agree with him. Just as the rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer in yesterday’s mishnah, so too they disagree with Rabbi Judah in this mishnah. They reason that the two days may be one entity of holiness, in which case one cannot set two separate eruvin for the two days. We should note that at a certain point during the mishnaic period it became fixed that Rosh Hashanah was two days, and to this day Jews all over the world, and even those in the land of Israel observe two days of Rosh Hashanah. The two days are considered to be one long day of kedushah (holiness) and therefore, one cannot set up two different eruvin for the two days. In contrast, the second day of festivals (second day of Yom Tov) is only observed in the Diaspora. Where this second day is observed, one may set up two different eruvin for the two days.
