Rosh Hashanah 15 - October 24, 18 Cheshvan

Study Guide Rosh Hashanah 15

Today's daf is sponsored by Beth Kissileff ,on the 18 of Heshvan, in memory of the eleven Jews killed at Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life synagogues in Pittsburgh in 2018. "They were all people who came early to shul and were concerned about creating community, in their individual ways and within their own limits and abilities. Hashem yikom damam." Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younge. 

This week's learning is dedicated by Martin Gaynor in memory of Jerry Rabinowitz, Yehuda ben Yekhezkel v'Selma, z"l, a kind, caring, and giving individual, who loved Yiddishkeit and loved learning.

There are four tannaitic opinions for how to treat etrogs regarding tithing and regarding shemita. According to Rabban Gamliel's approach, that in the matter of tithes, they go after the time of picking, like vegetables, is their Rosh Hashanah on Tishrei also like vegetables? No! The Rosh Hashanah for the tithes of etrogs is Tu B'Shvat. The Gemara brings the opinion of two amoraim and also then other tannatic opinions regarding produce that budded in one year and was picked in the next. One of the factors in the practical law here is that if fruits are declared ownerless (as happens with shmita produce), it is no longer obligated in tithes. The Gemara quotes a braita in the matter of fruit trees in general. Rabbi Nechemia’s position is brought who says that fruit trees follow budding only in trees whose fruits ripen at different times during the year. Rabbi Yochanan brings the custom of those who followed Rabbi Nechemia when it came to carob trees and Reish Lakish questioned him from a braita. Rabbi Yochanan was silent and didn’t respond. How can his silence be understood? After all, he had arguments he could have made against Reish Lakish!