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The Sixtieth Year: Complete Years?

Based on the Gemorah in Moed Katan Daf 28, which states that the years for the kareis punishment to be effected are 50-60:

Do the years end at 60 or at 59 — the beginning of the sixtieth year?

Answer:

The simple meaning of the Gemara is that the “kareis period” ends at 60 — not at 59.

This would be parallel to many statements of Chazal concerning years, such as “ben shloshim le-koach.” This means that somebody who is 30 years old enters his “years of strength,” and not to somebody who is 29. Likewise, the age of bar mitzvah is 13, and not 12.

Having said this, there are instances where some have interpreted ages to mean the beginning of the year of age, such as the Rambam (Ishus 15:2) who writes that the age of marriage is 17, interpreting the Mishnah’s 18 as the beginning of the eighteenth year. It is possible that according to the Rambam, only where Chazal mention “and one day” do we require complete years.

A similar method of interpretations is employed by the Taz (Orach Chaim 640); see also Tur (Orach Chaim 414).

However, these remain exceptions to the rule, and the standard interpretation is to see years as meaning complete years.

 

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