Rosh Hashana 20

The rabbis continue to discuss the counting of days and months.  At the start of amud (a), the rabbis examine whether or not Shabbat might be desecrated by witnesses who may not actually have seen the New Moon.

In their conversations, the Gemara wonders why it would be a problem should Shabbat fall next to a Festival.  Ulla suggests that our vegetables might not be fresh, which is countered in one instance because hot water will revive (or cook?) the vegetables.  Rabbi Acha bar Chanina believes that the dead might have to wait to be buried, which is also debated for Gentiles can bury the dead.  The rabbis note that the weather in Babylonia is very hot and both vegetables and corpses will not last two days, though they might do so in Eretz Yisroel.

There seems to be some question as to whether or not witnesses of the New Moon might be trustworthy.  Although these dates were set and verified mathematically, witnesses helped both to solidify any future legal question.  In addition, witnesses might convince heretics that the calendar was truly G-d given.  Overall, it seems possible that witnesses might have be intimidated to alter their reports based on the need of the community.  During some months, the date of the New Moon was necessarily fixed. On other months, intimidation might have affected the witness' reports.

Lying about the months is different depending on its timing.  The Gemara notes that when witnesses lie about seeing the New Moon, others will suspect the lie because they saw the moon themselves.  They would wonder why the sighting of the moon was not declared and the date was pushed back by one day.  However if the witnesses lie about seeing the moon early, people might not suspect a lie for it is reasonable that only some people witness the New Moon.

Likely in an effort to set the calendar without the need for messengers, Shmuel declares that he is able to calculate the entire Jewish calendar.  Abba challenges him, asking if he knows about calculating the molad.  Shmuel admits that he has not heard of the molad, and Abba retorts that there must be other things that Shmuel does not know that might affect his construction of a calendar.  

Rabbi Zeira looks into this and learns that the New Moon must include both a night and a day in the new month.  Molad is discussed in a baraita referred to as the secret addition - calendric calculations. Molad is where the earth, moon and sun line up compared with midday.  This measurement can help to determine the length of the remaining daylight hours.  To declare the New Moon, the molad must before the beginning of the night.  However, we cannot know the true molad unless we know where to measure from.  The navel of the earth, perhaps (thought of as 24 degrees east of Jerusalem)?  Or the navel of the sea?  According to our notes, this secret addition is one of the most difficult passages in the Gemara. 

The Gemara continues to discuss how dates are determined in the Jewish world. In a note, we learn that  the 'halachic dateline' has been debated without resulting in a consensual understanding.  One theory developed based on the need of Jews arriving in Japan in 1942 suggests a line that runs 90 degrees east of Jerusalem.  When this line runs over the land, there might be issues with when to observe Shabbat.  The other theory is that there is no absolute dateline.  Instead, the first Jews to arrive in a place determine when Shabbat is observed.

This suggests to me that the rabbis may not hold in their hearts an rigid interpretation of Torah-law.  Without a black and white understanding of G-d's will for us regarding time, we might be observing Shabbat incorrectly.  We could forgo the World-to-Come! Instead, some of these rabbinical leaders decided to recommend a human-based, unpredictable interpretation of time.  Very progressive!

I have to say that I recognize how limited my understanding is when it comes to all rabbinical literature - but particularly regarding the complex halacha and reasoning of our calendar.  The genius of our rabbis is evident in every phrase that I struggle to understand.