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OCTOBER 7, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Delving into the Daf
Out of Order By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow
I
t’s time to dust off Mesechta Rosh Hashana. The Daf will be finishing with Mesechta Beitza shortly. Someone studying the Daf with an Artscroll Shas will find nothing amiss. However, those who study the Daf with a standard Hebrew Shas will be somewhat perplexed. After all, Mesechta Taanis follows Beitza, not Rosh Hashana. Upon further inspection, he will notice that in his standard Shas, the order is Shekalim, Rosh HaShana, Yoma, Sukka. Being that Yoma discusses Yom Kippur, the order of Rosh Hashana, Yoma, and Sukkah seems to be rather intuitive. Indeed, there have been reports of Maggidei Shiur actually teaching Rosh Hashana for a few days after completing Shekalim before realizing their error. Daf Yomi learners study Yoma after Shekalim and not Rosh Hashana. Why is there a discrepancy between the standard Shas and Daf Yomi? The answer has its roots in an alleged murder mystery, a curse of the saintly Rebbe Akiva Eiger, and modern copyright law journals. To properly put things into perspective, it should be made clear that the order that Daf Yomi follows is not that foreign after all. Indeed, it is the order one follows if one studies the Mishna. Rav Sherira Gaon offered an explanation for the order. Shabbos is first because of its importance. Eiruvin is second because it deals with the laws of transporting on Shabbos. Pesachim is next because it is the first in the order of Festivals. The collection of Shekalim culminates on Rosh Chodesh Nissan so it follows Pesachim. One is not allowed to carry on Yom Kippur, so it is the most similar “festival” to Shabbos. Therefore, after discussing Pesachim, Yoma should follow because it is similar to Shabbos that we started with. Mesechta Sukkah follows Yoma because Sukkos follows Yom Kippur. Mesechta Beitza deals with the laws of Yom Tov so it follows Sukkah. Rosh Hashana, which is also a yom tov, follows Sukkah. Taanis, which discusses fasting due to lack of rain, follows Rosh Hashana because after Rosh Hashana the rainy season starts. However, Rav Sherira Gaon specifically notes that one can study Mesechtos in any order. Rav Reuvain Margoliyos, while not explaining the juxtaposition of every Mesechta, does point out a possible general rule. Mesechtos with more
chapters take precedence over mesechtos with fewer chapters. The order of mesechtos in Moed clearly fit into this paradigm: Shabbos – 24 chapters, Eiruvin – 10, Pesachim – 10, Shekalim – 8, Yoma – 8, Sukkah – 5, Beitza – 5, Rosh Hashana – 4, Taanis – 4, Megillah – 4, Moed Katan – 3, Chagigah – 3. This explains the order of mesechtos as followed in the study of Mishna. Still, this just begs the question of why the printed Shas is differently. Rabbi Moshe Shapira established a printing press in Slavuta in 1791. In the 1800s, the Shapira family expended considerable time, effort, and money to publish a beautiful newly typeset edition of Shas. Needing to recoup their investment, the Shapira family sought and received letters from various rabbanim forbidding anyone to publish another printed Shas for a fixed period of time. However, in 1834, the Romm brothers began to publish a competing edition of Shas. They argued that the exclusivity period for the Slavuta Shas had expired. Moreover, the Romm brothers offered to buy any remaining volumes of the Slavuta Shas that were left unsold. The Shapira Family found rabbanim who wrote letters forbidding the purchase and publication of the new Romm Shas, colloquially known as the Vilna Shas. Rebbe Akiva Eiger was one of the signatories of the original edict forbidding any competition to the Slavuta Shas. (See the University of St. Thomas Law Journal Vol 10, article 3.) However, he ruled that the exclusivity of the Slavuta Shas had expired. The Vilna Shas was therefore able to be published and purchased. Apparently, some suggested that Rebbe Akiva Eiger was too old and feeble to issue a ruling, and the ruling in favor of the Vilna Shas was not his own. Rebbe Akiva Eiger penned a forceful letter in reply. “My heart was very pained by the brazenness and audacity of the Slavita printers. Their words are slanderous not only of my son, the Gaon, may Hashem protect him, whom they claim swayed my view, but also of me, about whom they claim it is easy to coerce to rule against Torah law. The truth of the matter is that regarding all of the approbations the Slavita printers have sent me, I have not found any valid basis for their claim; not
even one in a thousand! Regarding the fact that they wish to stand up firmly [against my ruling], I do not forgive them at all, for one cannot forgive
Copies of the Vilna Shas printed by Romm Printing Press, 1859-1866
Shelves of the author’s seforim shrank highlighting the differences in the Shas
