Megillah 14a (יד.) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Abba said:

To what may the parable of Ahasuerus and Haman be compared?

It is comparable -

to two people. One -

had a mound in his field, and the other -

had a ditch in his field. The owner of the ditch said: Who will give me this mound for money

so that I can fill the ditch with it!

The owner of the mound said: Who will give me this ditch for money

so that I can place the earth of the mound in it!

After some time, they happened to meet each other. The owner of the ditch said to the owner of the mound: Sell me your mound!

He said to him,

the owner of the mound:

Take it for free—and would that it were so!

Here too, Ahasuerus also intended to destroy them , and therefore agreed with Haman’s plan even without receiving payment .

“And the king removed his ring.” Rabbi Abba bar

Kahana said: The removal of the ring ,

is greater than the forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses who prophesied for Israel.

For all of them -

all those prophets -

did not bring them back to proper conduct, whereas the removal of the ring -

brought them back to proper conduct,

for they declared a fast for the community in order to repent, as it is written: “A fast and weeping and mourning, sackcloth and ashes were spread for the multitudes.”

The Sages taught: Forty-eight prophets and seven

prophetesses prophesied for Israel. And they neither diminished nor added to what is written in the Torah, except for the reading of the Megilla .

What exposition

did they derive for enacting this enactment?

Rabbi Hiyya bar Avin said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha said:

This is the exposition they derived:

If, upon going from slavery to freedom -

namely, at the Exodus from Egypt -

we recite song,

for they sang at the sea ,

then going from death to life

as here -

is it not all the more so!?

And we challenge this:

If so, we should also recite Hallel

which is song -

on Purim,

should we not!?

And we answer:

Because one does not recite Hallel for a miracle that occurred outside Eretz Yisrael .

And we ask: If so,

the Exodus from Egypt, which was a miracle outside Eretz Yisrael

was,

how do we recite song

for it?

And we answer:

As it was taught in a beraita: Before Israel entered the Land,

all lands were fit for the recitation of song,

and therefore they recited song for the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt. But

once Israel entered the Land,

all lands were no longer fit for the recitation of song.

Rav Naḥman said: The reading

of the Megilla -

this is the Hallel ,

for through the reading of the Megilla everyone praises and extols the Holy One, blessed be He .

Rava said: Granted, there

in the Exodus from Egypt, we recite

“Praise, servants of the Lord” -

and not servants of Pharaoh,

for they went out to freedom and were no longer servants of Pharaoh.

But here,

how can we say

“Praise, servants of the Lord” -

and not servants of Ahasuerus?

For

we are still servants of Ahasuerus ,

since they were redeemed only from death, but remained his servants!

According to both Rava,

who says that the reason is that we are still servants of Ahasuerus, and

Rav Naḥman,

who says that its reading is the Hallel,

there is a difficulty,

for it implies that if not for these reasons, we would recite Hallel on Purim.

But it was taught in a beraita: Once Israel entered the Land, all lands were no longer fit for the recitation of song; and if so,

how could we recite Hallel?

And we answer:

Once they were exiled,

they returned to their original fitness,

to recite Hallel for a miracle that occurred outside Eretz Yisrael.

And we ask:

Are there no more

prophets?

But it is written: “And there was one man from Ramathaim-Zophim,”

and we derive:

one of two hundred

Zophim who prophesied for Israel?!

And we answer: In truth,

there were -

very many

prophets.

As it was taught in a beraita: Many prophets stood for Israel, twice as many as those who went out of Egypt. However, a prophecy that was needed for future generations -

was written, whereas one that was not needed

for future generations -

was not written.

The prophecies of these forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses were written .

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said,

this is how we expound the verse “from Ramathaim-Zophim”:

A man who came from two heights that faced one another.

Rabbi Ḥanin said,

this is how we expound this verse:

A man who came from people who stood at the height of the world. And who are they? -

The sons of Korah. For it is written: “And the sons of Korah did not die.”

And

it was taught in the name of our Master: A place was fortified

[a term denoting height, as in “fortified up to the heavens”]

for them in Gehinnom, -

and they stood upon it .

The seven prophetesses -

who were they?

Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.

Sarah

How do we know that she was a prophetess?

For it is written: “The father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.” And Rabbi Yitzhak said: Iscah -

this is Sarah. And why was she called Iscah? Because she saw through the Divine Spirit! As it is stated

that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham:

“Whatever Sarah says to you -

heed her voice .”

Alternatively: “Iscah” -

because everyone gazed upon her beauty .

Miriam -

for it is written: “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron,

took the timbrel in her hand, and so forth.” But one may ask: Was she only

the sister of Aaron and not the sister of Moses?

Rather,

Rav Naḥman said that Rav said: She prophesied when she was only

only

the sister of Aaron,

and Moses had not yet been born,

and she said: My mother is destined to give birth to a son who will save Israel.

And when he was born

Moses -

the entire house became filled with light.

Her father arose and kissed her on the head. He said to her: My daughter! Your prophecy has been fulfilled.

But once they cast him into the Nile, -

her father arose

and struck her on the head, saying to her: My daughter! Where is your prophecy?!

This is what is written: “And his sister stood from afar, to know” -

to know what would become of the end of her prophecy .

Deborah -

for it is written: “And Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth.”

What is the meaning of “the wife of Lappidoth”

? She made wicks for the Sanctuary [the Tabernacle at Shiloh].

[the Tabernacle at Shiloh].

It is written concerning Deborah:

“And she sat beneath the palm tree.” What is different

in that she sat specifically

beneath a palm tree?

Rabbi Shimon ben Avshalom said: Because

she did not want to come into a situation of

seclusion,

for a palm tree is tall and has no shade; therefore, there was no concern of seclusion there as there would be in a house .

Alternatively: Just as a date palm -

has only one heart,

for it has sap only in its trunk, and not in its branches as in other trees,

so too, the Israelites of that generation -

had only one heart directed toward their Father in Heaven.

Hannah -

How do we know that she was a prophetess?

As it is written: “And Hannah prayed and said: My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is raised through the Lord.”

And we derive that this is what she prophesied:

“My horn is raised” -

but not my flask. David and Solomon, who were anointed

for kingship

with

oil that was in a

horn,

which is a durable object -

their kingship endured.

But

Saul and Jehu, who were anointed with a flask,

which is liable to break -

their kingship did not endure.

It is written in Hannah’s song:

“There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You.”

Rav Yehuda bar Menashya said: Do not read “there is none besides You” -

but rather, “there is none who can wear You out.” Unlike the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He -

the attribute of flesh and blood. The attribute of flesh and blood -

is that his handiwork wears him out,

for his handiwork endures even after his death.

But the Holy One, blessed be He -

wears out His handiwork.

And it is written afterward in the verse:

“And there is no rock like our God.”

And we derive:

There is no artist like our God.

For

a person forms an image on a wall, but cannot instill in it spirit and soul, organs and intestines. But the Holy One, blessed be He -

forms an image

of an embryo

within an image

of its mother,

and instills in it spirit and soul, organs and intestines.

Abigail -

How do we know?

As it is written: “And she was riding on the donkey and descending in the concealment of the mountain.”

And it is difficult: What is the meaning of that which is written, “and descending

in the concealment of the mountain”?

Surely, “and descending

from the mountain” is what it should have said

!?

Rabba bar Shmuel said:

She came to ask

about the matter of blood that comes from hidden places.

For she

took blood and

showed it to him.

He said to her:

David,

Do they show blood at night

[for this incident took place at night, as it is written there that David said: “If I leave any of Nabal’s men until the light of morning, anyone who urinates against the wall,”]

when one must determine whether it is one of the five types of impure blood or not?!

She said to him: Do they judge capital cases at night?

Is it not written: “Judge the case in the morning,” and it is also written: “And impale them for the Lord before the sun,” indicating that capital cases must be judged specifically during the day?