Siman - Rosh Hashanah Daf 7
- The first of Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for other halachos as well
The Gemara brings a Baraisa that notes that the first of Nissan is significant with respect to other halachos as well:באחד בניסן ראש השנה לחדשים ולעיבורין ולתרומת שקלים ויש אומרים אף לשכירות בתים – The first of Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for months, for ibbur years, and for the separation of the shekalim, and some say: also, for the rental of houses. The Gemara explains that the reason that our Tanna did not include months in the Mishnah is, בשנים קמיירי בחדשים לא קמיירי – he is discussing ways in which the new year is relevant to years, meaning to twelve months periods that have halachic significance, and he is not discussing ways in which it is relevant to months. He did not include עיבורין because בהתחלה קמיירי בהפסקה לא קמיירי – because he is discussing only beginnings; he is not discussing culminations, such as the end of the period when the court may proclaim a leap year. He did not include the separation of shekalim, since a Baraisa taught that if one brought the funds from the old year, he has fulfilled his chiyuv, the Tanna could not state it as an absolute rule, for this implies he would invalidate old shekalim. Therefore, he chose to omit this law entirely.
- Machlokes regarding until when can one add a leap year
It was taught in a Baraisa: הן העידו שמעברין השנה כל אדר – They testified that we may add a month into the year during the entire month of Adar. This testimony was necessary because there were those who said that the leap year can be declared only until Purim, the fourteenth of Adar. The Gemara explains that the reason for limiting the adding of a leap year only until Purim, is that since people learn the halachos thirty days before Pesach, אתי לזלזולי בחמץ – the people might come to be lax in observing the prohibition against chametz. Rashi explains that people in the distant communities will have it fixed in their minds that Pesach is in thirty days, and they will not listen to the messengers that come who tell them it is a month later. The Gemara explains that the other Tanna would respond that people know that declaring a leap year depends on calculations and that the reason for the delay was that the Rabbis did not finish their calculations until this time.
- המשכיר בית לחבירו "לשנה זו"
It was taught in a Baraisa: המשכיר בית לחבירו לשנה מונה שנים עשר חודש מיום ליום – If one rents a house to his fellow for a year, he counts twelve months from day to day, and the lease expires exactly twelve months later. ואם אמר לשנה זו – And if he said that the period of the leases was “for this year,” then even if it was on the first of Adar when the lease was signed, כיון שהגיע יום אחד בניסן עלתה לו שנה – as soon as the first day of Nissan arrives, a year has been completed. The Gemara explains that even according to the one who said יום אחד בשנה חשוב שנה – one day of a year is considered like an entire year, it is different here, דלא טרח איניש למיגר ביתא לבציר מתלתין יומין – because a person does not bother to rent a house for less than thirty days. Rashi explains that it is considered as if he lived there a full year, only if he was there for at least thirty days. When the Gemara suggests that therosh hashanah begins in Tishrei, it answers that when a person rents a house “for this year” close to Tishrei, he intends to rent it for the entire rainy season until Nissan. The Tanna Kamma of the Baraisa and the Tanna of our Mishnah did not include it in their list because in Nissan as well, clouds are common. Rashi explains that they consider Nissan still part of the rainy season.
