[Avodah] Dawn's Early Light

[Zev Sero]

kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:
> He noted that the Gemara (Pesachim 93-94) has various discussions about
> how long these intervals last, but there is one constant throughout that
> whole sugya: It is taken for granted that however long they last, they
> both last for the same duration.

That is the basis for what is now known as "shitat Rabbenu Tam", that
TzHK is at the end of "a walk of 4 mil" (whatever that means) from sunset,
just as AHS is a the beginning of "a walk of 4 mil" before sunrise,
and all shorter shiurim that are mentioned take place at the end of
this period, not at its beginning.  According to this shita, TzHK means
not three stars but "tzeit KOL hakochavim".

The shita of the geonim is that the definition of AHS is the first light,
when nearly all the stars are still visible, while the definition of TzHK
is the first darkness, when nearly all the stars are still invisible,
or "kaasher yesh adayin or hayom ketzat".   According to this view, the
TzHK discussed in Pesachim is not the halachic TzHK but merely the
astronomical time that corresponds to AHS, when all the stars are out,
and has no halachic significance.


-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas