A tweet sent by Kabbala kreep Yehuda Berg (no joke) reminds me that today is 7 Adar, the birthday and death day of Moshe Rabaynu (...so that's why we didn't say tachanun this morning. Doh!)
How did we decide that Moshe died on the seventh day of Adar? Because the Rabbis presumed (based on verses) that Moshe lived 120 full years. And how did we decide he was born on the seventh of Adar? Not really sure. On Sotah 12b, a nameless Mar is quoted saying that Moshe was born on 7 Adar, but I don't know how the nameless Mar knew this.
As you'll see the Rabbinic discussion surrounding the Mar's statement begs all the important questions:
Update:
Kidushin 38. has the answer, though as you'll see, some minor questions are begged. Here's the reasoning:
After Moshe died, the Israelites wept for 30 days. On what is presumed to be the last day of mourning (on what basis?) God tells Joshua "Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan" (Joshua 1:11) The crossing itself was on 10 Nissan (Joshua 4:19) If we presume Adar had 30 days (on what basis?) Moshe's death day, i.e. 33 days before the crossing, was 7 Adar.
Neat things worth mentioning:1. The Israelites waited three days before crossing the Jordan. This corresponds to the three days of preparation that preceded the revelation at Sinai.
2. The crossing on 10 Nisan is the same day that Israelites in Egypt took the lamb for the Paschal offering (Exodus 12:3). Some speculate that this is evidence that 10 Nisan was once a festival day, and support this contention by noting that Yom Kippur falls on 10 Tishrei, with Sukkot starting 5 days later on the 15th. It would not be unreasonable, they say, to find the same pattern in Nissan, a month also considered to be the "first month" and one in which a holiday (Pesach) also begins on the 15th.
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How did we decide that Moshe died on the seventh day of Adar? Because the Rabbis presumed (based on verses) that Moshe lived 120 full years. And how did we decide he was born on the seventh of Adar? Not really sure. On Sotah 12b, a nameless Mar is quoted saying that Moshe was born on 7 Adar, but I don't know how the nameless Mar knew this.
As you'll see the Rabbinic discussion surrounding the Mar's statement begs all the important questions:
R. Hanina b. Papa said: [The day Moshe's mother left him at the river side] was the twenty-first of Nisan, and the Ministering Angels spoke before the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Lord of the Universe! Shall he who will utter a song to Thee by the Red Sea on this day be punished on this day?'If anyone out there wishes to present me with the ideal Moshe's Birthday gift, please provide some justification or explanation for the nameless Mar's position. Thks
R. Aha b. Hanina said: [The day Moshe's mother left him at the river side] day was the sixth of Sivan, and the Ministering Angels spoke before the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Lord of the Universe! Shall he who will receive the Torah on Mount Sinai on this day be punished on this day?'
It is quite right according to him who said that it was the sixth of Sivan, for then it occurred three months [after his birth. The Torah says Moshe was three months old when he was abandoned]; for a master has said: Moses died on the seventh of Adar and was born on the seventh of Adar, and from the seventh of Adar to the sixth of Sivan is three months. But according to him who said that it was the twenty-first of Nisan, how could it have been?
That year was a leap year.
Update:
Kidushin 38. has the answer, though as you'll see, some minor questions are begged. Here's the reasoning:
After Moshe died, the Israelites wept for 30 days. On what is presumed to be the last day of mourning (on what basis?) God tells Joshua "Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan" (Joshua 1:11) The crossing itself was on 10 Nissan (Joshua 4:19) If we presume Adar had 30 days (on what basis?) Moshe's death day, i.e. 33 days before the crossing, was 7 Adar.
Neat things worth mentioning:1. The Israelites waited three days before crossing the Jordan. This corresponds to the three days of preparation that preceded the revelation at Sinai.
2. The crossing on 10 Nisan is the same day that Israelites in Egypt took the lamb for the Paschal offering (Exodus 12:3). Some speculate that this is evidence that 10 Nisan was once a festival day, and support this contention by noting that Yom Kippur falls on 10 Tishrei, with Sukkot starting 5 days later on the 15th. It would not be unreasonable, they say, to find the same pattern in Nissan, a month also considered to be the "first month" and one in which a holiday (Pesach) also begins on the 15th.
Sponsored Message
- Celebrate Purim 2009 with Magnificent Purim Baskets - Mishloach Manot from Oh Nuts.
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