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Y om T o v Sheni Yom Tov Sheni - Chidushei Torah@NDS

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Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

8<br />

Introduction<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

By: David Saelman<br />

Like many growing up outside the land of Israel, celebrating the<br />

second day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> was a natural extension of the first day. Only<br />

during my second trip to Israel in 1996 did the question of observing<br />

only one day enter my mind. At that point in my life I had thought<br />

about, but had not formulated any concrete aliyah plans. Shortly<br />

before Pesach that year I asked a question of Rabbi Chaim Pinchas<br />

Sheinberg if I should keep one or two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>. The answer I<br />

received was to observe both days.<br />

It wasn’t until Sukkot 1999 that I changed my cust<strong>om</strong> to observe<br />

one day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>. This was due to my decision to remain in<br />

Eretz Yisrael and look for work 1 . It is fortuitous that this year not<br />

only marks the tenth edition of <strong>Chidushei</strong> Torah, but also the tenth<br />

anniversary of my making aliyah. Even though I have been keeping<br />

one day for ten years, I am still reminded with the arrival of each<br />

Isru Chag of the time when I observed the second day of the holiday.<br />

Because of the special significance that Y<strong>om</strong> T<strong>om</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> shel Galuyot<br />

has played in symbolizing changes in my life, I decided to embark<br />

upon an investigation of this unique cust<strong>om</strong>.<br />

Another motivation for exploring the topic of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> came<br />

about during the second day of Pesach at a Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> meal I had<br />

attended in America after having made aliyah. The host mentioned<br />

that he did not see any purpose for the continued observance of<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>. I replied to his c<strong>om</strong>ment with a question. I asked him<br />

if he laid tefillin on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>. He replied that he did not. I then<br />

pointed out to him that if Chazal felt strongly enough regarding Y<strong>om</strong><br />

<strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> to push off a positive mitzvah fr<strong>om</strong> the Torah, then it was<br />

s<strong>om</strong>ething that one cannot just brush aside.<br />

1 It is the opinion of R. Shl<strong>om</strong>o Zalman Auerbach based on a ruling of R. Moshe Feinstein that an<br />

unmarried man who intends to remain in Eretz Yisrael if he finds work is considered a Ben Eretz<br />

Yisrael. See also ותכלהב ינש בוט םוי pp 90 (referred to in the following text).


I hope in this article to dispel many popular myths regarding Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong>, the first and foremost being the idea that Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> is<br />

irrelevant for those living in the Holy Land.<br />

A work which treats the entire subject of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> shel Galuyot<br />

in an exhaustive manner would be several hundred pages. For those<br />

looking for a c<strong>om</strong>prehensive halachic work on the subject, I direct<br />

the reader to the Book Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> Kehilchto by Rabbi Yerachmiel<br />

Dovid Fried 2 . The emphasis of my article is to shed s<strong>om</strong>e light on the<br />

influence of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> on Jewish society throughout the ages,<br />

and to show by popular example how it has a halachic impact on both<br />

Israeli and Diaspora Jews today.<br />

The Mitzvah to Sanctify the New Months and to<br />

Notify the People of the Correct Date<br />

The first mitzvah given to the Jewish People as a nation was the<br />

sanctification of the new month as it is written<br />

)ב:ב”י תומש( םישדח שאר םכל הזה שדחה<br />

This month will be for you the first of the months<br />

(Sh’mot 12:2)<br />

Rambam brings a midrash 3 that Hashem showed Moshe Rabeinu the<br />

appearance of the moon at the time it was new and said, “At this<br />

state you should sanctify the new month.”<br />

Whereas G-d had set the Shabbat and sanctified it 4 , he gave man a<br />

positive c<strong>om</strong>mandment to fix the calendar date for the festival based<br />

upon the sighting of the new moon 5 .<br />

The sanctification of the new month serves as the basis for determining<br />

the dates in which the festival fall. It is a positive c<strong>om</strong>mandment fr<strong>om</strong><br />

the Torah for witnesses who spotted the new moon to travel to<br />

2 In his book, Rabbi Fried brings the halachic decisions of his teacher, Rabbi Shl<strong>om</strong>o Zalman Auerbach<br />

and Rabbi Yosef Shal<strong>om</strong> Elyashiv. Though first published only about 20 years ago, it has bec<strong>om</strong>e the<br />

authoritative classic on the subject of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>. A more recent, abridged version also exists in<br />

English.<br />

א”ה א”פ שדוחה שודק תוכלה ם”במר 3<br />

ג:ב תישארב 4<br />

ד:גכ ארקיו 5<br />

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Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

10<br />

the Sanhedrin or an appointed court in Eretz Yisrael to give their<br />

testimony 6 . The importance of this act was such that they should even<br />

desecrate the Sabbath in order to reach the Sanhedrin or appointed<br />

court (Beit Din) of Eretz Yisrael as quickly as possible 7 . Once their<br />

testimony was verified, a message would be sent throughout Eretz<br />

Yisrael and Bavel regarding the correct day of Rosh Chodesh, and<br />

hence the holidays that would fall during that month in fulfillment of<br />

the Biblical verses:<br />

)ד : גכ ארקיו( .םדעומב םתא וארקת רשא שדק יארקמ הוהי ידעומ הלא<br />

)י : גי תומש( .המימי םימימ הדעומל תאזה הקחה תא תרמשו<br />

These are the festivals of Hashem, the holy convocations, that<br />

you should designate at their appointed time. (Vayikra 23:4)<br />

You shall observe this statue at its designated time fr<strong>om</strong> year to<br />

year. (Sh’mot 13:10) 8<br />

The manner in which this notification was carried out has changed<br />

throughout time in response to historic circumstances.<br />

A Brief History of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> Observance<br />

In the Beginning – הנושארב<br />

Originally the announcement of the new month would be transmitted<br />

by the signaling of lit torches set on strategic hilltops starting fr<strong>om</strong> the<br />

Mount of Olives. On the evening following the earliest time the new<br />

moon was sighted (the evening of the 30 th day of the month), teams<br />

would assemble on designated hills and wait for a visible signal fr<strong>om</strong><br />

the adjacent location. If the Beit Din declared Rosh Chodesh on the<br />

29 th day of the month, torches would be lit the following evening to<br />

signify that the previous month had 29 days, and thus, the following<br />

day was Rosh Chodesh. Once the team on the neighboring hill saw<br />

the torch-light signal, they would light their torch and propagate the<br />

notification onwards. If the new moon was not seen, the torches were<br />

not lit, hence the previous month was recognized to be a full 30 days.<br />

ז”ה א”פ שדוחה שודק תוכלה ם”במר 6<br />

:אכ הנשה שאר 7<br />

םש שדוחה שודק תוכלה 8


Until this system was sabotaged, the torches served as the fastest<br />

c<strong>om</strong>munication system of that time. During the course of the night<br />

of the 30 th day, the majority of towns in the Land of Israel and the<br />

Diaspora were notified of the sighting of the new moon 9 . However,<br />

as Jewish c<strong>om</strong>munities began to spread out, more and more people<br />

became out of range of the torch-light and had to keep two days<br />

out of doubt as to which day was really Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>. This element of<br />

uncertainty is referred to in Talmudic Aramaic as sfeika d’y<strong>om</strong>a.<br />

The Switch fr<strong>om</strong> Torches to Messengers<br />

The following incident was recorded in the Mishnah in Masechet<br />

Rosh Hashanah 22b:<br />

ןיחולש והיש וניקתה ,םיתוכה ולקלקשמ .תואושמ ןיאישמ ויה הנושארב<br />

ןיאצוי<br />

In the beginning they would light torches but when the Kutim<br />

caused sabotage, the Sages enacted [notification of the new<br />

moon] by sending out messengers.<br />

The attitude of the Kutim 10 towards the Rabbis of the Second<br />

Temple period was antagonistic and they sought to undermine their<br />

authority. One such example of their insidiousness was the sabotaging<br />

of the torch system announcing the new month, by lighting torches<br />

on a month that was determined by the Sanhedrin to be full. As a<br />

countermeasure, Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi ended the practice of using<br />

torches and instead adopted messengers 11 .<br />

The switch fr<strong>om</strong> torches to messengers had a profound effect on<br />

how the Jewish people throughout the world celebrated the holidays.<br />

Using torches, the vast majority of the Diaspora had been notified<br />

of the new month within a couple of days due to the great speed<br />

of message transmission, and thereby kept one day of the festival<br />

9 According to the end of the Mishnah on Rosh Hashanah 22b, after all of the teams would light their<br />

torches, the whole golah would be aglow. Rashi defines the term golah as parts of Bavel that were<br />

visible by those in Eretz Yisrael.<br />

10 The Kutim, also known as the Samaritans were a group brought to the land of Israel by the King of<br />

Assyria during the end of the First Temple period to settle in the former Northern Kingd<strong>om</strong> of Israel.<br />

There is a question if they had actually converted to Judaism. See the Yad Avraham c<strong>om</strong>mentary to<br />

the Artscroll Rosh Hashanah Machzor Zichron Leefa.<br />

’ג ףד ותכלהכ ינש בוט םוי 11<br />

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12<br />

as prescribed by the Torah in the land of Israel and in Bavel. Once<br />

messengers were employed, it was no longer possible to notify the<br />

far, outlying Jewish settlements of the correct date of Rosh Chodesh<br />

before the start of the festival. For the month of Tishrei this range<br />

was limited to 10 days’ travel fr<strong>om</strong> the seat of the Sanhedrin 12 and<br />

for Nissan, 14 days. The Jews in such settlements had to observe<br />

two days out of doubt 13 which became the basis for the present<br />

observance of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> 14 .<br />

Initially, the cust<strong>om</strong> was not universally adopted and Sages who lived<br />

in the outlying towns and who were experts in the secret traditions<br />

of determining the new moon, still kept one day 15 . Only after 100<br />

years, during the generation of Rabbi Elazar ben Pada, did the Sages in<br />

Eretz Yisrael send the message to the Diaspora c<strong>om</strong>munity “Preserve<br />

the cust<strong>om</strong> of your forefathers” 16 . Fr<strong>om</strong> then onwards, c<strong>om</strong>munities<br />

in the Diaspora no longer kept two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> out of doubt,<br />

but due to the enactment of the Sages.<br />

Post-Temple Period through Today<br />

After the destruction of the Temple, Hillel Hanasi 17 had calculated<br />

all future months and established the fixed calendar 18 . Once all of<br />

the dates of Rosh Chodesh were fixed, it would appear that there<br />

would no longer be a need to keep the second day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> out<br />

of doubt. The Gemorrah in Baitza 19 asks this question and provides<br />

the answer:<br />

12 Even though Y<strong>om</strong> Kippur starts at the beginning of the 10 th day, the Rambam in Chapter 5 of Hilchot<br />

HaChodesh uses the number 10 as opposed to 9 to represent an upper limit.<br />

א”י ’ה ה”פ שדחה שודיק תוכלה ם”במר 13<br />

14 The observance of two days of Rosh Hashanah had its origins during the time of the early prophets.<br />

Much can be written about the nature of the two days of Rosh Hashanah which is beyond the scope<br />

of this article.<br />

’ג ףד ותכלהכ ינש בוט םוי ןייע 15<br />

:ד הציב הרמג 16<br />

17 Hillel Hanasi lived at the end of the Amoraic period and was the son of Rabbi Yehudah Nesiah and<br />

a descendent of Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi).<br />

18 This tradition is mentioned in the .חי הנשה שאר א”בטירה ישודיח and the ן”במר in his glosses to the רפס<br />

.גנק ע”מ ם”במרל תוצמה<br />

םש הציב 19


,םתמ וחלשד םושמ ?ימוי ירת ןנידבע אמעט יאמ ,אחריד אעיבקב ןניעדיד אתשחו<br />

ילוקלקאל יתאו הרזג תוכלמה ורזגד ןינמז ,םכידיב םכיתובא גהנמב ורהזה<br />

Now that the calendar is fixed what is the reason we have two<br />

days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> [in Chutz L’Aretz]? Because they sent fr<strong>om</strong><br />

there [fr<strong>om</strong> Eretz Yisrael to Bavel]: be zealous in maintaining the<br />

cust<strong>om</strong> of your forefathers lest a foreign government will pass<br />

a law to forbid the calculations of the new moon and you may<br />

miscalculate [the time of the festival].<br />

Rashi explains the cryptic second phrase as meaning that if a government<br />

were to arise that would forbid Torah study and the calculation of the<br />

new month would be forgotten, the Jews may c<strong>om</strong>e to err by one day<br />

in the calendar and inadvertantly eat chametz on Pesach 20 .<br />

The Ritvah understands this takana as even though the calendar<br />

has been established, in regions where two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

were followed, the population must act as if they are still in<br />

doubt as to the correct day. This is also the position of Tosfot<br />

in Masechet Sukkah 21 . As proof, the Ritvah cites the fact that<br />

there were times when the witnesses who saw the new moon<br />

on day 29 would arrive late to the Sanhedrin or Beit Din and<br />

the court would sanctify a full 30 day month. The discrepancy<br />

caused by this type of scenario introduced an element of doubt<br />

for those who knew the secret tradition of determining the<br />

correct day for Rosh Chodesh which could cause them to<br />

arrive at the incorrect date. Therefore, according to the Ritvah,<br />

the takana acts to preserve the reality of doubt in places where<br />

messengers did not reach.<br />

Rambam differs in his understanding fr<strong>om</strong> the Ritvah and writes<br />

that all c<strong>om</strong>munities, even distant, outlying ones in Chutz<br />

L’Aretz ought to be keeping only one day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>, as today<br />

everyone relies on the fixed calendar. It is only through the<br />

rabbinic takana in Baitzah that the minhag of the forefathers is<br />

preserved.<br />

20 Ibid. Note that Rashi singles out the הריבע of eating chametz due to its severe punishment if eaten<br />

intentionally, תרכ.<br />

אחריד אעיבקב ןניעדי אל ה”ד .גמ הכוס תופסות ןייע 21<br />

13<br />

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Getting the Message Out – Then and Now<br />

One can draw a direct analogy between the methods of announcing<br />

the new moon as described in the Talmud Masechet Rosh Hashanah<br />

and a modern digital broadcast system. Firstly, they have many of the<br />

same goals:<br />

1. The message should reach as many members of the desired<br />

audience as possible.<br />

2.<br />

To broadcast the message as efficiently and as fast as possible<br />

3. To implement security and safeguards against those who would<br />

like to disrupt the c<strong>om</strong>munication between the broadcaster and<br />

his audience.<br />

The use of torches for the purpose of transmitting a message can be<br />

likened to a simple digital c<strong>om</strong>munication system where teams on<br />

each hill represent the human equivalent of a node on an electronics<br />

network. The arrangement provided a rapid propagation of the fire<br />

signal so that by the and of the night a majority of the Land of Israel<br />

and much of the golah (principally Bavel) would have been notified.<br />

The drawbacks of this system are a lack of any kind of encryption<br />

mechanism and the lack of security. Thus, it was quite easy for<br />

the Kutim to sabotage the system by lighting their torches on the<br />

wrong day. One could consider this act as one of the first recorded<br />

occurances of “system hacking”.<br />

Another drawback of using torches was that the light of the<br />

fire could be significantly dimmed by poor weather conditions.<br />

To circumvent this problem, each team would remain on their<br />

mountain-top for several successive nights waiting for a possible<br />

fire signal fr<strong>om</strong> their neighbor 22 . An equivalent issue with a digital<br />

c<strong>om</strong>munications network would be the effect of poor signal to<br />

noise ratio on c<strong>om</strong>munication reliability. Many protocols require<br />

repeated sends of the signal packet until it is received successfully<br />

and an acknowledgment is returned to the sender. Fortunately, the<br />

months of Nissan and Tishrei (the two key months where notifying<br />

the Jewish c<strong>om</strong>munities of the day of the new month were vital for<br />

22 דבעילו ה”ד .גכ הנשה שאר ןבא ירוט רפס ןייע where he writes that in a situation where the torch signal<br />

did not go out on its designated night, it would be done on a successive night until the message was<br />

transmitted.


setting the correct day of the festival) fall during times of the year<br />

when rain is rare and evening visibility is good.<br />

Table 1 summarizes the similarities between these c<strong>om</strong>munication<br />

systems.<br />

Table 1 C<strong>om</strong>parison between Torch and Digital Wireless<br />

C<strong>om</strong>munication Methods<br />

Torch Method C<strong>om</strong>munication Digital Wireless Network<br />

C<strong>om</strong>munication<br />

Several teams with torches on<br />

high mountain-tops.<br />

Message transmitted through air<br />

to recipient via light emanating<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> a torch.<br />

Team 1 moves torch up and<br />

down to signal team 2 on next<br />

hill.<br />

Team 2 sees torch light fr<strong>om</strong><br />

Team 1.<br />

Team 2 lights their torch and<br />

moves it up and down in a<br />

distinct manner to acknowledge<br />

Team 1’s signal.<br />

Team 2 moves its torch up and<br />

down to signal Team 3.<br />

Several c<strong>om</strong>puters are ‘listeners’<br />

on a network.<br />

Message transmitted through air<br />

to recipient in data packets.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 1 performs<br />

handshaking with C<strong>om</strong>puter 2<br />

that is listening for packet arrival.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 2 accepts packet<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> C<strong>om</strong>puter 1.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 2 sends an<br />

acknowledgment packet back<br />

to C<strong>om</strong>puter 1 to say that it<br />

successfully received its data.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 2 forwards the data<br />

packet to C<strong>om</strong>puter 3.<br />

Improving Security of Transmission through<br />

Messengers<br />

In c<strong>om</strong>parison to torches, the method of dispatching agents to<br />

broadcast the date of the new month can be viewed as a much more<br />

robust, secure form of c<strong>om</strong>munication. By utilizing messengers,<br />

the Beit Din had the discretion to appoint people known to be<br />

trustworthy in order to prevent Kutim or others fr<strong>om</strong> giving the<br />

wrong information. The obvious price for this more secure method<br />

of transmission was speed. The speed was limited to the distance a<br />

15<br />

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16<br />

messenger was able to reach within 10 days for Tishrei and 14 days<br />

for Nissan. Another problem the use of messengers presented fr<strong>om</strong><br />

the security standpoint was their susceptibility to bribery. Such a<br />

case was documented in the Talmud 23 . As a result, the sages gave<br />

the messengers a written certificate fr<strong>om</strong> the Beit Din to prove their<br />

authenticity to the towns they reached 24 .<br />

Table 2 illustrates the similarities between using messengers and a<br />

c<strong>om</strong>puter network c<strong>om</strong>munication.<br />

Table 2 C<strong>om</strong>parison between Messenger and<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter Network C<strong>om</strong>munication Methods<br />

Messenger Method of<br />

C<strong>om</strong>munication<br />

Team of messengers dispatched<br />

to notify Jewish c<strong>om</strong>munities of<br />

new month.<br />

The messengers use public<br />

roads to reach only certain<br />

c<strong>om</strong>munities.<br />

Digital C<strong>om</strong>puter Network<br />

C<strong>om</strong>munication<br />

Several c<strong>om</strong>puters that are<br />

nodes on VPN network.<br />

The c<strong>om</strong>puters use a public<br />

network to c<strong>om</strong>municate<br />

confidentially which is the basis<br />

of a VPN.<br />

Team arrives to give message. C<strong>om</strong>puter 1 performs<br />

handshaking with C<strong>om</strong>puter 2<br />

on network.<br />

Team presents certified<br />

document that they are indeed<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> the Beit Din.<br />

Local Beit Din accepts testimony<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> agents.<br />

Team continues to next<br />

c<strong>om</strong>munity.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 2 validates the<br />

digital certificate of C<strong>om</strong>puter<br />

1 and if the validation succeeds,<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 1 accepts the packet.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 2 sends an<br />

acknowledgment back to<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 1 to say that it<br />

successfully received the packet.<br />

C<strong>om</strong>puter 2 forwards the data<br />

packet to C<strong>om</strong>puter 3.<br />

:בכ הנשה שאר 23<br />

:בכ הנשה שאר יריאמ 24


Using Encoded Messages to Thwart the Enemy<br />

When the R<strong>om</strong>ans controlled parts of Eretz Yisrael they at various<br />

times issued decrees against sanctifying the new month. In order to<br />

circumvent this problem, coded messages were sent to regions under<br />

subjugation. A story was recorded in the Talmud, Masechet Rosh<br />

Hashanah 25a, where Rebbi, who lived in such a region, dispatched<br />

Rav Chiya to sanctify the new moon before the Beit Din in Ein Tav.<br />

He was instructed by Rebbi to relay back an encoded message that<br />

he had acc<strong>om</strong>plished the task. The coded message was “King David<br />

Lives Forever”, since King David is likened to the moon 25 .<br />

The Geographical Boundaries of Keeping Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong><br />

During the time of the Sanhedrin, any c<strong>om</strong>munity that was not<br />

notified of the new month through torch c<strong>om</strong>munication, or later by<br />

the arrival of messengers, was required to observe two days of the<br />

festival out of doubt, independent of their location.<br />

As a result of the takana, the towns within the borders of Eretz<br />

Yisrael where the messengers had reached continued to keep one<br />

day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>, and places in Chutz L’Aretz that were outside their<br />

range kept two days in continuation of their cust<strong>om</strong>.<br />

There is a question that arises regarding the status of places in Chutz<br />

L’Aretz that messengers were able to reach before the onset of the<br />

festival who kept one day, and regions within Eretz Yisrael beyond<br />

their range who observed two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>.<br />

The Ritvah answers this question by saying that we follow the<br />

majority 26 . Meaning, since the majority of c<strong>om</strong>munities outside the<br />

land of Israel kept two days out of doubt, after the rabbinic enactment,<br />

all places outside the land of Israel began keeping two days. Similarly,<br />

since most places in Israel observe one day, now all keep one day.<br />

Therefore, according to the Ritvah, the takana created a new reality<br />

where places that didn’t keep Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> now kept it, and vice<br />

versa.<br />

לארשי ךלמ דוד ה”ד י”שר ןייע 25<br />

ןייע .חי הנשה שאר א”בטירה ישודיח 26<br />

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Rambam writes that every town that was within a 10-day journey<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> Jerusalem and had previously received messengers fr<strong>om</strong><br />

Jerusalem continued to keep one day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> regardless if they<br />

were located in the Land of Israel or not. Places not meeting this<br />

criterion kept two days 27 . Therefore, according to the Rambam, each<br />

town continued with its tradition.<br />

The opinion of the Rambam raises an interesting question as to the<br />

status of cities built after the takana, which are within the 10-day<br />

range of Jerusalem. He rules they would have to keep two days of<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> 28 . In towns such as Bnei Brak there are those who refrain<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> performing melacha on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> out of reverence to this<br />

psak 29 . The majority of authorities, however, rule according to the<br />

Ritvah 30 .<br />

The Sefer Hachinuch takes an approach between the Ritvah and<br />

Rambam and views all of the land of Israel as keeping one day and<br />

the cities of the Diaspora that are adjacent as also keeping one day 31 .<br />

Thus, only the far, outlying towns of Israel changed their cust<strong>om</strong><br />

fr<strong>om</strong> two days to one day.<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> as the Universal Minhag<br />

The practice of observing Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> is unique among Jewish<br />

cust<strong>om</strong>s. The Pri Chadash refers to it as a “great minhag.” The Ba’al<br />

HaMaor in the beginning of the fourth chapter of Masechet Pesachim<br />

says the reason given for the uniqueness of the minhag of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong> which is stricter than all other minhagim is that it was accepted<br />

as a universal cust<strong>om</strong> by all c<strong>om</strong>munities in the Diaspora.<br />

In order that people not denigrate the significance of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>, the<br />

Sages enacted certain stringencies that are not found in other cust<strong>om</strong>s.<br />

Perhaps the most significant is the uprooting of the positive mitzvah of<br />

ה”ה שדחה שודיק ה”פ ם”במר 27<br />

ב”י ’ה םש 28<br />

29 ט”כש ףד ו”צת ’ס תובושת יקספ says that even in our times there are those who live in towns<br />

built after the time of the messengers who keep Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> ארמוחל , meaning that they<br />

abstain fr<strong>om</strong> performing melacha.<br />

םש 30<br />

א”ש הוצמ ךוניחה רפס ןייע 31


wearing tefillin through the method of 32 השעת לאו בש. Thus, one who<br />

wears tefillin even without a bracha is considered to have transgressed<br />

the negative c<strong>om</strong>mandment of 33 ףסות לב. The consequences of this<br />

are quite remarkable, for a ben Eretz Yisrael and a ben Chutz L’Aretz<br />

can both be donning tefillin during Shacharit of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> and the<br />

former is fulfilling the positive mitzvah of wearing tefillin whereas the<br />

latter is transgressing a negative Torah prohibition. Furthermore, the<br />

Rabbis instituted that all of the brachot and mitzvot of the first day of<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> should also be performed on the second day.<br />

There is a disagreement among the Rabbis as to whether the<br />

observance of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> today is based on minhag or a takana 34 .<br />

There is no practical difference, however, on the observance of Y<strong>om</strong><br />

<strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>.<br />

Holiday Exceptions to Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

Why are there Two Days of Shavuot?<br />

Based upon the enactment of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>,<br />

s<strong>om</strong>e interesting scenarios arise. One is why<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> applies to Shavuot. Unlike the<br />

other holidays, the date of Shavuot is not fixed<br />

by the sighting of the new moon of the month<br />

which the holiday falls (Sivan), but by the<br />

date of Rosh Chodesh Nissan which is two<br />

months earlier. This is because the festival of<br />

Shavuot is determined by counting 50 days<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> the second day of Pesach as is written<br />

in the Torah and interpreted by the Rabbis 35 .<br />

32 השעת לאו בש or literally, “sit and do not do”. The Sages were given the power to uproot a positive<br />

mitzvah by c<strong>om</strong>manding people to passively refrain fr<strong>om</strong> performing it. Many times השעת לאו בש<br />

was enacted due to a fear that performing the mitzvah under certain circumstances could lead one<br />

to unintentionally transgress a negative c<strong>om</strong>mand. Such famous examples include not blowing a<br />

shofar when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat lest he c<strong>om</strong>es to carry the shofar dalet amot in the<br />

public d<strong>om</strong>ain, and not taking the arba minim on Sukkot when the first day of the holiday falls on<br />

Shabbat lest he c<strong>om</strong>es to carry the arba minim dalet amot in the public d<strong>om</strong>ain.<br />

33 The Biblical Prohibition of not adding to the mitzvot. ב:ד םירבד ןייע<br />

34 For an in-depth discussion of this subject, refer to ’ג ’יס םיאולימ ותוכלהכ ינש בוט םוי<br />

35 )וט : גכ ארקיו( הפונתה רמע תא םכאיבה םוימ )חספ( תבשה תרחממ םכל םתרפסו Even though the verse says<br />

count fr<strong>om</strong> the next day following the “Shabbat” , the Rabbis learn this to mean the day following<br />

the first day of Pesach (i.e. “Shabbat” in the verse means Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>, not the more conventional<br />

meaning of the seventh day of the week).<br />

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It is reasonable to believe that the majority of Jewish c<strong>om</strong>munities<br />

in the Diaspora would have known the correct date for Shavuot<br />

within this period, i.e. certainly the messengers would have reached<br />

them within 49 or 50 days, even if they did not already arrive in 10.<br />

In addition, the Sages relied on the fixed calendar for the counting of<br />

the Omer so that people would not get confused with the correct<br />

counting 36 . However, the Sages enacted a second day of Shavuot in<br />

order to not differentiate it fr<strong>om</strong> the other holidays 37 .<br />

Why is there only One Day of Y<strong>om</strong> Kippur?<br />

The Sages made another exception to the minhag of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in<br />

the case of Y<strong>om</strong> Kippur even though it occurs on the 10 th of Tishrei,<br />

as opposed to the 15 th for Sukkot or Pesach. In addition, there is a<br />

punishment of karet (spiritual excision), for one who eats on this<br />

day. Therefore, one would assume they would have to be more<br />

meticulous and observe two days of Y<strong>om</strong> Kippur. The Ritvah gives<br />

two answers why the Sages were lenient: Firstly, fr<strong>om</strong> the time of<br />

Ezra and onwards, we do not find a case where Elul was intercalated<br />

coupled with the fact that it would be a Rabbinic enactment which<br />

the majority of people would be unable to maintain as they would<br />

have to fast for two days in a row. Secondly, nowadays, after the<br />

destruction of the Temple, when we have a fixed calendar and the<br />

second day is only because of minhag, we are not strict to fast for<br />

two straight days 38 .<br />

Who is Obligated in the Mitzvah of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>?<br />

As explained earlier, nowadays, a permanent resident of the Land of<br />

Israel keeps one day for each holiday (with the exception of Rosh<br />

Hashanah) as prescribed by the Torah, whereas those living in the<br />

Diaspora keep a second day of the festival.<br />

There are different opinions regarding the status of a temporary<br />

resident or visitor as to whether they are obligated to keep one or<br />

.חי הנשה שאר א”בטירה ישודיח 36<br />

38 ’ה ףיעס ד”כרת ’ס ח”וא ע”ושב ןייע The Rema writes that there are individuals who are stringent and<br />

observe two days of Y<strong>om</strong> Kippur, but one should not follow this stringency because of the danger<br />

to one’s health fr<strong>om</strong> two days of fasting.<br />

םש 37


two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>. With the advent of modern travel through which<br />

individuals can quickly travel fr<strong>om</strong> one place to another, the practical<br />

consequences of this issue are relevant to more people than ever.<br />

The Status of a Visitor to the Holy Land<br />

The 2-day Opinion of the Beit Yosef<br />

The Beit Yosef, 39 in his classic halachic work, the Avkat Rochel, writes<br />

regarding a visitor’s obligation to observe Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>:<br />

.רבד לכל םשמ אציש םוקמב ןיידע אוה ולאכ ותוא םיאור ונא רוזחל ותעד לכ<br />

)ו”כ ’יס לכור תקבא(<br />

Anyone with the intention to return [to his original place], we<br />

view him, for all intents and purposes, as if he is still in the place<br />

that he left. (Avkat Rachel Siman 26)<br />

The Beit Yosef bases his decision as a subcategory of the general case<br />

of םוקמל םוקממ ךלוהה (one who travels fr<strong>om</strong> one place to another with<br />

different cust<strong>om</strong>s) that can be found in the Talmud in the beginning of<br />

the fourth chapter of Masechet Pesachim. The Mishnah states that a<br />

traveler must adopt the stringencies of both places in order to avoid<br />

dissension. The text of the Mishnah is as follows:<br />

םוקמל ןישוע ןיאש םוקממ וא ןישוע ןיאש םוקמל ןישועש םוקממ ךלוהה<br />

לאו םשל ךלהש םוקמ ירמוחו םשמ אציש םוקמ ירמוח וילע ןינתונ ןישועש<br />

).נ ףד םיחספ תכסמ( .תקולחמה ינפמ םדא הנשי<br />

One who travels fr<strong>om</strong> a place where work is performed to a<br />

place where work is not done or vice versa, we place upon him<br />

the stringencies of both his original and new place, for a person<br />

should not deviate [fr<strong>om</strong> the local cust<strong>om</strong>] due to dissension.<br />

(Masechet Pesachim 50a)<br />

The Talmud following this Mishnah as explained by many c<strong>om</strong>mentators<br />

applies the following rules:<br />

a.<br />

If the traveler has the intention to return, he must keep the<br />

cust<strong>om</strong>s and stringencies of his original place based on the<br />

39 The Beit Yosef refers to Rabbi Yosef Caro, who is the author of the Shulchan Aruch. He is c<strong>om</strong>monly<br />

referred to by the name of his classic c<strong>om</strong>mentary on the Tur.<br />

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b.<br />

verse: “…and do not forsake the teachings of your mother”<br />

Mishlei (Proverbs 1:8) 40 .<br />

If the traveler plans on staying in his new place, he accepts the<br />

traditions of his new place and is not bound by the cust<strong>om</strong>s<br />

of his original place41 .<br />

The Ran, c<strong>om</strong>menting on the Mishnah, explains the obligation of a<br />

visitor to observe the cust<strong>om</strong>s of his place of origin as applying to a<br />

case where he intends to return to his first locale. Conversely, if he<br />

does not intend to return, he bec<strong>om</strong>es a full-fledged resident of his<br />

new location and adopts its practices.<br />

Therefore, a visitor in Eretz Yisrael is obligated to keep the traditions<br />

of two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> in Israel if he intends to return to his original<br />

h<strong>om</strong>e in the Diaspora. The Beit Yosef summarizes his ruling at the<br />

end of his responsum:<br />

י”אל ל”חמ אבש ימ ןכו ,ץראב וליאכ אוה ירה ,רוזחל ותעדו ל”חל י”אמ אציש ימ<br />

.והנינ ל”ח ינב ללכב יוה רוזחל ותעדו<br />

One who leaves Eretz Yisrael to Chutz L’Aretz and has the<br />

intention to return, it is as if he were still in Eretz Yisrael<br />

[regarding observance of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>], and similarly one who<br />

c<strong>om</strong>es fr<strong>om</strong> Chutz L’Aretz to Eretz Yisrael with the intention to<br />

return, he is in the category of one who lives in the Diaspora.<br />

It is interesting to note that this ruling was <strong>om</strong>itted in the Shulchan<br />

Aruch. There are authorities who deduce fr<strong>om</strong> this <strong>om</strong>ission that the<br />

Beit Yosef later relented and is of the same opinion as the one-day<br />

view of the Chacham Zvi which will be discussed shortly 42 . Rav Shl<strong>om</strong>o<br />

Zalman Auerbach said the fact the Shulchan Aruch did not contain a<br />

specific ruling in the matter gives a certain amount of support to the<br />

Chacham Zvi’s opinion, and therefore in certain cases one can rule<br />

accordingly. Rav Elyashiv, however, disagrees, pointing out that the<br />

40 The entire pasuk: ךמא תרות שטת לאו ךיבא רסומ ינב עמש. What the םיקסופ write on the subject of who<br />

falls into the category of רוזחל ותעד is a lengthy topic since there are many factors such as length<br />

of time the traveler will be in his new place, whether he has property there, etc. A c<strong>om</strong>prehensive<br />

discussion of this subject is beyond the scope of this article.<br />

.בי ןילוח ן”ר ןייעו הוה רוזחל ותעד הנח רב רב הבר ה”ד .אנ םיחספ תופוסות ןייע 41<br />

42 See Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> Chapter 2 page 109. Due to the very unambiguous language of the Avkat<br />

Rochel, I find this understanding quite difficult. In my opinion, if the Beit Yosef really wanted to clarify<br />

his opinion, he would have written it explicitly in the Shulchan Aruch.


Chacham Zvi’s own son, Rabbi Yakov Emden, himself an acknowledged<br />

posek in his own right, disagreed with his father’s opinion.<br />

I believe one can infer fr<strong>om</strong> the Avkat Rochel that the Beit Yosef<br />

considers the status of a guest in Eretz Yisrael a straight-forward<br />

application of one who travels fr<strong>om</strong> a stringent to a less stringent<br />

place. Therefore it can be argued that in reality there was no <strong>om</strong>ission<br />

since the laws of םוקממ ךלוהה were codified by him in Siman 468 of<br />

the Shulchan Auruch Orach Chaim. However, the reverse situation<br />

of a ben Eretz Yisrael visiting Chutz L’Aretz contains a number of<br />

caveats (s<strong>om</strong>e of which will be shown later in this article), which the<br />

earlier c<strong>om</strong>mentators discuss and which the Beit Yosef includes in his<br />

c<strong>om</strong>mentary on the Tur 43 . Thus, these details necessitated inclusion of<br />

their own section in the Shulchan Auruch, (siman 496, section 3).<br />

The One Day View of the Chacham Zvi<br />

The other famous ruling of how a visitor should keep Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

c<strong>om</strong>es fr<strong>om</strong> the Chacham Zvi which is also cited by the Shulchan<br />

Aruch HaRav 44 who says that the number of days of holiday a visitor<br />

keeps is dependent only on his current location and is independent<br />

of his intention to return to his former place. Unlike the Beit Yosef,<br />

the Chacham Zvi rejects the notion that a traveler’s observance of<br />

Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> falls under the rubric of םוקמל םוקממ ךלוהה by bringing<br />

as proof that if a whole c<strong>om</strong>munity would move to Israel they would<br />

keep only one day. Furthermore, he understands the takana of the<br />

Talmud in Baitza 4b as pertaining only to Chutz L’Aretz 45 . Therefore<br />

a visitor to Israel who plans to immediately return after the holiday<br />

keeps one day just as the inhabitants of the Land of Israel do. As he<br />

states at the end of his responsum:<br />

ללכב ןיאו םרוג םוקמהש ןויכ יערא ךרד וליפאש לארשי ץראב םהש ןמז לכ<br />

)ז”סק ןמיס יבצ םכח ת”וש( .”םשמ אציש םוקמה ירמוח“<br />

The entire time they [visitors fr<strong>om</strong> the Diaspora] are in the land of<br />

םייח תוחראה םשב ףסוי תיב ו”צת ’ס רוט ןייע 43<br />

44 א”י ’יעס ו”צת ןמיס ח”וא The Shulchan Aruch HaRav was the version of the Shulchan Aruch written by<br />

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Ladi, (1745-1812) who was the founder of Chabad Hasidism. He is often<br />

referred to by the name “Baal Hatania” after his other famous work on Chasidus, the Tania.<br />

45 I believe the Chacham Zvi derives this understanding by inferring fr<strong>om</strong> Beitzah 4B’s wording of<br />

םכידיב םכיתובא גהנמב ורהזה (instead of the more c<strong>om</strong>monly known expression וניתובא גהנמב ורהזה<br />

ונידיב) to exclude the c<strong>om</strong>munities of Eretz Yisrael who sent this message.<br />

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Israel, even for a temporary stay, since the location [determines their<br />

status], they are not subject to [the laws of] keeping the stringencies<br />

of their original place [such as Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>]. (Chacham Zvi<br />

Siman 167)<br />

As we see, according to the Chacham Zvi it is the present geographical<br />

location alone that determines a person’s status. Not only is a Jew<br />

who visits Eretz Yisrael for a festival exempt fr<strong>om</strong> observing Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong>, but he is also forbidden to perform a mitzvah connected with<br />

the festival on that day (such as kiddush) because of ףסות לב.<br />

The view of the Chacham Zvi was practiced by the ancient Sephardic<br />

c<strong>om</strong>munities and latter great Rabbis of Eretz Yisrael such as Rav<br />

Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook.<br />

One and a Half Days – A Possible C<strong>om</strong>pr<strong>om</strong>ise?<br />

HaGaon R. Shmuel Salant, who served as Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi in<br />

Jerusalem and a leader of the Old Yishuv, concurred with the opinion<br />

of the Chacham Zvi. According to his understanding, a guest staying<br />

in Eretz Yisrael fulfills the words of the Talmud in Masechet Baitzah<br />

regarding Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>, “םכיתובא גהנמב ורהזה” (preserve the cust<strong>om</strong> of<br />

your forefathers), by practicing only one day of the festival, even if he<br />

has the intention to return, since in earlier times when the Beit Din<br />

sanctified the new moon, a visitor to Eretz Yisrael would observe one<br />

festival day even though he may have c<strong>om</strong>e fr<strong>om</strong> a place that had a<br />

two day cust<strong>om</strong> 46 . Thus, today when the calendar is fixed, one should<br />

not be any stricter regarding this observance. He also felt this was the<br />

reason the Beit Yosef did not include his opinion of the Avkat Rochel<br />

in the Shulchan Aruch. In deference to his teachers, Rabbi Salant did<br />

not rule conclusively with the Chacham Zvi but instead incorporated<br />

the stringencies of both the one and two day views. This ruling has<br />

c<strong>om</strong>e to be known as the “one and a half day” opinion 47 .<br />

According to this view, a visitor to Israel on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> does not<br />

perform any of the mitzvahs related to the holiday, but neither does<br />

he perform any melacha. In addition, on the eighth day of Pesach he<br />

does not eat chametz. At the conclusion of the first day of the holiday,<br />

46 Teichman, Rabbi T., Eretz HaZvi, Feldheim Publishers, 1996 pp. 78-9.<br />

ג”י ןמיס ג”ח שדקמהו שדוקה ריע ןייע 47


the visitor should listen to a ben Eretz Yisrael recite havdalah. On the<br />

following morning, he should recite the tefillah for Chol HaMoed and<br />

not for Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>.<br />

In the previous generation, Rav Yosef Ber Solovechick desired to<br />

follow the opinion of the Chacham Zvi, but wished to respect the<br />

opinion of the Shulchan Aruch by abstaining fr<strong>om</strong> melacha 48 .<br />

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein writes explicitly against this opinion by stating<br />

that today we are actually stricter than ancient times when the Beit<br />

Din existed, by requiring a ben Chutz L’Aretz to observe Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong> in Israel since today we have the fixed calendar.<br />

Two and a Half Days – A C<strong>om</strong>bination of All of the Above<br />

Rabbi Hershel Schacter, noted Talmudic scholar and current Rosh<br />

Yeshiva at Yeshiva University, states the cust<strong>om</strong> of his family is to<br />

observe two full days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> in accordance with the Shulchan<br />

Aruch, and to don tefillin without a bracha and to listen to havdalah<br />

at the end of the first day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> out of concern for the opinion<br />

of the Chacham Zvi. He writes: “The rationale behind this practice is<br />

not to always be on the lookout for every possible chumra under the<br />

sun as s<strong>om</strong>e unlearned individuals have incorrectly understood; but<br />

rather to follow the classical majority view that visitors must observe<br />

two days and at the same time be tolerant enough to show respect<br />

for the minority view”. 49<br />

The Status of an Israeli Guest outside the Land<br />

The Ruling of the Shulchan Aruch<br />

According to the Shulchan Aruch, when a traveler fr<strong>om</strong> Eretz<br />

Yisrael to Chutz L’Aretz has the intention to return to Eretz Yisrael,<br />

he retains his status of observing only the first day of the festival.<br />

However, due to dissension, he is forbidden to perform melacha in<br />

certain populated areas which would constitute a profanation of the<br />

holiday. The Shulchan Aruch writes the following:<br />

48 See Rabbi Hershel Schacter’s article on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>, available on the Internet at http://www.<br />

torahweb.org/torah/special/2003/rsch_ytsheini.html<br />

49 Ibid.<br />

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ינש בוט-םויב הכאלמ תושעל םירוסא ,ץראל הצוחל ואבש לארשי ץרא ינב<br />

רזחל ותעד ןיא וליפא ,בושיל עיגה אלש ןמז-לכו .רוזחל ותעד וליפא בושיב<br />

)’ג ףיעס וצת ’ס ךורע ןחלוש( .ןתומכ תויהל עבקה אל ןידעש ,רתמ<br />

Residents of the land of Israel who c<strong>om</strong>e to the Diaspora are<br />

forbidden to perform melacha on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in a settlement 50 ,<br />

even if he has the intention to return. And the entire time he has<br />

not reached a settlement, even if he does not have the intention<br />

to return, it is permitted [to perform melacha], since he had not<br />

established himself to be like them [the residents of the new<br />

place]. (Shulchan Aruch 496:3)<br />

When one is in a settlement, the performance of melacha is forbidden<br />

independent of his intention of returning. However, while en-route<br />

to the settlement or while in the wilderness melacha is permitted.<br />

There are different circumstances that dictate under which conditions<br />

melacha can be performed which will be discussed later in this article.<br />

The Opinion of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav<br />

According to the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, a resident fr<strong>om</strong> the Land of<br />

Israel who visits the Diaspora is obligated to keep Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in<br />

its entirety. This opinion is based on a mystical understanding of the<br />

dependence of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> on location which can be found in the<br />

Zohar51 . He writes the following:<br />

בוט םויו תבש השודקו הליפתו ש”קבש םינוילע םידוחיו הלעמלש ןוצר תע יכ<br />

יוארה ונמז םוקמו םוקמ לכל הטמל ריאמ קר ,ןמזהו םוקמה רדגמ הלעמל אוה<br />

ינב םג ןכלו ,ג”ש ינש ט”ויב ל”וחב הנוילע השודק הרושש םעטה ןכ םג והזו ,ול<br />

ברה ךורע ןחלש( ”רוזחל םתעדש ףא םויה תשודקב םיבייח ל”וחל םיאבה י”רא<br />

)’ח ףיעס ’א ’יס ת”ודהמ<br />

The proper time for the [spiritual] elements of reciting of Shema<br />

and tefillah and in the Sabbath and festival are beyond the<br />

boundaries of time and space. And [their] downward [spiritual]<br />

illumination is directed to each place [on earth] according to<br />

50 According to the Mishnah Brurah and others the term “settlement” (בושי) refers to a town that has<br />

Jews. For there will be no dissension or belittlement of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> without the presence of any<br />

native Jews. Therefore, according to the Shulchan Aruch, melacha is permitted on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in a<br />

non-Jewish town.<br />

.ונ ףד רומא ’פ רהוזב ןייע 51


the time that is proper to it. And that is, therefore, the reason<br />

the holy radiance shines outside the Land of Israel also on Y<strong>om</strong><br />

<strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>. Therefore, residents of Israel who travel outside the<br />

Land, even with the intention to return are obligated in fully<br />

keeping the second day of the festival. (Shulchan Aruch Harav<br />

Mahadarah Tinyana 1:8)<br />

Based upon this Kabalistic understanding of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>, even<br />

a visitor fr<strong>om</strong> the Land of Israel should abstain fr<strong>om</strong> performing<br />

melacha for the entire time the radiance is present. Conversely, any<br />

Jew, regardless where he is fr<strong>om</strong>, does not keep the second day of<br />

the festival in any part of the Land of Israel and can perform melacha<br />

like bnei Eretz Yisrael.<br />

Though the Chacham Zvi gave his one-day ruling for a ben Chutz<br />

L’Aretz who visits Israel for Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>, s<strong>om</strong>e apply it to conform<br />

to the opinion of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav 52 and s<strong>om</strong>e do not 53 .<br />

Does One’s Wife Figure In the Matter? A Change in Psak<br />

The Magen Avraham in the name of the Ridbaz and the Mishnah<br />

Brurah brings an interesting halacha that the location of one’s wife<br />

plays a determining factor in one’s intention of returning to his<br />

original location and hence, how many days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> he keeps.<br />

If one moves fr<strong>om</strong> Israel to the Diaspora with his wife, even though<br />

they have the intention to return to Eretz Yisrael, they are viewed as<br />

staying and observe two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>. Conversely, if one moves to<br />

the Diaspora or to the Land of Israel alone and without the intention<br />

of returning, he is viewed as still having the intention to return.<br />

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, however, disagrees with the above opinions in<br />

light of the technological advances of the last 50 years. He writes 54 that<br />

there is no c<strong>om</strong>parison between the modern day when s<strong>om</strong>eone can<br />

easily fly in a plane and travel fr<strong>om</strong> a place as far off as America to Israel in<br />

a matter of hours to the situation of hundreds of years ago when traveling<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> place to place was difficult and involved an immense effort.<br />

ג”מ ’ס ה”ח קחצי תחנמ ןייע 52<br />

ג”ס ’ס יבצ רה ןייע 53<br />

ד”ע ’יס ג”ח השמ תורגאה ת”וש 54<br />

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Many halachic authorities in our generation agree with Rabbi Feinstein<br />

but add that if the traveler stays in the new location for an extended<br />

period of time, he must adopt the stringencies of both places 55 . This<br />

ruling is an illustrative example of how halacha can change in response<br />

to modernity.<br />

Who has the Final Say?<br />

Today the majority of modern Ashkenazi 56 and Sephardic Rabbinic<br />

authorities 57 follow the rulings of the Shulchan Aruch in determining<br />

the status of a guest in Eretz Yisrael or Chutz L’Aretz during Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong>. Although according to many, we do not follow the ruling of the<br />

Chacham Zvi, his view may be used as a deciding factor in cases of<br />

conflicting issues or in a need to be lenient 58 . There are others who<br />

say that the view of the Chacham Zvi should not be followed even in<br />

these circumstances 59 .<br />

Interesting Issues Regarding the Practice of Y<strong>om</strong><br />

<strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in Chutz L’Aretz<br />

Based upon the material that was presented earlier, there are many<br />

practical applications to situations based upon the rulings of the<br />

Shulchan Aruch.<br />

Putting on Tefillin and Weekday Prayers on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

Though a ben Eretz Yisrael in Chutz L’Aretz on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> with<br />

the intention to return has limitations regarding performing melacha<br />

as discussed earlier, he should still don tefillin in the morning in private.<br />

He may then go to the synagogue wearing his festival clothing and<br />

quietly recite the weekday tefillah while the rest of the congregation<br />

’ג הרעה ג”פ ותכלהכ ינש בוט םוי ןייע ,לארשי ץרא וליפאו בותכ אוה ג”כ ’פ ’ג קלח ןויצל רוא ןייעו 55<br />

לצ”ז ךבעיוא ז”שרגה ,א”טילש בישילא ש”ירגה ,תומוקמ המכב השמ תורגא ת”ושב ןייע 56<br />

ג”כ קרפ ג”ח ןויצל רוא ,ו”צת ’יס םייחה ףכ ,בוט םוי תוכלה הידבוע ןוזח ןייע 57<br />

58 This was the practice that HaGaon Rav Benzion Abba Shaul had taken with the Sephardic<br />

c<strong>om</strong>munity. In the Ashkenazi world there is a disagreement among the poskim if the opinion can be<br />

taken into account or not. For more details regarding this disagreement, refer to the footnotes o f<br />

ב”פ ותכלהכ ינש בוט םוי.<br />

59 This is the view of Rav Elyashiv as reported by Rabbi Y. D. Fried.


silently reads the festival tefillah 60 . The Minchat Yitzchak 61 states in his<br />

understanding of the two-day opinion of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav<br />

that a ben Eretz Yisrael visiting Chutz L’Aretz should put on tefillin in<br />

private but without a bracha 62 .<br />

Performing Melacha in Private on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

As seen earlier, a ben Eretz Yisrael who visits Chutz L’Aretz with<br />

the intention of returning observes only one day of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> and<br />

may perform melacha under certain limited circumstances. Since the<br />

majority of authorities agree with the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch 63 ,<br />

a closer analysis of his words would be instructive 64 .<br />

According to most authorities the term melacha as used by the<br />

Shulchan Aruch in this context refers to rabbinic legislated work as<br />

well as that defined explicitly in the Torah 65 .<br />

In the Talmud, Rav Safra (who came fr<strong>om</strong> a land to where messengers<br />

reached with news of the correct date of the month 66 ) asks: “Do<br />

we who know the correct start of the month have to keep Y<strong>om</strong><br />

<strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> due to doubt, when we are in a place that has the cust<strong>om</strong><br />

of two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>” 67 ? The incident recorded below occurred<br />

during the time when messengers were still being sent out to inform<br />

the people of the establishment of the new month 68 .<br />

אל בושייב ,אחריד אעיבקב ןניעדיד ןנא ןוגכ אבא יברל ארפס בר היל רמא<br />

).בנ-:אנ םיחספ תכסמ( תקולחמה יוניש ינפמ אנדיבע<br />

Rav Safra said to Rebi Aba [can we perform work on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

60 This was the cust<strong>om</strong> of the Pri Chadash when he traveled fr<strong>om</strong> his h<strong>om</strong>e in Israel to visit the Jewish<br />

Egyptian c<strong>om</strong>munity during Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>. See the end of his c<strong>om</strong>mentary to ו”צת ןמיס ע”וש.<br />

61 The famous work by 20 th century rabbinic authority Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss who lived in<br />

England and later in Israel.<br />

ג”מ ’יס ’ה קלח קחצי תחנמ 62<br />

’ג ףיעס ו”צת ’יס ע”וש 63<br />

64 In addition to the Gemorrah brought here fr<strong>om</strong> Pesachim, see Chulin 110a and Chulin 18a for a<br />

discussion of whether placing restrictions of the new place apply to a person or not.<br />

א”טילש בישילא ש”ירגהו ל”ז ךאברעיוא ז”שרגה םשב ’א ’עס ג”פ ותכלהכ ינש ט”וי 65<br />

:אנ םיחםפו :במ הכוס ט”ר תופסות ןושל 66<br />

םיחספ תכסמב םש 67<br />

ןוגכ ה”ד תופסות ןייע 68<br />

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<strong>Sheni</strong> in a place that does not perform work] in the case where<br />

we know the establishment of the new month? [The Talmud<br />

answers:] In a settlement we do not perform [work] because a<br />

deviation in the local norm would cause conflict. (Masechet<br />

Pesachim 51b-52a)<br />

There is a difference in opinion between Rashi and Tosfot in interpreting<br />

the above passage with regard to performing labor in private for one<br />

who plans to return to his original locale. Rashi interprets the words<br />

אנדיבע אל בושייב to mean not deviating fr<strong>om</strong> the local cust<strong>om</strong> where they<br />

[the people of the place] can see [the performance of the act] 69 , implying<br />

that work is permitted in private. Tosfot, on the other hand, forbids<br />

melacha because unlike other things, it is impossible to conceal 70 .<br />

The disagreement between Rashi and Tosfot continued among the<br />

Achronim who are found on the pages of the Shulchan Aruch. The<br />

Taz rules like Rashi, that this is a case of a person who changes<br />

locations and he can perform melacha if it is done in private. The<br />

Magen Avraham, however, disagrees and says while he acknowledges<br />

that in all other cases one can be lenient when performing melacha<br />

in private, because of the greatness of [the minhag of] Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong><br />

since it was accepted by the entire Diaspora, one should be strict<br />

in this matter. Thus, Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> is an exception to the rule. The<br />

Mishna Brurah also rules like the opinion of the Magen Avraham and<br />

forbids melacha even in private 71 .<br />

The Pnei Yehoshua asks why Tosfot rules strictly and answers by<br />

saying that in the case of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> there is an issue of uncertainty<br />

regarding Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> which has Torah prohibitions of performing work,<br />

whereas working on the morning of erev Pesach 72 is just a minhag 73 .<br />

The Talmud in Masechet Pesachim continues with another question:<br />

רתומ רבדמב רוסא בושייב ימא בר רמא יכה היל רמא ,יאמ רבדמב<br />

).דנ םיחספ תכסמ(<br />

אנדיבע אל בושייב ה”ד .בנ םיחספ תכסמ 69<br />

”םירבד ראש ומכ אעינצב הכאלמל רשפא אלד רוזחל ותעד וליפאו אעניצב וליפא“ איה תופסות לש ןושל 70<br />

ז”י ק”ס ח”סת ןמיס הרורב הנשמ ןייע 71<br />

72 Performing work on erev Pesach was the subject of the Mishnah in Pesachim 50a brought above.<br />

םיקלוחה תעד איבהש ו”צת ןמיס ח”ואב שדח ירפ רפסב תוכיראב ןייעו 73


In the wilderness [uninhabited area] what is the law [pertaining<br />

to performing melacha on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>]? Rav Abba said to<br />

him [Rav Safra]: Rav Ami said thus: In an inhabited area it is<br />

forbidden [to perform melacha] but in an uninhabited area it is<br />

permitted. (Masechet Pesachim 52a)<br />

It is clear fr<strong>om</strong> this passage that if a ben Eretz Yisrael is in a place<br />

where there are no people watching him perform melacha and thus,<br />

profaning Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong>, he is permitted to do so.<br />

If the visitor does not plan on returning to Israel, he takes on the<br />

cust<strong>om</strong>s of his new h<strong>om</strong>e (in the Diaspora) and is obligated in two<br />

days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>.<br />

An exception to the prohibition of performing melacha in a Jewish<br />

settlement on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> is an action that can be done by a ben<br />

Chutz L’Aretz in a permitted manner, which can be performed by a<br />

ben Eretz Yisrael even through a “weekday” action. For example, a<br />

ben Eretz Yisrael may handle items of muktzeh such as a piece of fruit<br />

that fell fr<strong>om</strong> a tree on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> since any observer would assume it<br />

fell beforehand and is therefore not muktzeh. Based on this concept,<br />

there are authorities who say it may be possible for a ben Eretz<br />

Yisrael to turn on or off an electric light on Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in Chutz<br />

L’Aretz, provided he is not directly seen by a ben Chutz L’Aretz<br />

since an outside observer would assume the light went on or off by a<br />

timer 74 . However, others forbid this practice 75 .<br />

According to s<strong>om</strong>e authorities, even if s<strong>om</strong>eone is with family<br />

members, including those who live in Chutz L’Aretz, he is permitted<br />

to perform melacha in their presence as long as he is outside the<br />

boundaries of the Jewish settlement 76 .<br />

.ןנברד רוסיא אוה למשח תקלדהש רבוס אוהש ד”ק ’יס ד”ח מ”גא ת”וש םשב תובושת יקספ רפסב ןייע 74<br />

קפתסמ אוה ולש הבושתה ףוסב לבא .הז ןפואב רוזחל ותעדש י”א ןבל רתומ הכאלמ לכ עמשמ ןכל<br />

.הז ןינעב<br />

75 Ibid. Fr<strong>om</strong> his c<strong>om</strong>ments the תובושת יקספ רפס implies a distinction between a melacha that is<br />

forbidden fr<strong>om</strong> the Torah and by the Rabbis. The main reason for forbidding a ben Eretz Yisrael<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> performing melacha in a “yishuv” is to prevent belittling Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in the eyes of one who<br />

is obligated to keep it. Although, in general we are more lenient concerning Rabbinic prohibitions,<br />

it is not clear to me why there is a distinction concerning the severity of the violation since for the<br />

ben Eretz Yisrael it is not Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong>!<br />

ךאברעיוא ז”שרגה םשב ’עה חפסנב ותכלהכ ינש ט”וי 76<br />

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32<br />

Application of the Laws of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in the Land<br />

of Israel<br />

Several years ago, a friend of mine visited Israel for the Sukkot holiday.<br />

After Simchat Torah ended, he wanted to acc<strong>om</strong>pany me on a bus<br />

to a hakafot sh’niyot 77 . The question arose if he was permitted to<br />

board the bus if I paid for his ticket. After all, he was not performing<br />

any melacha. After an inquiry into the issue, it was found that it was<br />

forbidden for him to do so for the following two reasons:<br />

• By traveling on a bus to the hakafot sh’niyot, the concept of Y<strong>om</strong><br />

<strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> would bec<strong>om</strong>e degraded in his own eyes.<br />

•<br />

By boarding a bus, that particular Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> would be<br />

degraded in the eyes of s<strong>om</strong>eone who was keeping two full days<br />

of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> or even one and a half days.<br />

Observance of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> in the Future<br />

Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk writes in his book the<br />

Meshech Chochma 78 that once the Temple is rebuilt, and the Beit<br />

Din bec<strong>om</strong>es reestablished, the months will be sanctified again by<br />

the sighting of the new moon and the set calendar will no longer be<br />

relied upon. Therefore, a situation can occur where the new moon is<br />

not sighted on the thirtieth day of a month that is considered רסח (a<br />

29-day month) according to the fixed calendar. Because c<strong>om</strong>munities<br />

will no longer be able to rely upon the fixed calendar, anyone who<br />

had not heard the notification fr<strong>om</strong> the Beit Din as to the proper<br />

day of Rosh Chodesh will have to keep two days of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> out of<br />

doubt even if they live in Eretz Yisrael. Because of his opinion of the<br />

significance that Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> will play in the future, Rabbi Meir<br />

Simcha HaCohen fought strongly against the 18 th century European<br />

Maskilim movement that sought to abrogate the practice of Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong><br />

<strong>Sheni</strong>.<br />

Since there is no prescribed manner in the Torah to notify the people<br />

of the correct date of the new month once it was sighted and the<br />

77 In the evening following Shmini Azeret there is a widespread cust<strong>om</strong> of having second hakafot, but<br />

with music and dancing in many areas throughout Israel.<br />

אב תשרפ המכח ךשמ 78


witnesses gave their testimony to the Beit Din 79 , the Sages tried to find<br />

the best way to c<strong>om</strong>municate the message to the greatest possible<br />

number of people. In the future, thanks to modern c<strong>om</strong>munication<br />

technology, the vast majority of the Jewish people should be able to<br />

be notified literally seconds after the testimony is accepted. It would<br />

appear, taking into account the opinion of the Meshech Chochma,<br />

even though the entire Jewish people would be technically obligated<br />

in keeping Y<strong>om</strong> <strong>Tov</strong> <strong>Sheni</strong> if they were not informed of the new month<br />

before a festival, practically everyone will be keeping only one day.<br />

David Saelman has been with NDS since March 2008 and is<br />

currently a software integrator in the STI line. He was born in<br />

Los Angeles CA and received his BS in Electrical Engineering<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> UCLA and MS in Electrical and C<strong>om</strong>puter Engineering<br />

fr<strong>om</strong> UCSB. After writing software real-time telemetry<br />

software, c<strong>om</strong>puter effects programs for a Hollywood Studio<br />

and 3D-action games, he made aliyah in 1999. David learned at<br />

Ohr Semach in Jerusalem in 1988 and at Yeshviat Darche Noam<br />

also known as Shapells College of Jewish Studies in the years<br />

1995-1998, 2002-2003.<br />

His interests include hiking, mountain biking, photography, and<br />

reading. Other hobbies include philately and numismatics.<br />

David is married to Chani and they live with their children<br />

Yehudit Esther and Binyamin Meir in the Givat Mordechai<br />

neighborhood of Jerusalem.<br />

ותכלהכ ינש ט”וי 79<br />

33<br />

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