Vol.

20 Issue #11

Parshas Vayigash

The International Date Line

Rabbi Michael Taubes

(MTA 76, RIETS 82)
Rosh Yeshiva - MTA
Rabbi - Kehilas Zichron Mordechai

After Yosef reveals who he really is to his brothers, he instructs them to quickly go up (valu) to his father Yaakov (who was in Eretz Yisrael) and tell him that
he is alive and now a leader in Egypt, and that he should
hurry down to see him (Bereishit 45:9). In his commentary on this Posuk, Rashi (s.v. valu), apparently troubled
by the word valu, go up, used to describe the journey to
Eretz Yisrael, writes that Eretz Yisrael is higher than, or
above, all other lands; to get there, then, one must indeed go up. This idea would appear to be based on the
Gemara in Kiddushin (69a) which makes this very statement about Eretz Yisrael, adding, based in a Posuk later
in the Torah (Devarim 17:8), that the site of the Beis
Hamikdash (in Yerushalayim) is higher than any other
place in Eretz Yisrael; this latter point, though, is qualified by Tosafos in Sanhedrin (87a s.v. shebais) where
these statements also appear. Although the Pardes Yosef
on the Posuk in this Parsha quotes those who explain that
Chazals intent here is merely to teach that the Beis
Hamikdash and Eretz Yisrael are higher than any other
places in the world in terms of stature and honor, the
Maharsha in Kiddushin (Chiddushei Agados s.v. Beis
Hamikdash) writes that the earth is a sphere, and the site
of the Beis Hamikdash and Eretz Yisrael are at the center
- or on top - of that sphere; the place is thus indeed
higher than any other place in the world. He apparently
understood the statements of the Gemara in the literal
sense. This idea that Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim are
at the top of the world, and the idea expressed in the
Gemara earlier in Sanhedrin (37a. See Rashi s.v. btiburo)
that the site of the Beis Hamikdash (in Yerushalayim,
where the Sanhedrin had its chambers) is at the center of

7 Teves 5776

the world, may impact the issue of how to determine the

location of the International Date Line according to the
Halacha. It is the accepted practice in the secular world
to begin the new calendar day at midnight. Since, however, midnight does not arrive at the exact same moment
all over the world, the new calendar day will not begin at
the exact same moment all over the world. The further
west one travels, the later midnight and the new calendar day - arrives. For example, when Sunday evening
concludes and it becomes Monday at midnight in New
York, it is still Sunday evening for three more hours in
California. And it will not become Monday for another
few hours after that in Hawaii, and several hours after
that, it would become Monday in the Orient, and so on.
Eventually, one will travel all the way back to New
York, where it will again be midnight. Obviously,
though, it cannot again be the midnight which begins
Monday, because that already happened 24 hours earlier;
this midnight will have to begin Tuesday. It is clear, then,
that at some point, somewhere along the line, midnight
will no longer be the beginning of Monday, but of Tuesday, and this cycle of the new day begins again. This
point is what is known as the International Date Line, and
at the International Meridian Conference in 1884, it was
decided that this date line would be at the point which is
180 (that is, twelve hours) from Greenwich, England, a
point which cuts primarily through the Pacific Ocean.
The question is, where exactly is this date line according to the Halacha, which obviously assigns no significance to Greenwich, England? Of course, midnight is
of no relevance in terms of the date according to the Halacha either, but the same problem naturally presents itself regarding sunset, which obviously is an important
time in Halacha. The Radvaz (Shut HaRadvaz vol. 1 Siman 76) already asserts that this matter is the subject of a
dispute among Rishonim, and, as documented by Rav
Shlomo Zevin (Sefer Leor HaHalacha, page 285), many
others have dealt at length with this issue. Some point to
a Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (20b) which indicates that


the Beis Din would not declare a day to be Rosh Chodesh
unless the new moon was visible in Eretz Yisrael before
noon on that day; if it appeared after noon, the next day
would be Rosh Chodesh. Although certain Rishonim explain the Gemara as referring only to details concerning
the declaration of Rosh Chodesh, the interpretation of
the Baal HaMaor and others relates it directly to this issue of the date line.
The Gemara states that the reason Beis Din
would not declare a day to be Rosh Chodesh unless the
moon appeared before noon in Yerushalayim is that this
Rosh Chodesh must last a full 24 hours somewhere in the
world. In other words, it is required that there be some
place on earth that will be experiencing nightfall at the
time of (or after) the Molad, the first appearance of the
moon in Eretz Yisrael, so that the newly declared Rosh
Chodesh will last a full 24 hours in at least that one place.
Therefore, the Baal HaMaor explains, if Rosh Chodesh is
declared in Yerushalayim anytime between nightfall and
noon (18 hours later), there will be places in the world
that will have a full 24 hours of the new Rosh Chodesh.
Even if it is noon in Eretz Yisrael at the time of the Molad, in which case only 6 hours remain of Rosh Chodesh
there, there is still some place on earth where it is just
nightfall, and where Rosh Chodesh will thus last a full 24
hours. If, however, the Molad appears in Eretz Yisrael
after noon, there will no longer be any place which will
not yet have experienced nightfall of that day; Rosh Chodesh thus cannot be that day because no location would
experience it for a full 24 hours. The Gemara here is thus
suggesting, according to this interpretation of the Baal
HaMaor, that noon in Yerushalayim is the latest time at
which there is still some location on earth which has not
yet begun the new day. Since noon is 18 hours after
nightfall, this means that there is a location far west of
Yerushalayim which is 18 hours behind it in terms of
time. Apparently, more than 18 hours west of Yerushalayim, it is already the next day, 6 hours ahead in terms
of time. It would thus seem that the Gemara has determined that the date line is 18 hours (270) west, or 6
hours (90) east of Eretz Yisrael.
Rav Chaim Zimmerman, in a lengthy work on
this subject (Sefer Agan Hasahar, Ch. 2 page 19), suggests that it may also be because the Baal HaMaor considers Eretz Yisrael (and Yerushalayim) to be the top of
the world, as mentioned above, that he holds that the
date line must be 90 east of Yerushalayim. He explains
that at the moment of creation, when the sun was placed
Page 2

Vo l. 20 I s su e # 11

in the sky, it was placed above Yerushalayim which, at

that first instant, was naturally on top of the world in
relationship to the sun, as every part of the globe eventually is. This means that the area 90 east (6 hours
ahead) of Yerushalayim was then experiencing nightfall
(sunset) and was already beginning the next day. That
location, then, must be the date line because that was
the first place on earth to go to the next day; this indeed
is where the Baal HaMaor places the date line, as shown
above.
This position about the date line is articulated as
well in the Sefer HaKuzari (2:20), and is clearly accepted by the Ran in Rosh Hashanah (s.v. tzarich), and,
apparently, by the Ritva there (s.v. ki). The Chazon Ish,
in an essay on this topic (Kuntris Yud Ches Shaos Siman
64, printed in the Sefer Chazon Ish on Orach ChaimMoed), asserts forcefully (Os 4, 13, 16, the Sikum, and
in the second letter at the end of the Kuntris) that this is
indeed the position of all the Rishonim who discuss this
matter. Although Rav Chaim Zimmerman, throughout
his Sefer cited above, discusses views which in fact appear to disagree with this position, he suggests (Ch. 12)
that the Rambam (Hilchos Kiddush Hachodesh) may be
added to the list of those who subscribe to it. Despite
the fact that the Chazon Ish writes elsewhere that the
issue is simple and that there is no room for debate,
there are nevertheless other recent authorities who disagree, as documented by Rav Shlomo Zevin in his aforementioned article (pages 287-288).
In particular, he cites (page 288) Rav Yechiel
Michel Tukatchinksy, author of the Gesher HaChaim,
who wrote a Sefer (Hayoman Bkadur Haaretz) on
this subject (to which the Chazon Ishs Kuntris Yud
Ches Shaos is a response, according to its introduction). He shows that in fact the new day begins 12 hours
to the east of Yerushalayim, and finally ends 12 hours to
its west; this means that the date line is 180 (in either
direction) from Eretz Yisrael. As Rav Zevin notes (page
287), one advantage of this position is that Eretz Yisrael
is actually in the center of the world according to this
calculation (with 180 to the date line on each side of it);
this works out nicely, therefore, with the statement of
the Gemara in Sanhedrin cited above that Eretz Yisrael is
the center of the world. As reported in the biography of
the Chazon Ish (Sefer Peer Hador/Chayei HaChazon
Ish, vol. 3 Ch. 24), at a meeting convened in 1941 by
the Chief Rabbinate in Eretz Yisrael to respond to the
questions of Jews who had fled Europe and were living


in the Orient, this position was officially accepted; Rav
Tzvi Pesach Frank (Shut Har Tzvi Orach Chaim vol. 1
Siman 138) ruled this way as well.
The Chazon Ish, however, continued to insist
that his position is correct, writing in another letter
(igeres 164) that he dislikes getting involved in this type of
situation, but feels that he cant keep silent about this
issue, especially since, in his view, all the Rishonim support the position that the date line is 90 east of Yerushalayim. In another letter (igeres 165), he de-scribes the
responsibility he feels to render a decision in consonance
with the view of the Rishonim. In terms of Eretz Yisrael
being the center of the world, the Chazon Ish (Kuntris
Yud Ches Shaos ibid os 2, and in the second letter, ibid,
towards the end) explains that we are to consider only
the upper hemisphere of the globe, because thats where
Eretz Yisrael is, and where human civilization began and
developed. If we place Eretz Yisrael at the top or center - of that originally inhabited hemisphere, the eastern
edge is 90east of it and the western edge is 90 to its
west. The eastern edge is where the new day begins; that
point, 90 or 6 hours- east of Eretz Yisrael, is the date
line.One practical problem with this position of the Chazon Ish is that his date line, 90 east of Yerushalayim,
cuts through land masses in eastern Russia, China, and
Australia, which means that within one country, or even
one city, Shabbos could be on two different days. He explains, however (os 5), that this would not happen because any land mass which has a significant portion to the
west of the date line, even if it physically is not. In other
words, the date line, according to him, bends, and follows the coastline of those land masses; all of eastern
Russia, China, and Australia are thus considered to be
east of Eretz Yisrael (ahead in time) and west of the date
line. It is noteworthy, though, that according to the Chazon Ish, Japan is undoubtedly to the east of the Halachic
date line, and thus is behind Eretz Yisrael in time, even
though it is west of the official International Date line;
the same is true of New Zealand, and Shabbos in those
locations must thus be observed on their Sunday, not
their Saturday. Since there are numerous Halachic questions which can come up when one crosses the date line,
such as about Shabbos and davening, a competent Halachic authority should be consulted.
Vo l. 20 I s su e # 11

Page 3

The Ascent: Physical or Spiritual?

Ezra Epstein (16)

After the dramatic revealing of his identity, Yosef
instructs his brothers to go up and tell their father to
come to Egypt. He says Hurry and ascend to my father.
Why didnt Yosef simply tell them to go, instead of ordering them to go up? Rashi answers that the land of Israel is the highest of all lands. However, this statement
requires further investigation. In what sense is Israel
high? The Maharsha and the Maharal each provide an
answer:
The Maharsha suggests that since Israel is the center of the spherical earth, it is therefore considered to be
the top of the earth, so going to Israel from anywhere
else is physically ascending. The Maharal disagrees, because he points out that this logic doesnt add up. Since
the earth is a sphere, any given point can be considered as
the earths center and the highest point. Therefore, he
holds that the ascent to Israel is a spiritual ascent.
The Chasam Sofer states in the Maharshas defense that Israel can be viewed as the center of the earth,
because the creation of the earth originated there at the
future location of the Bais Hamikdash. Other opinions
also support the Maharsha by noting that Israel is physically higher than all its surrounding lands. At the end of
the day, we can possibly conclude that travelling to
The Land of Israel is both physically and spiritually elevating.

Now that Chanukah is over, we have seen

physical elevation by the addition of one candle each
night, until we have eight burning candles. However,
this is not merely something physical; rather it symbolizes something spiritual, that being the elevation of our
spiritual growth. Fire represents the Torah. Any way
one holds a candle, the flame always points upward.
Chanukah represents our spirits elevating higher and
higher, getting closer and closer to G-d. We can hopefully learn from this message and continue improving
upon ourselves each and every day.
Confrontation

Yehuda Tager (15)

In this weeks parsha, Yosef reveals himself to his
brothers, and they become very ashamed of their previ-

Page 4

ous misdeeds. Seeing Yosef, they become speechless because they are bewildered and ashamed. At first glance,
this seems normal enough; the brothers had sold Yosef
into slavery and seeing him probably brought back bad
memories. Additionally, they were probably not expecting to see their lost brother on the throne. However, this
mindset does not seem entirely sensible. After all, Yosef
had dreamed that his brothers would bow to him and told
them so. So why were they so surprised when they found
him on the throne? Furthermore, in last weeks parsha,
the brothers confronted the sin of mechiras Yosef and
attributed their suffering to the way they treated their
brother so many years earlier. So what about confronting
Yosef left the brothers speechless?
To explain their reaction, we must assume that
their teshuva was not complete. Even though the brothers did not hide from their acts when they saw that they
were being punished for selling Yosef, they may not have
done a complete teshuva at that point. Therefore, when
they confront Yosef, they are dumbfounded. But what
was lacking in their teshuva?
The Midrash tells us that when the brothers went
down to Egypt to buy food, they spread out through the
country to search for Yosef before going to purchase provisions. They searched through many different areas of
the country, but it did not even occur to them to search
the palace. When they found out that Yosef was viceroy,
it was shocking news. It did not occur to anyone that
maybe Yosefs dreams were in fact coming to fruition.
They only checked among the lower classes, assuming
that must be where Yosef was. And that, Drash Dovid
explains, was what was lacking in their teshuva.
The original sin of the brothers was that they
were jealous of Yosef. That feeling had several consequences. The most notable one was mechiras Yosef, but
there were others as well. One of the other minor effects
of this envy was that the brothers were not willing to believe Yosefs dreams. They hated him for dreaming of
ruling over them, rather than believing that the dreams
were a nevua. If they were not envious of their brother,
they may have been more likely to accept his visions, but
since they harbored these feelings they denied the prophecy. Thus, full teshuva would have included accepting
Yosefs dreams as realistic, rather than dismissing them as
fantastical. The fact that the brothers were surprised to
see Yosef rise to the lofty station of viceroy of Egypt
showed that there was something lacking in their original
teshuva. Therefore, confronting Yosef left them speech-

Vo l. 20 I s su e # 11

less because they were still dealing with the sin of selling
him.
There is an important lesson to learn from Rabbi Michael
the teshuva of the brothers. Taubes
They tried as hard as they
Rosh Yeshiva
could to do teshuva on
their own, but there was Rabbi Baruch Pesach
still something missing. Mendelson
They were unable to do a
Rabbinic Advisor
thorough job of introspection, and therefore when Ezra Epstein
they actually confronted
their sin for real they real- Avi Rothwachs
ized that their teshuva was
Editors in Chief
missing something. One of
the hardest aspects of Yehuda Goldberg
growth is introspection. It Ben Tzion Zuckier
is easy to blame tribulations
Executive Editors
on sin in general, but the
only way to grow is to atAri Hagler
tack the root causes of our
troubles. If we take a long
Distribution Coordinator
hard look in the mirror
then we may be able to find
areas where we can improve. But if we do not search ourselves, then someone
else will show it to us. The midrash states: Woe unto us
for the day of judgment. If the brothers were left speechless by facing Yosef, what will it be like for us to face
Hashem? This powerful question is supposed to be the
driving force of everything we do in our lives. We know
what the right thing to do is, but knowing is only the first
step. We need to figure out how to do it, and do it better
today than we did yesterday.