4877 —סדר עולם רבה השלם – הערות על חשבונות השנים, התחלת המנין לבריאת העולם ושנות מקוטעות

B"H, 28 Marcheshvan, 5717

Brooklyn.

The veteran Chassid, G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, etc., our teacher Rabbi Yosef Menachem, may he live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 13 Marcheshvan: may it be the will of Him Who "heals all flesh and acts wondrously," that just as you report an improvement in the state of health of ..., may he live, so may you continue with good news that the situation keeps improving, with a speedy and also complete recovery — especially as we are approaching the month of Kislev, the month of miracles, and the days of Chanukah, the completion of the work of the Mishkan and the foundation of the Second Beis HaMikdash. And the concept of the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash is as it is written, "Make Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell within them"^[1] — within each and every Jew — which is the ultimate purpose; and this purpose exists in reality also in the time of exile.

With blessing for good news.

I have just received, through the Rabbi and Chassid, the veteran Chassid, G‑d-fearing man, honored, a man of fine character whose work is the work of Heaven, etc., R. M. [?] Weber, may he live, the book Seder Olam Rabbah HaShalem, part 1, with the commentaries Yemos Olam and Seder Zemanim, and Masores HaSeder Olam. Many thanks for the gift. Although the time does not permit me to study it in comparison with the previous editions — surely the commentary fulfills in practice what is said in the introduction, that its commentaries will include what is found in the notes and glosses, etc., of those who preceded. And it is no small thing that one will not need to search out the earlier printings. — Incidentally, the Seder Olam of the 5665 edition was printed again (by photo-offset) in New York in 5712.

At your request, and as is my custom, I have noted in three or four places what seems to me, at least, from passing hastily through the pages of the book. And well known is the saying of our Sages on the verse "es vahev besufah."^[2]

General notes.

a) Several of the calculations are repeated in the tables, the Introduction and the commentary, and some of them are simple calculations.

[For example — Table 1, Introduction, subsection 2, Yemos Olam, subsection 1.]

b) It is not explained at all when the count begins: at the Rosh Hashanah before the creation of man (counting from Creation), the Rosh Hashanah after it (counting from Adam), or the Rosh Hashanah after that (see Rambam, Laws of Sanctifying the New Moon 6:8 and the commentary there; ibid., Laws of Shemittah and Yovel 10:2; and at length in the books that deal with this field). At any rate, this should have been mentioned, since it bears also on the calculations in Seder Olam. For example: according to the count from Creation — which is the one accepted in the calculations of the leap years and the like — Adam was created in year 1 (when year 1 of the count had already passed) from the creation of the world, and not as written in Table 1.

c) No mention at all is made of the matter of partial years. Nor is it specified, in the numbers cited, whether the intent is in year 130 (for example) or after 130 years have passed. Obviously the clarification of several calculations and contradictions depends on this. And although in several places this doubt cannot be clarified from the verses and the words of the Sages, in several calculations it can. At any rate, as above, this question needs to be mentioned.

In Table 6. It is impossible that in the year 2448 Moshe stood before Pharaoh and in that very year they offered the Pesach offering, since according to Seder Olam the plagues between these two events lasted twelve months. The error crept in because of the lack of clarity noted in c) above. One must say, perforce, that Moshe's standing before Pharaoh was at the beginning of his eightieth year, i.e., in the year 2447.

Ibid. It is impossible that "I cut off the three shepherds"^[3] — Miriam, Aharon and Moshe — was at the same time from the creation of the world, since Rosh Hashanah came in between.

Introduction, subsection 1. "Whether the world was created in Nissan or in Tishrei — this was not decided." — See Magen Avraham at the beginning of section 592; and this is also proven from the ruling that the Blessing of the Sun at its cycle is in Nissan, so that in law and in practice the halachah is that [the world] was created in Nissan.

Note. a) There is an isolated opinion that the world was created on 1 Tishrei (Nissan), and not on the 25th of the month before it (Levush, section 581; and in Sdei Chemed, Kelalim, end of section Beis, he found him a companion, the R"S [?], and wonders at both of them.

See there.) b) In Shemen Sasson on Shaar HaKavanos, Derush 1, subsections 15–16, he reconciles the two opinions according to Kabbalah, at length.

Chapter 1. From the Flood to the Dispersion was 340 years, and the calculation is detailed in Seder Zemanim: "Arpachshad was born two years after the Flood," etc. — Now, the Flood lasted more than twelve months. At any rate, it should have mentioned how many have struggled to account for the omission of this year.

End of chapter 10. Seder Zemanim gives a reason for the difference in the count (by one day) of the time the manna was eaten after Moshe's passing. — One may say simply that the manna did not fall on Shabbos. According to one opinion, this day too is included in the count, since after all they ate from the same cake; while according to the second opinion, it is not right to count it, since it does not belong to Moshe's merit, for every Erev Shabbos a double portion fell. — The Asarah Maamaros mediates between the opinions as to whether Moshe passed away on Shabbos or on Erev Shabbos. — What he writes at 2150 I have not merited to understand: how can one say that thirty days before 7 Adar he wrote "Today I am [a hundred and twenty years old]"^[4]? One could answer only with great difficulty; and this is not the place.

Publisher's notes

Rabbi Yosef Menachem: Weinstock, Jerusalem.

When the count begins: see also above, vol. 2, letter 233 (p. 138).

The matter of partial years: see Likkutei Sichos, vol. 20, p. 26 ff.

Notes

[1] "Make Me a Sanctuary…" (ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם): Shemos 25:8. The verse says "within them," not "within it."

[2] "Es vahev besufah" (את והב בסופה): Bamidbar 21:14, as expounded in Kiddushin 30b: even a father and son, or a teacher and student, who study Torah together become like adversaries, and they do not leave until they come to love each other.

[3] "I cut off the three shepherds" (ואכחד את ג' הרועים): Zechariah 11:8, "in one month"; the Sages (Taanis 9a) explain them as Moshe, Aharon and Miriam.

[4] "Today I am…" (היום מלאו גו'): Devarim 31:2, "I am a hundred and twenty years old today."

Summary

This letter blesses a recovery, noting Kislev, the month of miracles, and Chanukah, completion of the Mishkan: "I will dwell within them", within every Jew, also in exile. It thanks him for Seder Olam Rabbah with commentary and adds notes: when the count from Creation begins, partial years, the plagues' year, and the manna.