[Avodah] YT Sheini Shell Golah and the Internet

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 03:43:29AM +0000, rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com wrote:
: Quibble
: I could say that Rosh Hodesh Nissan [Rather than Pesach] has to occur within
: about 29.5 days of the Vernal Equinox. That would create "Hodesh Ha'aviv.".
: Pesach then could fall 14 days later total about 43 days after the equinox.

We discussed this in v4n42 onward, as well as v17n22 onward.

Rashi understands R' Huna bar Avin's instructions to Rava on RH
21a as saying the equinox must be no later than the first half of
Nissan. Tosafos, the Rashba, the Ran and the Rosh are choleqim only in
including the equinox being on the 15th (the first day of Pesach).

R' Chananel holds that RHbA was saying that one adds another month
whenever the equinox would land at least 16 days *after the molad*, and
the IE says this is the only reason for a molad.

So, according to the IE, the equinox should always be in late Adar
(or Adar II) or early Nissan +/- the gap between the molad and Rosh
Chodesh. Not much more than half a month.


Interesting, in "Al haSheminis", R Yaaqov Loewinger (an engineer,
not a "professional" poseiq) pointed to the version of that
gemara in the Cairo Geniza that confirms R' Chananel's peshat
(or was modified from the original by someone who knew it?).
See http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/tohen.asp?id=162 ; Al haSheminis is
a good source on the calendar in general.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
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