Monday, January 08, 2007

Rosh Hashana 34a - Hefsek between tekiah and teruah

R' Avahu instituted (it is really a safek d'oraysa, unless you take the fascinating apporach of the Ba'al Hameor) to blow "tashrat" "tashat" and "tarat", each one 3 times. The gemara is clear that it was not sufficient to blow "tashrat" because the teruah is a hefsek for the shevarim and the shevarim is a hefsek for the teruah. The next line of the gemara says that one can be yotzei even if they hear the sounds spread out over the course of the day, implying that the break in time is not a hefsek. Simply speaking, there is no contradiction bec. it could be that the break in time is not a hefsek, but an actual shofar sound that doesn't belong is a hefsek.
However, Tosafos (33b) does not seem to understand this way. Tosafos cites Rabbeinu Tam who recommends doing "tashrat" for malchiyos, zichronos and shofaros. Tosafos comments that although there is a hefsek (with shevarim between tekiah and teruah), we pasken that if you hear 9 blasts over the course of the day you are yotzei and therefore hefsek is not really a concern. Tosafos seems to be using the break in time halacha to prove that even the hefsek of a sound that doesn' belong, does not qualify as a hefsek. Clearly Tosafos assumes that there is no difference between a hefsek of time or a hefsek of the wrong blast, they are both not lechatchila, but bidieved you are yotzei.

1 comment:

Yossie Schonkopf said...

your are "m'chaven" to the achronim. see beis yosef and bach i think that is where they say that clearly tosfos argues on the rambam. the rambam goes with the 1st approach that sounding a wrong sound is worse the just hefsek or even talking as the "tzura" of the trua is to be sandwiched between 2 tekius.
also when discussing hefsek we must differentiate between a person which is unfit or just sitting idle as is discussed in rema o"c 65

yossie