Talmud - Sanhedrin 12a סנהדרין י״ב א׳

during years of famine. When grain is scarce, intercalating the year would exacerbate the food shortage by delaying the omer offering, which is brought in Nisan, thereby prolonging the period during which the new crop is forbidden.

It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says that this principle can be demonstrated based on an incident related in the Bible. The verse states with regard to the prophet Elisha: “And there came a man from Ba’al Shalisha, and he brought to the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat” (II Kings 4:42).

The incident is analyzed: You do not have in all of Eretz Yisrael an environment in which fruit ripens more swiftly than in Ba’al Shalisha, and even so, only one of the seven species had ripened at that time, as the verse testifies that he brought him “bread of the first fruits.” Lest you say the verse speaks of wheat, which ripens close to the time of the festival of Shavuot, the verse states “barley.” Lest you say that the incident took place before the omer offering was sacrificed, the verse states: “Give to the people, that they may eat.” As they were permitted to eat, it must be that the incident was after the omer offering was brought.

Based on this, say that even in the place in which fruit ripened the fastest in all of Eretz Yisrael, after the omer had been brought, only the barley had ripened. Evidently, the year was fit to be intercalated, because the spring produce was not sufficiently mature in time. And for what reason did the prophet Elisha not intercalate it? Because it was a year of scarcity, as described in the Bible (see II Kings 4:38), and everyone was running to the granary. Intercalating the year would have made it even more difficult to obtain produce.

§ The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 2:3): The court may not intercalate the year before Rosh HaShana. And if the court intercalated it this early, it is not intercalated. But if there was a need to intercalate it early due to exigent circumstances, e.g., religious persecution, they may intercalate it immediately after Rosh HaShana. Even so, they may intercalate it only by adding a second month of Adar.

The Gemara asks: Is that so, that intercalation may be determined only after Rosh HaShana? But the Sages of Eretz Yisrael sent the following encoded message to Rava during the time of Roman persecution: A pair of Torah scholars came from Rakkath, the biblical name for Tiberias (see Joshua 19:35), which was the seat of the Sanhedrin in Rava’s time. They meant to reach the Diaspora community, but the pair was apprehended by the eagle, i.e., Roman soldiers, whose symbol was the eagle; and in their possession were precious items made in Luz. The Gemara interrupts the story to explain: And what are those items from Luz? Sky-blue dye, which is necessary for ritual fringes. The message continued: In the merit of divine mercy and in their merit, they were spared execution and emerged in peace. Nevertheless, they did not reach their destination.

The message continued: And the offspring of Nahshon, meaning the Sages of the court of the Nasi, who was descended from the prince of Judah, Nahshon ben Amminadab (see Numbers 7:12), sought to establish a pillar, i.e., they sought to add a month to the year. But that Edomite, the local Roman governor, did not allow them to intercalate the year. Nevertheless, the members of the assembly gathered, and they established a pillar, in the month in which Aaron the priest died, i.e., the Sages of Eretz Yisrael convened in the month of Av, which is before Rosh HaShana, and determined that the following year should be intercalated. Evidently, then, in exigent circumstances, intercalation may be done even before Rosh HaShana. The Gemara answers: The court may calculate the need for an extra month even before Rosh HaShana, but they may not reveal and publicize the decision until after Rosh HaShana.

The Gemara asks about the language of the coded message. From where may it be inferred that this word pillar [netziv] is a term for the month? As it is written: “And Solomon had twelve officers [netzivim] over all Israel, and they provided for the king and his household for a month in the year” (I Kings 4:7). This indicates that each netziv was responsible for a particular month. Once this verse was quoted, the Gemara inquires: But isn’t it written afterward: “And one officer that was in the land” (I Kings 4:19), indicating that there were more than twelve netzivim? Rav Yehuda and Rav Naḥman offer answers. One says: One officer was appointed over all of the others. And one says: The extra officer corresponded to the intercalated month. If the year had an additional month, he was responsible for the king’s provisions during that month.

§ The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 2:4): The court may not intercalate the year from one year to another, and it does not intercalate three successive years, one directly after the other. Rabbi Shimon says: There was an incident involving Rabbi Akiva at the time when he was incarcerated in prison, and he intercalated three years, one after the other. The Sages said to Rabbi Shimon: Is there any proof from there? Rabbi Akiva merely made the calculations, but a special court sat and established each one at its time.

The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 2:5): The court may not intercalate the year in the Sabbatical Year, so as not to prolong the prohibitions of the Sabbatical Year, nor in the year after the Sabbatical Year, when there is not much produce available, and delaying the consumption of the new crop would also cause hardship. When is the court accustomed to intercalate? On the eve of the Sabbatical Year, which causes no particular challenges. Nevertheless, the courts of the house of Rabban Gamliel would intercalate the year in the year after the Sabbatical Year.

And they disagree with regard to the issue that is the subject of the dispute between these tanna’im, as it is taught in a baraita: One may not import vegetables in the Sabbatical Year from outside Eretz Yisrael, and our Rabbis permitted importing such produce. According to the opinion that permits importing produce from outside Eretz Yisrael, there is no concern that the food supply will be exhausted. Therefore, the year following the Sabbatical Year may be intercalated. The Gemara asks: What is the reason for the difference between these two opinions concerning importing produce from outside Eretz Yisrael? Rabbi Yirmeya says: The difference between them relates to whether one is concerned for their clods of earth. Although all agree that the earth outside Eretz Yisrael conveys ritual impurity, the tanna’im dispute whether it is therefore forbidden to bring vegetables into Eretz Yisrael due to concern that small clods of earth may cling to them.

§ The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 2:10): The court may not intercalate the year due to ritual impurity, i.e., in the event that most of the Jewish people are in a state of impurity, to give them enough time to become ritually pure before Passover.

Rabbi Yehuda says: The court may intercalate the year due to ritual impurity. Rabbi Yehuda said: There was an incident involving Hezekiah, king of Judea, who intercalated the year due to ritual impurity (II Chronicles 30:2). And after doing so, he requested compassion for himself, as it is written: “For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves,

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Sanhedrin 12a explores why famine years discourage intercalating the calendar, citing Elisha's barley offering as biblical proof of delayed crop ripening.