Study Arakhin folio 10A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ועיבור שנה שלשים (אישתקד) [ואישתקד] עשינו שניהם מלאין, דל תלתא לבהדי תלתא וקם ליה בדוכתיה. אמר ליה: נר ישראל! כן הוה.
and the month that was intercalated, added for the leap year, was 30 days, and last year we turned two months that are generally deficient into full months, which meant that it had 8 full months instead of the usual 6. Consequently, remove from consideration the 3 months that were made deficient this year corresponding to the 3 extra months that were made full last year, and the moon is restored to its place, i.e., it is properly aligned with the months. R' Yehuda HaNasi said to him: Lamp of Israel! Indeed, so it was.
מתני׳ אין פוחתין מעשרים ואחת תקיעות במקדש, ולא מוסיפין על ארבעים ושמנה.
Mishnah: No fewer than 21 trumpet blasts are sounded daily in the Temple, as each day 3 blasts were sounded for the opening of the gates in the morning, 9 for the daily morning offering, and 9 for the daily afternoon offering, totaling 21. And no more than 48 are ever sounded on a single day. This would occur on the Friday of Sukkot, when they would sound an additional 12 blasts during the ritual of drawing the water for the water libation; 9 for the additional offerings; 3 to signal the population to cease their work before Shabbat; and 3 more to mark the beginning of Shabbat.
אין פוחתין משני נבלים, ולא מוסיפין על ששה. אין פוחתין משני חלילין, ולא מוסיפין על שנים עשר, ובשנים עשר יום בשנה החליל מכה לפני המזבח: בשחיטת פסח ראשון, ובשחיטת פסח שני, ויום טוב הראשון של פסח, וביום טוב של עצרת, ובשמונת ימי החג. ולא היה מכה באבוב של נחשת, אלא באבוב של קנה, מפני שקולו ערב; ולא היה מחלק אלא באבוב יחידי, מפני שהוא מחליק יפה.
When accompanying their song with instruments, the Levites do not use fewer than two lyres and do not use more than 6. When flutes are played, they do not use fewer than two flutes and do not use more than 12. And there are 12 days during the year when the flute plays before the altar: At the time of the slaughter of the first Paschal offering, on the 14th of Nisan; and at the time of the slaughter of the second Paschal offering, on the 14th of Iyyar; and on the first festival day of Passover; and on the festival of Shavuot; and on all 8 days of the festival of Sukkot. And one would not play with a copper flute; rather, one would play with a flute of reed, because its sound is more pleasant. And one would conclude the music only with a single flute, because it concludes the music nicely.