Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Ra'avad on the Yovel Count

See here for the text of the Mishneh Torah.

Halachah 3 - Avraham said: This is is according to the opinion of Rebbi Yehudah, who said (Arachin 12b) that the 50th year counts here and there (i.e. the 50th year is the 1st of the next cycle), but rather according to Rabbanan, who subtract the 7 years of conquering (in the time of Yehoshua) and the 7 years of division, but rather the amount of the Yovel years, as it is said and what is it that he said the 36th year of the Yovel, that is according to Rabbanan, for according to Rebbi Yehudah it would be the 3rd year of the Yovel.

א"א הגאונים שאמרו שאין מונין משנת החרבן אלא שבע אולי ג"כ קודם החרבן כי יש מפרשים דסבירא להו כרבי יהודה דאמר שנת חמשים עולה לכאן ולכאן וסומכין את דבריהם למה שאמרו בגמרא דע"ז ונשקול מכל מאה תרתי ונשדי אפרטי כי אמרו אלו המפרשים לא יתכן לחשב אחר החרבן זכר לבנין חשבון אחר זולתי החשבון הראשון מ"מ אני איני סובר לא כדבריהם ולא כדבריו ואיני מפרש נשקול מכל מאה תרתי ונשדי אפרטי על דרך פירושם אלא לומר שאינם נותנים ליובל אחר חרבן שם זכר קדושה אלא כשאר שני שבוע שהם חול מ"מ חמשים חמשים הם מונין דלא כר' יהודה כמו שהיו מונין בתחלה ואולי דעת הגאונים כך הוא

Halachah 6,7 - Avraham said: the Geonim who said that you only count from the year of the Churban only (every) 7 years, perhaps before the Churban as well, for there are those that explain according to Rebbi Yehudah that said that the 50th year counts here and there, and they base their words on what is written in the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 9b) "Let's take 2 from every 100, and throw away the details. For those people have explained that it is not possible that after the Churban, there will be as a memory for the original count something that is different than the original count (i.e. if we did like Rabbanan during the time of the Beit HaMikdash, we would also afterwards. And since we see that afterwards we do like Rebbi Yehudah, we must have also done like him during the time of the Beit HaMikdash). In any case, I don't explain like their words or like his (the Rambam?) words, and I don't explain (the expression from Avodah Zarah) like their explanation, except to say that after the Churban, we don't give the Yovel any bit of kedushah as a memory, rather we treat it like all other years of the Shmitah cycle which are profane, and in any case 50 year cycles are counted, which is not like Rebbi Yehudah, like they were counting at the beginning, and perhaps that is the opinion of the Geonim.

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