If the festival of Rosh Hashanah fell out on Shabbath, in the mikdash (the Temple) they would blow the shofar, [for the blowing of the shofar is not (an interdicted Sabbath) labor. The rabbis decreed against it lest he come to carry the shofar four cubits in the public domain. But in the Temple they did not decree against it, there being no rabbinic shvuth ("resting") interdict in the Temple.], but not in the province [i.e., not in Jerusalem and not outside it. And Rambam says that all of Jerusalem is called "mikdash," and the rest of Eretz Yisrael "the province" (medinah).] When the Temple was destroyed, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai instituted that they blow wherever there is a beth-din, [even if they do not regularly preside there but just pass through.] R. Elazar said: R. Yochanan b. Zakkai instituted it only in Yavneh alone, [where the Great Sanhedrin presided in his days, and so, wherever the Great Sanhedrin was exiled, but not with a beth-din of twenty-three.] They countered: Both in Yavneh and in any place where there is a beth-din. [The difference between the first tanna and "They countered": The first tanna holds (that the shofar is blown on Shabbath) wherever there is a beth-din, even adventitiously; and "They countered" hold both in Yavneh and any other place where there is a regularly presiding beth-din, as in Yavneh, but not an adventitious one. The halachah is in accordance with "They countered."]
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
יום טוב של ר"ה. במקדש היו תוקעים – [They would sound the Shofar in the Temple], for the Sounding of the Shofar is not “work,” but the Rabbis made a decree against this lest someone take it in his hand and remove it four cubits in the public domain [and hence violate the law against carrying in the public domain on Shabbat] but in Temple, this decree was not made, for there is no prohibition against the Rabbinical law of being out of harmony with the celebration of the day in the Temple.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
Introduction
This mishnah deals with blowing the shofar on Shabbat. It is somewhat unclear why blowing the shofar on Shabbat should be prohibited at all. After all, as we shall see, some places did blow the shofar on Shabbat. It seems to me that there may have been a desire among the sages to prevent the celebration of Rosh Hashanah from overshadowing that of Shabbat. In the Talmud they provide a midrashic reason why one shouldn’t blow the shofar on Shabbat.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
אבל לא במדינה – Not in Jerusalem and not in the country. And Maimonides explains that all of Jerusalem is called מקדש/Temple/Sanctuary, and the rest of the land of Israel is called the country.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
If Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbat, they would blow the shofar in the Temple but not in the country. There are two different explanations for “Temple” and “country.” Some commentators explain “Temple” to refer to all of Jerusalem and “country” to refer to anywhere outside of Jerusalem. According to this interpretation, they allowed the shofar to be blown in Jerusalem because there they would know whether the new moon had been sanctified. In other words, they would know for certain whether it was Rosh Hashanah. Outside of Jerusalem they couldn’t be sure, so they wouldn’t blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Assumedly, at this period there were already two days of Rosh Hashanah so that they could blow the second day. The other explanation is that “Temple” refers to the Temple itself, and “country” refers to all places outside of the Temple. They allowed the shofar to be blown in the Temple because rabbinically prohibited activities are allowed on Shabbat in the Temple. However, this interpretation does not fit particularly well with the mishnah which we shall learn tomorrow.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
בכל מקום שיש בו ב"ד – even if they are not established/fixed other than by chance that they came there and sound the Shofar.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
After the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakai decreed that it should be blown [on Shabbat] in every place where there was a court. This begins a series of decrees made by Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, one of the leaders of the rabbis after the destruction of the Second Temple. The other decrees will appear in the following mishnayot. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai decreed that the shofar should be blown on Shabbat in all places where a rabbinic court, according to some a Sanhedrin, sat. This in essence bequeathed the authority of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem on all subsequent courts, no matter where they sat.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
אלא ביבנה – where the Great Sanhedrin was there in its days, and also in every place where the Great Sanhedrin was exiled to, but not in the Jewish courts of twenty-three.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
Rabbi Eliezer said: Rabban Yohanan ben Zakai decreed for Yavneh only. They said to him: both Yavneh and any place where there is a court. Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the broad application of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai’s decree (takkanah) and limits it only to the court in Yavneh. Rabbi Eliezer may be claiming that it is only Rabban Yohanan’s personal authority that allowed him to make such a decree. Other courts, which will not be able to count Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai as one of them, will not have such authority. The other rabbis reject Rabbi Eliezer’s statement. The decree bestowed authority on all subsequent courts and not just on the one in Yavneh. We might say that the authority is vested in the office and not in the individual rabbi, charismatic and learned as he may be.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
אמרו לו וכו' – there is a difference between [the teachers who state] : “they said to him” and the First Tanna, for the First Tanna holds that every place where there is a Jewish court, and even one by chance; whereas the “they said to him” hold that both Yavneh and any place that has a fixed Jewish court like that in Yavneh [can sound the Shofar], but not a Jewish court by chance. And the Halakha is according to the “they said to him.”
