Physical Description:

Only edition, quarto, 161 pp., 225:155 mm., light age staining, wide margind. A very good copy bound in original title wrappers.

Inscribed by Author on title.

Detailed Description:   

Monograph on the time period called bein ha-shemashot, that is, twilight. This is an essential concept in halakhah, as it determines the beginning and conclusions of times, effecting prayers, Sabbath and festival observance, deeds, and many other activities. The monograph begins by quoting the Talmud in Shabbat (34b) concerning the setting of the sun. Aizehu Bein ha-Shemashot reviews the pertinent sources and ramifications of the various positions. Folded in is a page of errata.

Bein ha-shemashot is the transition period between day and night, called in the Bible bein ha-arbayim (Exodus 12:6), and in rabbinic literature bein ha-shemashot ( Berakhot 2b; Avot 5:9). Whether twilight forms part of day or the night is a moot question in the Talmud (Shab. 34b). Its exact duration was also a matter of dispute. According to R. Yose, the transition from day to night is instantaneous, whereas R. Nehemiah said twilight lasted for nine minutes after sunset (i.e., the length of a walk of half a mile= 1000 ells, approx. 560 meters). The amora Samuel said it lasts for 13 1/2 minutes and according to another opinion 12 minutes (Shab. 34b). The codifiers established the duration of twilight at 18 minutes, i.e., when the sun is about 3 1/2 degrees below the horizon (Tur, OH 293). Actual night begins only with the appearance of three stars in the sky (called: zet ha-kokhavim, Ber. 2b; see also Neh. 4:15). This traditional calculation of the duration of twilight deviates only slightly from the exact astronomical twilight. Twilight on Friday is reckoned as Sabbath eve and consequently no work may be performed then. The Sabbath candles must be lit before twilight (Shab. 2:7). The twilight at the end of the Sabbath is calculated as still belonging to he Sabbath day which concludes with the appearance of three stars in the sky. This rule applies also to the beginning and conclusion of the holidays. Before the beginning of the Day of Atonement, twilight is reckoned from approximately one hour before the stars would become visible. All religious ceremonies which ought to be performed only at night, e.g., the recital of the evening service, the kindling of Hanukkah lights, the reading of the Megillah, should be observed only after twilight; but if they are performed during twilight they are valid and do not have to be repeated.

R. Jehiel Michel Tykocinski (1872–1955), rabbi and author. R. Tykocinski was born in Lyakhovichi, Belorussia. Orphaned of his father while still young, he was taken to Erez Israel in 1882. He studied under R. Samuel Salant , whose granddaughter he married in 1890. In 1900 he began to take part in the administration of Ez Hayyim in Jerusalem, at first as head of the junior department and then as chief administrator. He contributed greatly to the development of the institution – both when it was in the Old City of Jerusalem, and later when it moved outside. He was also active in the foundation of new suburbs in Jerusalem, and favored the unification of all sections of the Jewish population, new and old.

R. Tykocinski specialized in the laws and customs pertaining to Erez Israel, and from 1904 onward published an annual Lu'ah ("calendar") detailing liturgical and other customs for the whole year. This calendar was accepted as the authoritative guide for the liturgical and synagogal customs of the Ashkenazim in Israel; it continued to appear under the editorship of his son even after his death.

R. Tykocinski devoted himself especially to halakhic problems connected with astronomy, in which field he published Tekufat ha-Ḥamah u-Virkatah (1924); Bein ha-Shemashot (1929); and Sefer ha-Yomam (1943), on the international date line. His other works are Tohorat Yisrael (1906); Ha-Ishah al pi Hukkat Yisrael (1920); Hilkhot Shevi'it (1910) and Sefer ha-Shemittah on the laws of the Sabbatical Year; Gesher ha-hayyim (1947, 19602) on the laws of mourning; and Sefer EreZ Yisrael (1955) on the laws and customs appertaining to Erez Israel. He also published many articles in various journals and left behind in manuscript novellae on the Talmud and responsa.

Hebrew Description:   

מבאר את עניני הנשף, מהותו ועניניו, ספקותיו ושטותיו. ברורי ההלכות המסתעפות והקשורות בבין השמשות ... ודיני היום והמע"לע והשעות הזמניות. ומצורף לו גם כל הטבלאות של השעות הזמניות - הדרושות לירושלם וארץ-ישראל, מאת יחיאל מיכל טוקצינסקי

עמ' קנא-קסא: השקפה והערות, מאת ... רבי איסר זלמן מלצר.

Reference:   

Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1470-1960 #000134328; EJ; S. Zevin, Ishim ve-Shitot (1963), 337–60; D. Katz, Tenu'at ha-Musar, 3 (1957), 37–42; A. Rothkoff, in: Jewish Life (March 1971), 51–57; EJ; J.M. Tykocinski, Gesher ha-Ḥayyim, 1 (19602), introd. by Nissan A. Tykocinski.