Resources for Rosh Hashana daf 31

Daf A Week

Rabbi Yitzchok Gutterman

  1. The גמרא says that the שיר של יום of יום חמישי was selected with the פסוק of הרנינו לאלוקים עוזינו since the 5th day was the day that birds and fish were created to praise Hashem. רש"י here explains that when people see unusual birds, they praise Hashem for creating such a beautiful בריאה. See the ריטב"א in ע"ז דף י"ז who, when explaining פּרק שירה, says that while the animals don’t actually say these things, it’s a סברא that if they had mouths, this is what they’d say. that See the מבי"ט at the end of בית אלוקים in hisהקדמה לפּרשת שירה where he says in one פּשט that it refers to the שר או מזל of the plant that says the שירה. See also the אור החיים בראשית ג, א who says that animals have their own שיחה, and even a דומם has a type of שיחה as well.

 

  1. The גמרא gives a סימן for the leining and singing of האזינו of הזי"ו ל"ך. רש"י here explains which פּסוק in האזינו each letter corresponds to. However, there is a מחלוקת ראשוונים regarding some of the letters. For example, רש"י says the “ויו” refers to וירא whereas תוספות says it refers to וישמן. Similarly, רש"י says the “כף refers to כי ידין whereas the רי"ף in מגילה says it refers to כי אשא. See the דבר אברהם חלק א' סימן ל"ו who asks how could חז"ל have a given us a סימן like הזי"ו ל"ך which seems non-specific? There are so many פּסוקים that could fit with each letter? He answers with an astounding חידוש: he explains we must say that חז"ל weren’t really מקפּיד as to which פּסוק you chose to start from, as long as it spelled out הזי"ו ל"ך. As to why חז"ל cared about it spelling out הזי"ו ל"ך, see the שיבולי הלקט ש"ו who brings from רב סעדיה גאון that each letter represents something. ה is for the amount of עליות on ר"ה when it’s on a weekday, ז for when it’s on Shabbos, י' is for עשרת ימי תשובה, ל for the amount of תקיעות and ך for the amount of days צדיקים fast (10 days before ר"ה and the ten days of עשרת ימי תשובה).

 

  1. The גמרא says there was a תקנה that a גר had to set aside money for his קרבן even בזמן הזה when there is no בית המקדש. See the טורי אבן here who asks why this קרבן is different from any other קרבן? He brings תוספות in כריתות דף ט. ד"ה צריך (at the bottom of the page) who says that a גר is different since he needs a קרבן להתירו לקהל. It is clear from תוספות that without the קרבן, at least in the times of the בית המקדש, the גר could not marry a Jewess. See the רמב"ם הלכות איסורי ביאה פּרק י"ג הל' ד who brings the requirement of a גר needing to bring a קרבן and that he must bring it once the בית המקדש is rebuilt. He also says in הלכות מחוסרי כפּרה פּרק הל' בּ that if a גר doesn’t bring a קרבן, he is not Jewish לגבי קדשים! See the אבני נזר יו"ד ח"ב שמ"ג who says that from the fact that the Rambam brought the requirement for a קרבן in הלכות איסורי ביאה, it is clear that he agrees with תוספות regarding the era of the בית המקדש that if the גר didn’t bring a קרבן he was not מותר לבוא בקהל. He also points out that that the רשב"א in קידושין disagrees and holds it is only מעכב אכילת קדשים.

 

  1. The גמרא says that there was a תקנה that you couldn’t be פּודה the fruit of כרם רבעי if you were within one day’s walk from ירושלים. רב יוחנן בן זכאי was seemingly מבטל that תקנה. Many אחרונים ask how he could be מבטל an earlier תקנה, even if the reason no longer applied. See the כסף משנה הלכות ממרים פּרק בּ הל ב  who says that perhaps רב יוחנן בן זכאי’s ב"ד  was greater than the ב"ד  that made the earlier תקנה . See the שואל ומשיב מהדו"ק ח"ב סימן ק who answers that since ירושלים is not בבנינה, it’s as if every place is more than a day’s walk from ירושלים.

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Click here to download daf summary by Rabbi Chaim Smulowitz (in PDF)

Click here to download Shaklya v'Tarya Summary by Rabbi Yaakov Blumenfeld (in PDF)