|
Dear Yeshiva Family:
After completing a full year of Divrei Torah focused on chizzuk—offering inspirational commentary on the Parshah—I have decided to switch things up. Going forward, I will introduce a brief, learning-based D'var Torah each week. I hope this "short and sweet" lomdishe (analytical) approach will foster more Torah learning. As with any new initiative, we won't know if it resonates unless we hear from you. So, please feel free to offer feedback on what you appreciate and what might be improved. Additionally, if you have any thoughts to contribute to the weekly Divrei Torah, it would be greatly welcomed. Wishing everyone an uplifting Yom Tov and Shabbos!
--
"And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Bereishis 1:5). "And Hashem made the two great lights… and the stars… and there was evening… the fourth day" (Bereishis 1:16-19).
Many mitzvos, or commandments are time-bound, meaning they must be performed either by day or by night. Additionally, Shabbos begins at nightfall on the seventh day of the week. In the time of the Beis Hamikdash, if someone violated Shabbos after receiving proper warning, they could face the death penalty—but only if it was clear they had violated Shabbos. Thus, although we begin to avoid Shabbos-prohibited activities from sunset, it is only certainly Shabbos when three stars are visible in the sky. At that point, if witnesses confirm the appearance of three stars, any violation of Shabbos could result in capital punishment.
R' Elchanan Wasserman[1] poses an intriguing question (known as a "chakira"): Are the stars the cause of the transition from day to night (referred to as a "sibah"), or is the change from day to night independent of the stars, with the stars serving merely as a sign ("siman") of nightfall?
An analogy might help clarify this chakira: If someone sees a cup with a poisonous plant in it, they avoid drinking it because they see the cause of danger. But if they see a cup with a skull-and-crossbones label, they avoid drinking it due to the sign that the cup contains poison. So, are the stars like the poisonous plant, causing nightfall, or like the warning label, indicating night has already begun?
This distinction has practical halachic implications (known as a "nafka minah"). For example, the Shita Mekubetzes (Bava Basra 56b) discusses the rule that testimony given by witnesses must be complete in order to be utilized in a beis din, or court; one witness cannot testify to part of a crime, leaving other witnesses to fill in the gaps. However, in cases like property ownership, where a person living in a house for three consecutive years establishes ownership (known as a "chazakah"), separate sets of witnesses can testify to each year of the three years. The Shita explains that if the testimony concerns a cause of the matter at hand, partial testimony from different witnesses cannot be combined. But if the testimony is about a sign (an indication that the squatter is the true owner of the property he is on), different testimonies can be joined[2].
Applying this to stars and nightfall: If two witnesses say they saw one star, and two more saw a second star, and another set saw a third, can we combine their testimonies to determine that three stars appeared, thereby confirming nightfall? If the stars are the cause of nightfall, their testimonies cannot be combined. But if the stars are merely a sign of nightfall, combining the testimonies would be valid.
This question also impacts halacha for those living near the Arctic Circle, where the sky may not darken enough for stars to appear for months. If stars cause nightfall, then technically, it would never be night in those regions. This would prevent someone from saying Krias Shema or davening Maariv. However, if the stars are only a sign of night, then night could still be halachically recognized, even in the absence of stars.
R' Elchanan brings proof from the first three days of creation. The Torah says, "And there was evening and there was morning, one day," but we know the stars were only created on the fourth day. This suggests that the stars do not cause night; they are merely a sign of its arrival. Therefore, night exists even without stars.
Based on this, it seems we could combine separate witnesses to establish that three stars are visible, and nightfall has begun. Additionally, those living near the Arctic Circle could recite Krias Shema at night, even without the appearance of stars.
However, we can add depth to this discussion through a medrash in Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer (52), which recounts an incident during a war on Erev Shabbos[3]. The leader of Klal Yisrael at the time, Yehoshua, not wanting Klal Yisrael to violate Shabbos, miraculously stopped the sun for 36 hours—until Motzei Shabbos! This poses a paradox: On the one hand, it seems that the sun's delay prevented Shabbos from starting. On the other hand, the Medrash indicates that it was Motzei Shabbos when the sun finally set. How do we reconcile this?
The answer may lie in the two distinct motions of the Earth. One is the 24-hour rotation on its axis, causing day and night. The other is the Earth's yearly orbit around the sun, which produces the calendar year[4]. Although these cycles seem interconnected, they are actually independent. Stopping the Earth's rotation delays day and night, including the onset of the mitzvah of Shabbos, which requires nightfall to begin, but it does not affect the Earth's annual orbit. So, while the day and night cycle was paused, the calendar continued, and it was technically Motzei Shabbos, even though Shabbos was never observed[5]!
If this understanding is correct, we can infer from the Medrash that the physical setting of the sun is indeed the cause of the end of the day and the beginning of Shabbos. However, we must now revisit R' Elchanan's proof, which asserts that the halachic day, which begins at night, can begin without the stars. This seems at odds with this point just made about the sun, given that the sun itself was also created only on the fourth day and therefore this apparent contradiction requires resolution. Based on our distinction above we can explain not like Reb Elchanan. Rather all that is indicated by the Pesukim is that that the passage of days on the calendar—independent of halachic day and night—does not rely on celestial bodies or stars, and this is what is implied in the Pesukim which declare a day and a night in the first three days of creation prior to the creation of the celestial bodies on the fourth day. This also explains how in the Medrash there could be a Motzei Shabbos without Shabbos itself having been observed. However, the first part of the Medrash teaches us that when it comes to halachic matters, such as the start and end of Shabbos, we do rely on celestial bodies like the sun and stars to dictate and cause when halachic night and day begin.
In conclusion, the halachic determination of day and night is indeed caused by celestial bodies like the stars. Therefore, three stars must be visible to halachically mark the beginning of nightfall. Accordingly, it would not be permitted to join three separate sets of witnesses to receive testimony about the three stars. In regions where stars do not appear, such as near the Arctic Circle, nightfall might not be halachically established—though the calendar day would still progress. This principle could also extend to space travel, where the celestial markers usually observed on Earth are absent. In such cases, a person would still celebrate their Bar Mitzvah, count sefira, or observe the seven clean days, as these are based on the calendar, but the halachos tied to day and night would not apply.
I hope you enjoy this new learning style! Have a wonderful Yom Tov!
Rabbi Moshe Revah Rosh HaYeshiva, HTC - Beis HaMidrash LaTorah moshe.revah@htc.edu
_________________________
[1] Koveitz Shiurim- Pesachim 2 [2] This is the opinion of the Shita Mekubetzes. Many other Rishonim disagree with the difference, which may affect this halachic implication in our discussion. [3] I saw this Medrash quoted in in the Koveitz Kol Torah from R' Michoel Rotenberg from the Ponovizher Kollel. [4] See the Malbim on Sefer Yehoshua (10:13) who explains a similar phenomenom. [5] Splitting the 'day' and 'night' from the calender day is not a new idea. This is recorded in the Radvaz in Elef 442 – 9 and the Even HaEzel in Hilchos Krias Shema 1:1 (pg. 13). | 
No comments:
Post a Comment