Rosh Hashanah 2:9 - 3:1

הלך ומצאו ר"ע – to Rabbi Yehoshuaבור

מיצר – on that the President/Nasi decreed upon him to desecrate Yom Kippur

אשר תקראו – that the Jewish court hung the Biblical verse on this calling

בא – Rabbi Yehoshua near Rabbi Dosa

למה לא נתפרשו שמותן וכו' – for if a person would come to argue against the Jewish court of his days, to say – for this Jewish court is like Moses and Aaron or [like] Eldad and Medad, we would say to him: lest it is important like those whose who remained whose names were not [explicitly] spelled out.

ראוהו בית דין וכל ישראל – on the night of the thirtieth, for you might think I should say that since the Jewish court and the enter Jewish people saw him, it became revealed that on the thirtieth day, it (i.e., the New Moon) appeared to be sanctified. This tells us that if it got dark and the night of the thirty-first arrived and the Jewish court had not said that it was sanctified, we intercalate the month and establish Rosh to be on the thirty-first day.

נחקרו העדים – this is how it should be understood. Alternatively, only the witnesses were examined but there was insufficient time for them to state that it (i.e., the New Month), was sanctified until the night of the thirty-first arrived, and we intercalate the month. For you might think I should say, that the examination of the witnesses should come at the beginning of the legal proceedings, and [the announcing] of “it is sanctified, it is sanctified” should be like the conclusion of the legal proceedings. For the conclusion of the deliberations should be at night and we should sanctify it at night. This comes to teach us that it is not so, for we do not sanctify the [New] Month at night. But however, if on the night of the thirtieth, they (i.e., the witnesses) saw the moon with the setting of the sun, and there is a delay in the day to state that it is sanctified prior to the appearance of the stars, we sanctify it, for it is not considered nighttime until the appearance of the stars.

יעמדו שמים ויעידו – Our Mishnah is speaking about a case such as where the Jewish court saw it (i.e., the New Moon) at night on the night of the thirtieth, and it is impossible to sanctify the moon at night. Therefore, the next day, two [witnesses] would stand up and testify, for if not for the testimony of these [two], on what would then sanctify? But if the Jewish court saw it (i.e., the New Moon) with sunset at the time when there was a delay to state, “it is sanctified,” they should sanctify through their observation, and that the hearing that they hear from witnesses would not be greater than seeing, for concerning the Sanctification of the Moon, it is not written “testimony/"עדות" , but like this, they saw and sanctified.

יעמדו שנים – on the morrow when they come to state, “it is sanctified.”

ויושיבו מחבריהם אצל היחיד – And even though an individual who is an expert can judge even on his own, the Sanctification of the [New] Moon is not [done] by a [sole] individual., For there is no one recognized by the public as an expert judge (see Talmud Rosh Hashanah 25b) besides Moses our Teacher, and yet the All-Merciful says to him [only after] Aaron is with him, as it is written (Exodus 12:1-2): “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron [in the land of Egypt]: This month shall mark for you [the beginning of months]…..”