Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Berachos 3b - Part 4

The gemara previously stated that "neshef" refers to the evening. The gemara now questions this based on a pasuk in Shmuel Alef 30 that states that King David smote his enemies "from neshef until evening". Doesn't this imply that neshef is, in fact, morning?

The gemara answers that this is not necessarily the case. It could be that the pasuk means "from evening until evening". However, the gemara finds this answer difficult because if that is what the pasuk means why not consistently use the same word for evening? Either always use "neshef" or always use "erev", why switch between the two?

The gemara finally presents Rava's answer:

Rava's answer: In fact, there are two "neshefs". Neshef can refer to the time of the night that leads into the day, or, neshef can refer to the time of the day that leads into the night.

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