Rosh Hashana 3:8 — Who Can Blow for Everyone Else

The Lived Mishnah·A Zeman Nakat Project
Mesechta Rosh Hashana
Mishnah 26 of 35
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MoedSederסדרמוֹעֵד
Rosh HashanaMesechtaמסכתראש השנה
3Perekפרקג׳
8Mishnahמשנהח׳
נושא · Topicכֹּל שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְחֻיָּב בַּדָּבָרWho Can Blow for Everyone Else
This Mishnah is:a rule, then drawing the boundarywhat does that mean?
Mishnah ראש השנה ג׳:ח׳ · Rosh Hashana 3:8
וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים משֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ'
(שמות יז),
וְכִי יָדָיו שֶׁל משֶׁה עוֹשׂוֹת מִלְחָמָה
אוֹ שׁוֹבְרוֹת מִלְחָמָה.
אֶלָּא לוֹמַר לְךָ,
כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִים כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה
וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם
הָיוּ מִתְגַּבְּרִים.
וְאִם לָאו, הָיוּ נוֹפְלִין.
כַּיּוֹצֵא בַדָּבָר אַתָּה אוֹמֵר (במדבר כא),
עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל נֵס,
וְהָיָה כָּל הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָי.
וְכִי נָחָשׁ מֵמִית,
אוֹ נָחָשׁ מְחַיֶּה.
אֶלָּא, בִּזְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִין כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה
וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם,
הָיוּ מִתְרַפְּאִים,
וְאִם לָאו, הָיוּ נִמּוֹקִים.
חֵרֵשׁ, שׁוֹטֶה, וְקָטָן,
אֵין מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָן.
זֶה הַכְּלָל,
כֹּל שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְחֻיָּב בַּדָּבָר,
אֵינוֹ מוֹצִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָן:
And it was, when Moshe would raise his hand, that Yisrael prevailed, and so on —
(Shemos 17).
And do the hands of Moshe make a war
or break a war?
Rather, it is to tell you:
so long as Yisrael were looking upward
and subjecting their hearts to their Father in heaven,
they would prevail.
And if they were not, they would fall.
Of the same kind you say — (Bamidbar 21):
Make yourself a fiery serpent and set it on a pole,
and it shall be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it shall live.
And does the snake put to death,
or does the snake give life?
Rather, when Yisrael were looking upward
and subjecting their hearts to their Father in heaven,
they would be healed.
And if they were not, they would waste away.
A cheresh, a shoteh and a katan — a deaf-mute, one who lacks legal capacity, and a minor —
they do not discharge the public of their obligation.
This is the rule:
anyone who is not himself obligated in the matter
does not discharge the public of their obligation.
A reading aid, not an exact translation.

This English is a clause-by-clause rendering to help you follow the Hebrew. It is not word-for-word literal, and it is not a transcript of the recorded shiur — the audio carries explanation and context the translation deliberately leaves out.

case/objectrestrictive rulingpasuk/proof textconditiongeneral rule
Structure
The shape of it
משֶׁהמִסְתַּכְּלִים כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה
Summary Chart
Who Can Blow for Everyone Else
CaseRulingReason
What did Moshe's hands do in the war with Amalek?They turned Yisrael's eyes upward, and while their hearts were given over to their Father in heaven Yisrael prevailed
And the copper serpent Moshe set on the pole?Whoever was bitten, looked upward and gave his heart to his Father in heaven was healed
Can the tzibbur be yotzei through a cheresh, a shoteh or a katan?No
Who else cannot blow on their behalf?Anyone not obligated in the mitzvah himself
Transcript
A machine transcript of the recorded shiur.

This is the shiur as spoken, transcribed automatically and left unedited — the wording is Ephraim's, and occasional transcription errors remain. It follows the audio word by word.

הֲדַרָן עֲלָךְ מַסֶּכֶת רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
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