Sukkah, Daf Nun Gimmel, Part 6

 

Introduction

Today’s section begins to explain the mishnah about how many shofar blasts there were in the Temple.

 

גמרא. מתניתין דלא כרבי יהודה. דתניא, רבי יהודה אומר: הפוחת לא יפחות משבע, והמוסיף לא יוסיף על שש עשרה.

במאי קא מיפלגי? רבי יהודה סבר: תקיעה תרועה תקיעה אחת היא, ורבנן סברי: תקיעה לחוד ותרועה לחוד.

 

GEMARA. Our Mishnah does not agree with R. Judah, for it has been taught: R. Judah ruled, The minimum number of blasts is seven, and the maximum sixteen.

What is the basis of their dispute?

R. Judah holds that tekiah, teruah and tekia are counted as one, whereas the Rabbis hold that the tekiah and the teruah are separate and distinct notes.

 

The mishnah sets the minimum and maximum number of shofar blasts at 21 and 48, whereas R. Judah sets it at seven and sixteen. The explanation for this discrepancy is actually quite simple. According to R. Judah each set of tekiah, teruah, tekia counts as one note, whereas the other rabbis count each set as three.

מאי טעמא דרבי יהודה? – אמר קרא +במדבר י+ ותקעתם תרועה (וכתיב תרועה יתקעו, אלמא תרועה ותקיעה אחת היא.

ורבנן: ההוא לפשוטה לפניה ולאחריה הוא דאתא.

 

What is the reason of R. Judah? Scripture says, "And you shall sound (utekatem) a teruah," (Numbers 10:5) showing that the tekiah and the teruah are regarded as one.

 

R. Judah derives that these two notes are all part of one because the Torah uses the root for tekiah as the verb meaning "to blast a teruah." Therefore, a tekiah and a teruah are all part of the same note, and together they count as one.

 

ורבנן מאי טעמייהו? – דכתיב +במדבר י+ ובהקהיל את הקהל תתקעו ולא תריעו, ואי סלקא דעתך תקיעה תרועה אחת היא, אמר רחמנא פלגא דמצוה עביד ופלגא לא עביד?

 

What then is the reason of the Rabbis?

Because it is written, "And when the congregation is to be gathered together, you shall sound a tekiah, but not a teruah" (Numbers 10:7). Now if you should think that the tekiah and the teruah form one note, would the Torah say, Perform one half of the commandment, but not the other half ?

 

The rabbis who hold that the tekiah and the teruah count as different notes derive this from Numbers 10:7, which says that the people should sound a tekiah but not a teruah. Clearly this means that they count as two different notes, for if they were each half of the same note, the Torah would be telling the people to perform half of a mitzvah.

 

ורבי יהודה: ההוא לסימנא בעלמא הוא דאתא.

ורבנן: סימנא הוא, ורחמנא שויה מצוה.

 

And R. Judah? That sounding was a mere signal.

And the rabbis? It was indeed a signal, but the Torah made it into a commandment.

 

R. Judah responds to the rabbis that their verse cannot serve as proof for the shofar blasting in Numbers 10 was not a mitzvah, it was just a signal to the people to march. Therefore, he can maintain that a teruah and a tekiah are part of the same note.

The rabbis agree that Numbers 10:7 refers to a signal. However, despite this, God treated it like a mitzvah, therefore teaching that they are two different notes.

 

כמאן אזלא הא דאמר רב כהנא: אין בין תקיעה לתרועה ולא כלום, כמאן? – כרבי יהודה.

פשיטא!

 

Whose view does the following statement by R. Kahana go according to: There must be no interval between the tekiah and the teruah?

In agreement with whose view [you ask]?

In agreement with that of R. Judah.

But is not this obvious?

 

The Talmud analyzes R. Kahana’s statement in light of the mishnah. R. Kahana stated that there may not be any time interval between the tekiah and the teruah. This seems to go according to R. Judah, who holds that these two notes count as one note. Since they are one note, one can’t pause in between.

The problem is that this is obvious. Why would we even need to ask such a simple question?

 

מהו דתימא אפילו כרבנן, ולאפוקי מדרבי יוחנן, דאמר: שמע תשע תקיעות בתשע שעות ביום – יצא, קא משמע לן.

ואימא הכי נמי! – אם כן, מאי ולא כלום?

 

What might you have thought? That it is also in agreement with the view of the rabbis, and that it excludes the view of R. Yohanan who said that if a man heard the nine tekiahs in nine hours during the day he has still fulfilled his obligation. Therefore it informed us [that it agrees only with the view of R. Judah].

Might it not be suggested that it is indeed so?

If it were so, what was meant by "no interval whatever"?

 

If we had not stated that R. Kahana’s law follows R. Judah’s opinion, we might have thought that it excludes only R. Yohanan’s opinion, which allowed one to have very large intervals between one shofar blast and the next. According to R. Yohanan, as long as one sounds nine tekiahs (with their teruahs) during the day, he has fulfilled his duty. Had we interpreted this way, we could have said that R. Kahana agres with the sages, who would allow a short pause between notes. That is why the Talmud taught us that this statement accords only with R. Judah, who holds that there must be no break whatsoever.

Finally, the Talmud asks how we know so definitively that R. Kahana does not follow the sages in allowing a short pause. The answer is the words "no interval whatsoever."