Two or one? Eruvin 39

Yesterday’s daf Eruvin 38 discussed when Shabbat and a holiday are contiguous whether we treat both days as one period of sanctity and a person only needs to make one eruv tekhumim or we treat each holiday as a separate period of sanctity in a person needs to make two arvei tekhumim (plural of erev tekhumim). Appropriately because erev Rosh Hashanah is Friday night, today’s daf TB Eruvin 39 discusses whether we treat the two days of Rosh Hashanah as two separate periods of sanctities or just one.

“MISHNA: During the time period when the Jewish calendar was established by the court according to the testimony of witnesses who had seen the new moon, Rosh HaShana would be observed for only one day if witnesses arrived on that day, and for two days if witnesses failed to arrive and the month of Elul was declared to be an extended, thirty-day month. Rabbi Yehuda says: With regard to Rosh HaShana, if one feared that the month of Elul might be extended, and he wanted to travel in two different directions on the two days that could be Rosh HaShana, this person may establish two eiruvin and say: My eiruv on the first day shall be to the east and on the second day to the west, or alternatively: On the first day it shall be to the west, and on the second day to the east. Similarly, he may say: My eiruv shall apply on the first day, but on the second day I shall be like the rest of the inhabitants of my town, or alternatively: My eiruv shall apply on the second day, but on the first day I shall be like the rest of the inhabitants of my town. And the Rabbis did not agree with him that the two days of Rosh HaShana can be divided in such a manner…Rabbi Dosa ben Harekinas says: One who passes before the ark in the synagogue and leads the congregation in prayer on the first day of the festival of Rosh HaShana says: Strengthen us, O Lord our God, on this day of the New Moon, whether it is today or tomorrow. And similarly, on the following day he says: Whether Rosh HaShana is today or yesterday. And the Rabbis did not agree with him that one should formulate his prayer in this conditional manner.” (Sefaria.com translation)

 Obviously Rabbi Yehuda holds that each day of Rosh Hashanah is a separate period of sanctity. The Gemara identifies the rabbis who disagree as Rabbi Yosei. Rabbi Yosei holds that Rosh Hashanah is one long day; consequently, only has one period of sanctity. He argues his case. “Rabbi Yosei said to the Rabbis: Don’t you concede that if witnesses came from the time of minḥa and onwards on the first day of Rosh HaShana and testified that they had seen the new moon, we do not rely on their testimony to sanctify that day as Rosh HaShana; rather, since their testimony was not given on time, we observe that day as sanctified and also the following day as sanctified? This indicates that the two days of Rosh HaShana are not observed out of doubt as to which is the proper day; rather, it is as though the two days are one long day that are imbued with one unified sanctity. Therefore, it should not be possible to divide them.” (Sefaria.com translation)  I don’t think that the rabbis i.e. Rabbi Yehuda response is all that strong. “And the Rabbis hold that there, the first day is not observed as a Festival by Torah law but due to rabbinic decree, so that people will not demean the day in future years and end up desecrating the Festival should the witnesses come on time. However, by Torah law it is an ordinary weekday, and therefore one can establish two separate eiruvin for the two days.” (Sefaria.com translation) 

The halakha follows Rabbi Yossi and the two days of Rosh Hashanah is considered one long day. This means you can use one eruv tekhumim for both days, but you can’t set up to an eruv tekhumim in two directions. (Shulkhan Arukh, Orekh Hayyim, 416:1) That is why even in Israel where they don’t celebrate the second day of Yom Tov as done in the Diaspora (יום טוב שני של גליות ) celebrate two days of Rosh Hashanah.

Tomorrow we shall finish the trifecta and discuss whether the two days of Yom Tov observed in the Diaspora is one period of sanctity or two.