Study Sukkah folio 54B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אי משום ערב הפסח — לאו שיורא הוא, דהא מני רבי יהודה היא, דאמר: מימיהם של כת שלישית לא הגיעה לומר ״אהבתי כי ישמע ה׳״, מפני שהיו עמה מועטין.
The Talmud rejects this answer. If it is due to the case of Passover eve, that is not an omission, as who is the tanna of this Mishnah? It is R' Yehuda, who said: Although there were 3 shifts in the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, never in the all the days of the third shift did it reach the point in hallel to recite: “I love that YHWH hears my voice” (Psalms 116:1), which is the second paragraph of hallel, because the people participating in the third shift were few. Therefore, when they reached that section of hallel they had already completed the slaughter of all the offerings, and consequently only one set of blasts was sounded during this shift, for a total of 42.
(הא אוקימנא) דלא כרבי יהודה! ודלמא האי תנא סבר לה כוותיה בחדא, ופליג עליה בחדא.
The Talmud wonders: But didn’t we establish that the Mishnah is not in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda? The Talmud answers: And perhaps this tanna of the Mishnah holds in accordance with his opinion in one case, with regard to the third shift on Passover eve, and disagrees with him in one case, with regard to tallying the number of blasts.
אלא: מאי שייר דהאי שייר? שייר ערב הפסח שחל להיות בערב שבת, אפיק שית ועייל שית.
But the question remains: What other case did he omit, that he omitted this case of Rosh HaShana as well? The Talmud answers: He omitted the case of Passover eve that occurs on Friday, in which case you eliminate 6 blasts of the third shift and incorporate 6 blasts sounded each Friday. The total is 48 blasts.
ואין מוסיפין על ארבעים ושמנה. ולא? והא איכא ערב הפסח שחל להיות בשבת, דאי לרבי יהודה — חמשין וחדא, אי לרבנן — חמשין ושבע!
§ The Mishnah continues: And one sounds no more than 48 trumpet blasts on any given day. The Talmud wonders: And are there no more than 48 on any day? But isn’t there Passover eve that occurs on Shabbat, where if it is according to R' Yehuda, there would be 51 blasts, i.e., 21 daily blasts, 9 for the additional offering of Shabbat, 9 for the hallel of each of the first two shifts sacrificing the Paschal lamb, and 3 for the third shift; and if it is according to the Rabbis, who hold that 9 blasts were sounded for the third shift as well, there would be 57 blasts? According to both opinions, there are more than 48.