(ז) מצות עשה מן התורה על בית דין שיחשבו וידעו אם יראה הירח או לא יראה. ושידרשו את העדים עד שיקדשו את החדש. וישלחו ויודיעו שאר העם באי זה יום הוא ראש חדש כדי שידעו באי זה יום הן המועדות. שנאמר אשר תקראו אותם מקראי קדש ונאמר ושמרת את החקה הזאת למועדה.
(7) It is a positive commandment of the Torah on the court that they should calculate and know whether the moon will be seen or not be seen. And that they should interrogate the witnesses until they sanctify the month. And they send and inform the rest of the people on which day the first of the month falls in order so that they will know on which days are the festivals. As it is said (Leveticus 23:2) "which you will call them holy callings" and it is said (Exodus 13:10) "And you shall keep this law for its appointed time".
ת"ר מנין שמחללין עליהן את השבת ת"ל (ויקרא כג, לז) אלה מועדי ה' אשר תקראו אותם במועדם. יכול כשם שמחללין עד שיתקדשו כך מחללין עד שיתקיימו ת"ל אשר תקראו אותם על קריאתם אתה מחלל ואי אתה מחלל על קיומן:
יכול כשם שמחללין - העדים כדי שיתקדשו בזמנן, כך מחללין - השלוחים עד שיתקיימו המועדות בזמנן:
We've established that there is a Mitzvah for Beth Din not only to sanctify the new month, but also to let Jewish communities around the world know when it is.
But how did they do it?
מתני' בראשונה היו משיאין משואות משקלקלו הכותים התקינו שיהו שלוחין יוצאין (ומודיעים לרבים Rambam ibid.3:8)
מתני' בראשונה היו משיאין משואות - לאחר שקדשו החדש ולא היו צריכין לשכור שלוחים לשלוח לגולה להודיע כי המשואות מודיעים אותן:
2 Days Yom Tov...
(יא) כל מקום שהיו השלוחין מגיעין היו עושין את המועדות יום טוב אחד ככתוב בתורה. ובמקומות הרחוקים שאין השלוחים מגיעין אליהם היו עושין שני ימים מפני הספק לפי שאינם יודעים יום שקבעו בו בית דין את החדש אי זה יום הוא.
(11) Every place that the messengers reach, they'd make the festivals a one day holiday as is written in the Torah. And the distant places that the messengers wouldn't reach would make two days because of the doubt, for they wouldn't know which day was the day that the court fixed the first of the month.
(ד) כשהיתה סנהדרין קיימת והיו קובעין על הראייה. היו בני ארץ ישראל וכל המקומות שמגיעין אליהן שלוחי תשרי עושין ימים טובים יום אחד בלבד. ושאר המקומות הרחוקות שאין שלוחי תשרי מגיעין אליהם היו עושים שני ימים מספק לפי שלא היו יודעין יום שקבעו בו בני ארץ ישראל את החדש.
(4) When the Sanhedrin existed and they fixed based on the sighting, the children of the land of Israel (those who lived in Israel) and all the places that would be reached by the messengers of Tishri would make the holidays one day only. And the remaining distant places that the messengers of Tishri wouldn't reach would make two days due to doubt, for they wouldn't know the day that the children of the land of Israel fixed the month on.
Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky zt'l (leading authority on halachot of Zmanim - Ir Hakodesh veHamikdash)
It appears from the Rambam that before the fires were abolished, keeping a 2nd day Yom Tov was solely dependant on doubt.
- 1 place -1 year doubt next year no doubt...
- Place that does not see the fire but the local Rabbi knows how to calculate the month accurately... (And there were many such Rabbis. Shmuel R"H 20b is but one example)
After they were abolished messengers became the new method, it became more dependant on the distance from Jerusalem and it was considered a minhag to keep two days.
However Historically this minhag was still not taken too seriously i.e. if a Rabbi did decide that he knew the correct calculation his town would keep one day.
Until...
דתנן
בראשונה היו משיאין משואות משקלקלו הכותים התקינו שיהו שלוחין יוצאין
ואילו בטלו כותים עבדינן חד יומא
והיכא דמטו שלוחין עבדינן חד יומא
והשתא דידעינן בקביעא דירחא מאי טעמא עבדינן תרי יומי?
משום דשלחו מתם
הזהרו במנהג אבותיכם בידיכם זמנין דגזרו המלכות גזרה ואתי לאקלקולי
As it is taught [in a Mishnah]:
'In the beginning, they would light torches [to announce the sighting of the new moon]. Since the confusion of the Samaritans [who would disrupt the torches], they decreed that there would be messengers who went out [and declared the sighting of the new moon].'
And if the Samaritans were removed, then we would do one day [of Yom Tov],
and in a case where the messengers arrive, we would do one day [of Yom Tov]."
But now, since we know the fixing of the months, what's the reason that we do two days?
Because they sent a message from there [Israel]:
"Be careful with the practice of your ancestors that are in your hands; sometimes, the government will decree [a persecution on the Jews] and they [the Jews] will come to denigrate [Yom Tov]."
- The fear is that maybe the anti-semitic rulers will not allow the Beth Din to continue calculating the Rosh Chodesh and mistakes will be made across the Jewish world. (One day mistake).
- But only in the places where there already existed a minhag to keep two days did the Rabbis enforce the decree.
This decree was only about 100 years after the introduction of messengers - 2nd generation of Amoraim - Rabbi Elazar ben Pedas +-4050.
From then on
1 - the 2nd day Yom was not kept because of doubt but because of the rabbinic decree
2 - the decree applied to wherever the messengers did not usually arrive, even if the local Rabbi knew how to calculate the Rosh Chodesh.
3 - Even if the messenger of the Beth Din in Jerusalem traveled fast and arrived earlier one year, they still kept 2 days!
Timeline:
- 2488 - Jews enter Israel - 3950, Beth Din for ascertaining Rosh Chodesh and Fire system.
- 3950 - Rebi (Reb Yehuda Hanasi) - abolished the fires and installed the messenger system.
- 4050 - The message from Israel arrived to keep up the minhag.
(The whole period of doubt was merely 100 years!) - 4120 - Hillel Hanasi formulates the Jewish calendar, removing doubt forever.
And there was no longer the fear of the Beth Din being abolished as they were no longer necessary.
(The Ritva is of the opinion that there is still uncertainty as the calendar may be lost.)
Nonetheless they continued to keep two days in those places citing הזהרו במנהג אבותיכם בידיכם be careful with the practice of your ancestors that are in your hands.
- When the Takanna was made it was only made for the places which already had the minhag although the reason for the takkana applied equally in Israel. So we already find then the value of minhag.
- 100 years - doubt
- 70 years - fear of rulers
- 1800+ years - takannat chazal!
- Amoraim, Saboraim, Geonim, Rishonim, Acharonim.... no one abolished it.
- 7 Sivan - Shavuot Matan Torateinu - ours! - On this day...
- The reality of the kedusha is defined, in chutz la'aretz. Ben eretz Yisrael in Chutz La'aretz who only keeps one day is missing out completely...
- 2nd commandment - tefilin - brit milah... (not necessarily a halachic stringency)
- Punishments - Niduy - Lashes - Stories of deaths in strange circumstances (Maharshal) - Name calling 'madichey harabim'.
- First big challengers, haskala and reform movement! - Chatam Sofer and others came out very verbally strongly.
- Times of the Mashiach - Chatam Sofer - Radvaz -Minchas Chinuch 4 fasts...