We mentioned Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Pappias. Here, we’ll mention four more testimonies that they brought down. Two of them are about tumah (ritual impurity) and taharah (ritual purity), and two are about a leap year.
The Mishnah says that these two rabbis testified about the wooden boards professional bakers used to put down unbaked loaves of bread before they went into the oven. The boards could become tameh (ritually impure), even though, on a de'oraita (by Torah law) level, flat boards cannot become tameh. You need a container or a beit kibbul that would hold something. That’s the only way something could become tameh. The rabbis decreed that professional bakers’ boards could become tameh because they look like kelim (vessels). Therefore, they could become tameh. This whole teaching was because Rabbi Eliezer said that the boards are pure; they cannot become tameh.
The second testimony is about tumah and taharah. They testified about an earthenware oven that was cut into rings horizontally and then reassembled by putting the pieces on top of each other—not directly on top of each other, but with sand in between each piece. Then they covered the entire oven with clay so that it would stay hotter. Shehu tameh: the oven is now able to become tameh. When an oven is all attached, the only way to purify it is by taking it apart. Here, they put it back together, but the sections weren’t connected directly; there was something in between them. One would think that maybe it no longer has the ability to function as a utensil, since something is separating the sections. There’s sand in between each part, so no matter what, it cannot become tameh. The chiddush (novel point) here is that they say the oven could become tameh because, even though there’s sand in between each layer, the outer layer of clay connects the entire oven. Therefore, it’s considered to be one entity, and it could become tameh because it’s now a keli (utensil) again. The whole point of teaching this was that Rabbi Eliezer said this type of oven cannot become tameh, since there’s sand between all of the pieces. They’re not considered to be connected, and the oven is not complete.
This is the famous machloket (dispute) of Tanur shel Achnai, where Rabbi Eliezer brought all different proofs that the oven stays tahor (pure), that the oven cannot become tameh. But the rabbis disagreed, and they didn’t accept his opinion. Rabbi Eliezer then brought miracle after miracle to show that Klapei Shmaya, in the heavenly realm, God agrees with him. Finally, when a bat kol (heavenly voice) came out saying that Rabbi Eliezer was correct in all of his halachic (pertaining to Jewish law) teachings, Rabbi Yehoshua said, “It doesn’t matter.” Famously, the Torah is not in the heavens anymore. God doesn’t have the ability to make the decisions. He gave over that decision-making power to the hachamim (the rabbis), and the rabbis held that it can become tameh. Therefore, that is the correct answer. That’s the famous case that applies over here.
The next two testimonies are about the Jewish leap year. Every few years, the rabbis would add an extra month to the calendar, making that year 13 months long. A double Adar, a second Adar, was added. In times of the Mishnah, the Sanhedrin would decide whether each year should be a leap year or not. Here, the testimony is going to talk about how late into the year the hachamim (the rabbis) make this decision. These two rabbis testify that you’re allowed to extend the year and make it a leap year with the second Adar at any time during that first Adar, the last month of the year. They could do it throughout that entire month; if they decided it was necessary, they would add it even in the month of Adar. This whole idea was important to teach: they would say, Purim, because here we have to teach that this can go on throughout the entire month of Adar, because the rabbis used to say that the leap year could only be declared until Purim, which was on the 14th of Adar. There has to be a little bit of a buffer; only up until Purim could they declare that there would be another month at the end of that Adar.
The machloket here was that the rabbis were very concerned because, as we know, there’s a halacha (Jewish law) that 30 days before the holiday of Pesach—30 days before the holiday of Pesach—we talk about the laws of Pesach. So when Purim hits, the rabbis are going to start talking about all the laws, and while they’re doing that, they’re inevitably going to talk about the date of Purim. They’ll say, “A month from now, from today, will be the time of Pesach.” If the rabbis decided after that to change it and add an extra Adar, they would send messengers to the Golah, to the diaspora, to tell people that an extra month had been added and that Pesach would be two months from now. People are going to have that conflict. They’re not going to trust what they’re hearing from the messengers. They’re going to think that what they heard from their rabbi in the lectures about the holiday is correct, and that Pesach is actually 30 days after Purim. On that date, they’re going to observe Purim, Pesach, but it won’t be the right date. It’s not actually going to be Pesach. So on that date, they’re going to be observing the wrong holiday. When the real Pesach comes, a month after that, they’re not going to be observing it.
To prevent all this from happening, the hachamim said that a leap year could only be declared until the time of Purim. But according to Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Pappias, there’s no concern here. People know that when dealing with the calendar, there are very delicate and complicated calculations dealing with the stars and dealing with the Jewish calendar. So when messengers arrive after Purim to tell them, “By the way, a leap year was declared. We’re adding an extra month of Adar,” they’re going to believe the messengers. They know that the court has to do its due diligence. There’s a lot of work that goes into deciding whether to add a month or not. Therefore, they’ll anticipate that happening, and they won’t dismiss the words of the messengers.
A leap year could only happen with the approval of the Nasi. The Nasi is the president, the director of the Sanhedrin. Here we’ll talk about what’s done if the Sanhedrin wants to add a leap year, but the Nasi is not available to consult with the Nasi. So, consult with...
These two rabbis testified that we’re allowed to add a month to create a leap year conditionally. That means if the Nasi is not around, the court could declare the year a leap year on the condition that the Nasi eventually agrees. What will the Rabban Gamliel do? He wants a story with Rabban Gamliel. He went to request permission from the governor in Syria for something he was doing for the community, but he didn’t get back in time. In the meantime, the rabbis wanted to add a leap year. They wanted to add another month. So they did it on the condition that Rabban Gamliel would later agree. When he came back, he agreed. He said, “Yes.” The year was extended, and an extra month was added to the calendar.