Nissan o Tishrei

11a

on Rosh HaShana our forefathers’ slavery in Egypt ceased; in Nisan the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt; and in Tishrei in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption with the coming of the Messiah.

Rabbi Yehoshua disagrees and says: In Nisan the world was created; in Nisan the Patriarchs were born; in Nisan the Patriarchs died; on Passover Isaac was born; on Rosh HaShana Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered by God and conceived sons; on Rosh HaShana Joseph came out from prison; on Rosh HaShana our forefathers’ slavery in Egypt ceased; in Nisan the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt; and in Nisan in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption.

The Gemara explains these matters in detail: It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: From where is it derived that the world was created in the month of Tishrei? As it is stated: “And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind” (Genesis 1:11). Which is the month in which the earth brings forth grass and the trees are full of ripe fruit? You must say that this is Tishrei. And a further proof that the world was created in Tishrei is that when the world was first created, it needed rain so that the plants would grow, and the period beginning with Tishrei is a time of rain, and rain fell and the plants grew, as it is stated: “But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:6).

Rabbi Yehoshua says: From where is it derived that the world was created in the month of Nisan? As it is stated: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree yielding fruit” (Genesis 1:12). Which is the month in which the earth is full of grass and the trees begin to bring forth fruit? You must say that this is Nisan. And further proof that the world was created in Nisan is that when the world was first created, the animals had to breed in order to fill the world, and the period beginning with Nisan is a time when cattle, and beasts, and birds mate with one another, as it is stated: “The flocks are clothed in the meadows, and the valleys are wrapped in grain; they shout for joy, they also sing” (Psalms 65:14).

The Gemara asks: And according to the opinion of the other tanna, Rabbi Eliezer, isn’t it written: “And tree yielding fruit,” indicating that the world was created at a time when the trees were just beginning to form their fruit? The Gemara answers: That verse is written as a blessing for future generations, that then too they will form their fruit.

The Gemara continues to ask: And according to the opinion of the other tanna, Rabbi Yehoshua, isn’t it written: “Fruit tree,” indicating that the world was created in a season when the trees were already filled with their fruit? The Gemara answers: That verse may be understood in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: All the acts of Creation were created with their full stature, immediately fit to bear fruit; they were created with their full mental capacities; they were created with their full form. As it is stated: “And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host” (Genesis 2:1). Do not read it as “their host [tzeva’am]”; rather, read it as their form [tzivyonam], which implies that the trees were created filled with ripe fruit.

The baraita continues: Rabbi Eliezer says: From where is it derived that in Tishrei the Patriarchs were born? As it is stated: “And all the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at the feast in the month of the mighty [eitanim], which is the seventh month” (I Kings 8:2), i.e., Tishrei. What is the meaning of the phrase: The month of the mighty? It is the month in which the mighty ones of the world, i.e., the Patriarchs, were born.

The Gemara asks: From where may it be inferred that the term eitan denotes mighty? As it is written: “Strong [eitan] is Your dwelling place, and You put Your nest in a rock” (Numbers 24:21). And it says: “Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy, and you strong [eitanim] foundations of the earth” (Micah 6:2), which is a call to the Patriarchs. And it says: “The voice of my beloved; behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills” (Song of Songs 2:8): “Leaping upon the mountains” means that the redemption will arrive early in the merit of the Patriarchs, who are called mountains, and “skipping upon the hills” means that it will come in the merit of the Matriarchs.

Rabbi Yehoshua says: From where is it derived that in Nisan the Patriarchs were born? As it is stated: “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv” (I Kings 6:1). This means in the month in which the radiant ones [zivtanei] of the world, the Patriarchs, were born.

The Gemara asks: And according to the other tanna, Rabbi Yehoshua, isn’t it written: “In the month of the mighty,” which indicates that the Patriarchs were born in Tishrei? The Gemara answers: There, it means that the month is mighty in mitzvot, due to the many Festivals that occur in Tishrei.

The Gemara asks further: And according to the other tanna, Rabbi Eliezer, isn’t it written: “In the month of Ziv”? The Gemara answers: Ziv is not an allusion to the Patriarchs. Rather, it means that Nisan is the month in which there is radiance [ziv] for the trees. As Rav Yehuda said: One who goes out during the days of Nisan and sees trees that are blossoming recites: Blessed…Who has withheld nothing from His world and has created in it beautiful creatures and beautiful trees for human beings to enjoy.

The Gemara continues: The one who said that in Nisan the Patriarchs were born also holds that in Nisan they died. The one who says that in Tishrei they were born also holds that in Tishrei they died, as it is stated about Moses on the day of his death: “And he said to them: I am one hundred and twenty years old today” (Deuteronomy 31:2). As there is no need for the verse to state “today,” since it is clear that Moses was speaking on that day, what is the meaning when the verse states “today”? It is to teach that Moses was speaking precisely, as if to say: Today my days and years are exactly filled and completed. This comes to teach you that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and fills the years of the righteous from day to day and from month to month, as it is stated: “The number of your days I will fulfill” (Exodus 23:26). Similarly, the Patriarchs merited that their years be fulfilled to the day, and so they died on the same date they were born.

It was taught in the baraita: On Passover Isaac was born. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this? As it is written that the angel who informed Sarah that she would bear a son told Abraham: “At the appointed time [mo’ed] I will return to you, at this season, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:14). This is understood to mean: At the time of the next Festival [mo’ed]. When did the angel say this? If we say that it was on Passover and he said to him that Sarah would have a son on Shavuot, can a woman give birth after only fifty days? Rather, say that it was Shavuot and he said that she would give birth on the Festival that occurs in the month of Tishrei, i.e., Sukkot. But still, can she give birth after only five months? Rather, you must say that it was Sukkot, and he spoke about the Festival that occurs in the month of Nisan, i.e., Passover.

The Gemara asks further: But still, can a woman give birth after only six months? The Gemara answers: A Sage taught in a baraita: That year was a leap year, in which an additional month of Adar was added before Nisan, and a woman can indeed give birth after seven months. The Gemara raises another question: Ultimately, if one deducts Sarah’s days of ritual impurity, as when the angel spoke Sarah had not yet conceived, and there is a tradition that on that day she began menstruating, as is alluded to in the verse: “After I am grown old, shall I have pleasure” (Genesis 18:12), there are less than seven months.

Mar Zutra said: Even according to the one who said that if a woman gives birth to a viable baby in her ninth month, she cannot give birth prematurely, and if she does not complete nine full months’ gestation the baby will not survive, nevertheless, if a woman gives birth in her seventh month, she may give birth early, before the seventh month is complete. As it is stated about the birth of Samuel: “And it came to pass after cycles of days that Hannah conceived and bore a son” (I Samuel 1:20), which is understood as follows: The minimum of “cycles,” seasons of three months, is two, and the minimum of “days” is two. Consequently, it is possible for a woman to give birth after a pregnancy of six months and two days.

It was taught in the baraita: On Rosh HaShana, Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were revisited by God and conceived children. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this? Rabbi Elazar said: This is derived by means of a verbal analogy between one instance of the term revisiting [pekida] and another instance of the term revisiting, and by means of a verbal analogy between one instance of the term remembering [zekhira] and another instance of the word remembering. It is written about Rachel: “And God remembered Rachel” (Genesis 30:22), and it is written about Hannah: “And the Lord remembered her” (I Samuel 1:19). And the meaning of these instances of the term remembering is derived from another instance of the term remembering, with regard to Rosh HaShana, as it is written: “A solemn rest, memorial proclaimed with the blast of a shofar” (Leviticus 23:24). From here it is derived that Rachel and Hannah were remembered by God on Rosh HaShana.

And the meaning of one instance of the term revisiting is derived from another instance of the term revisiting. It is written about Hannah: “And the Lord revisited Hannah” (I Samuel 2:21), and it is written about Sarah: “And the Lord revisited Sarah” (Genesis 21:1). From here it is derived that just as Hannah was revisited on Rosh HaShana, so too, Sarah was revisited on Rosh HaShana.

It was further taught in the baraita: On Rosh HaShana Joseph came out of prison. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this? As it is written: “Sound a shofar at the New Moon, at the covered time of our Festival day. For this is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob” (Psalms 81:4–5). This is a reference to Rosh HaShana, the only Festival that occurs at the time of the New Moon, when the moon is covered and cannot be seen.