If one saw the new moon and could not walk (to beth-din), he may be taken on an ass (on the Sabbath), even in bed. And if they (highwaymen) are lying in wait (tzodeh) for them, [as in (I Samuel 24:11): "And you tzodeh my life to take it"], they may take clubs with them. And if it were a long way, they may take food with them. For, for a night and day journey one goes out to testify to (the appearance of) the new moon, it being written (Leviticus 23:4): "These are the appointed times of the L-rd … which you shall call in their proper times." [Wherever "appointed time in its proper time" is written, it overrides the Sabbath.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
ואם צודה להם – lying in wait, like (I Samuel 24:12): “….Yet you are bent on taking my life.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
Introduction
This mishnah lists several different ways in which a person might come to profane Shabbat on his way to testify that he saw the new moon. The mishnah is adamant a person on his way to Jerusalem may profane the Shabbat in any way that he needs to in order to ensure that he makes it to Jerusalem in order to testify.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
שנאמר אלה מועדי ה' – and every place where it says, "מועד במועדו"/”appointed time at its appointed season” supersedes the Sabbath.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
If one who has seen the new moon and is not able to walk [to Jerusalem] on foot, he may be brought on a donkey or even in a litter [on Shabbat]. Here we learn that a person may transgress two prohibitions in order to make it to Jerusalem to testify: he may ride on a donkey and others may carry him on a litter, which is a violation of carrying.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
If they [the witnesses] are likely to be attacked, they may take sticks [to defend themselves]. They may also carry sticks in order to defend themselves against bandits or highway robbers.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
If the distance is great [to Jerusalem], they may take provisions with them, since for as much as a night and a day’s journey they were allowed to profane Shabbat and go out to testify concerning the new moon, as it says: “These are the appointed times of the Lord … which you shall proclaim at their appointed time” (Leviticus 23:4). They can also carry food with them on their way to Jerusalem. The witnesses were allowed to travel for up to an entire night and one day in order to get to Jerusalem, meaning if they saw the new moon in the evening when Shabbat began, and they were far enough away that they would have to walk the entire night and all day and then just get there when Shabbat was over, they were still allowed to go. Of course, if they lived farther away than they couldn’t come because they wouldn’t make it in time anyway. The rabbis’ adamancy that one must go to Jerusalem to testify and that one can break Shabbat in order to do so is justified by a midrash. The Torah says that the appointed times, the festivals, must be proclaimed at their appointed time. This is understood by the rabbis to mean that it is essential that the court declare the new moon on time so that the festivals would fall at the correct time. If doing so requires one to profane Shabbat, so be it.
