Megillah 15a — the Talmud in English

And we object:

Granted, they themselves:

Jeremiah and Hanamel, Baruch and Seraiah,

are explicit

that they were prophets [as explained by Rashi].

But their fathers,

Neriah, Hasaiah, Hilkiah, and Shallum,

from where do we know

that they were prophets?

And we resolve:

In accordance with Ulla. For Ulla said: Wherever

that

his name is written

and

also

his father’s name in connection with prophecy—

it is known that he is a prophet, the son of a prophet.

And concerning Jeremiah and Hanamel, Baruch and Seraiah—the names of their fathers were also written; and from this we know that their fathers, too, were prophets.

And if

his name, but not

was written

his father’s name—

it is known that he is a prophet, but not the son of a prophet.

Wherever

his name and the name of his city are explicit—

it is known that he is from that city.

And if

his name but not the name of his city was written—

it is known that he is from Jerusalem.

In a metanita it was taught

as follows:

Anyone whose deeds and the deeds

of his fathers are concealed,

that they were not specified.

And Scripture specified one of them for praise, for example: “The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah”—it is known that he is a righteous man, the son of a righteous man.

And anyone concerning whom Scripture specified one of them for disgrace, for example: “And it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama came”—it is known that he is a wicked man, the son of a wicked man

who killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the righteous man.

Rav Naḥman said: Malachi—

this is Mordecai. And why was his name called Malachi?

Because

he was second to the king

[as it is written in the Scroll: “For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus.”

The meitivi: “Baruch son of Neriah, and Seraiah son of Maaseiah, and Daniel, and Mordecai, Bilshan,

and Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—all prophesied in the second year of Darius.”

We see that Mordecai and Malachi were two men!?

And we conclude:

Tiyuvta.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Joshua ben Korḥa said: Malachi—

this is Ezra.

And the Sages say: Malachi was his name.

Rav Naḥman said: It is reasonable in accordance with the one who says

that

Malachi is Ezra.

For it is written in Malachi’s prophecy: “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord, which He loved, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.”

And this means that he rebuked them for having married foreign women.

And who

is the one who

separated foreign women? Ezra! For it is written: “And Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra: We have acted treacherously against our God, and have settled foreign women.”

And Ezra separated them, as it is written there [Ezra 10:10]: “And Ezra the priest arose and said to them: You have acted treacherously, etc.; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women, etc.”

The Sages taught: There were four exceptionally beautiful women in the world,

and these are they:

Sarah, Rahab, Abigail, and Esther.

And according to the one who says

above [13a] that

Esther was greenish,

that she was not beautiful,

he removes Esther—

and brings in

the

Vashti

in her place.

The Sages taught: Rahab—

through mentioning her name, one experienced emission.

For one who mentions her name is drawn after the desire for sexual immorality.

Jael—

through

hearing

her voice.

Abigail—

through remembering her.

Michal daughter of Saul—

through seeing her.

Rabbi Isaac said: Anyone who says, “Rahab, Rahab”—

immediately experiences an emission

[he sees a seminal emission].

Rav Naḥman said to him: I say, “Rahab, Rahab,” and I do not care!

He said to him: When I say it—

when I know her and have seen her.

It is written:

“And Mordecai knew all that had been done

and he cried out with a great and bitter cry, etc.”

What did he say

in his cry?

Rav said,

Mordecai cried out as follows:

Haman has become greater than Ahasuerus.

For he had the courage to speak of something that had not entered Ahasuerus’s mind.

And Samuel said: The Upper King has prevailed over the lower king

[he referred to it in reverse, in refined language].

It is written:

“And the queen was convulsed,”

that is, the cavity of her body dissolved.

What is the meaning of “and the queen was convulsed”?

Rav said: She experienced menstrual impurity.

And Rabbi Jeremiah said: She needed to relieve herself.

“And Esther called Hatach.”

Rav said: Hatach—

this is Daniel.

And why was his name called Hatach? Because they cut him down from his greatness

in the days of Ahasuerus. For Belshazzar appointed him third in his kingdom, and so did Darius. But when Ahasuerus became king, they cut him down from his greatness.

And Samuel said: All royal matters were decided according to his word.

[For we expound “Hatach” as an expression of cutting, since the letter he is interchangeable with het. Maharsha.]

It is written at the end of that verse: “And he charged him concerning Mordecai

to know what this was and why this was.”

Rabbi Isaac said,

as follows

she sent to him: Perhaps Israel had transgressed the Five Books of the Torah, in which it is written: “Written on this side and on that side”?!

It is written:

“And they told Mordecai Esther’s words.”

It implies that others went to tell Mordecai,

whereas he

Hatach himself

did not go to him.

From here—

one does not respond concerning a calamity,

and therefore Hatach did not wish to return to Mordecai what Esther had said, that she could not come to the king.

“Go, assemble all the Jews, etc.”—

up to “which is not according to the law.” Rabbi Abba said: It was not according to the law of every single day.

For

until now

I was taken

under compulsion, but now—

willingly,

for I shall go to King Ahasuerus of my own will.

“And when I am lost, I am lost.” Just as I am lost from my father’s house—

so I shall be lost to you,

for an Israelite woman who was raped is permitted to her husband, but if she had intercourse willingly, she is forbidden to her husband.

What is the meaning of

“And Mordecai passed”?

Rav said: He passed the first day of Passover fasting ,

for on the thirteenth of Nisan, the letters were written to destroy, kill, and annihilate the Jews. And they fasted on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth and on the evening of the sixteenth, Haman was hanged.

And Shmuel said: He crossed a pool of water,

in order to gather the Jews who were on the other side.

It is written:

“And it came to pass on the third day, and Esther put on royalty.”

And we ask: Was it not “and Esther put on

royal garments

that it should have said

to say?

Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: This teaches that the Divine Spirit clothed her.

For

it is written here: “and she put on,” and it is written there [I Chronicles 12:19]:

«Рух надел Амасая,

“And a spirit clothed Amasai,

the chief of the officers, and said: ‘Yours are we, David, and with you, son of Jesse,’ and so on.”

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: One should never let

the blessing of an ordinary person

seem insignificant to you .

For two great men of the generation were blessed by two ordinary people

and the blessings were fulfilled upon them. And these are

those great men of the generation:

David and Daniel.

David—

Araunah blessed him. As it is written: “And Araunah said to the king, and so on, ‘May the Lord your God accept you.’”

And it was fulfilled for him, as it is written: “And David built there an altar to the Lord, and so on, and the Lord answered the land, and the plague was halted from upon Israel.”

Daniel—

Darius blessed him. As it is written

that Darius said to him when he had him thrown into the lions’ den:

“May your God, whom you serve continually, save you.”

And it was fulfilled for him, for he was saved.

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: One should never let the curse of an ordinary person seem insignificant to you. For Abimelech cursed Sarah: “Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes” [as it is said in Tractate Bava Kamma]: “He said to her: Since you concealed from me and did not reveal that he was your husband, and you caused me this distress, may it be Your will that you have children whose eyes are covered” ,

поскольку так говорим в трактате Бава кама [91а]: «Сказал он ей: поскольку ты скрыла это от меня и не открыла, что он твой муж, и причинила мне это страдание, да будет воля [Всевышнего], чтобы у тебя были сыновья с покрытыми глазами»] ,

and it was fulfilled in her descendants.

As it is written:

“And it came to pass, when Isaac grew old, that his eyes became dim.”

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: Come and see how unlike the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He,

is the attribute of flesh and blood.

For

the attribute of flesh and blood is that a person places a pot on the fire and only afterward puts water into it.

But the Holy One, blessed be He, puts in the water—

and only afterward places the pot on the fire, in fulfillment of what is stated: “At the sound of His giving a multitude of water in the heavens

and He causes clouds to rise,” meaning that He first gives the water, and afterward “He causes clouds to rise,” for the clouds are like a pot filled with water.

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: Anyone who reports a statement in the name of the person who said it—

brings redemption to the world .

As it is stated: “And Esther told the king

in the name of Mordecai,” ,

and through this, redemption came to Israel.

And Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: When a righteous person dies,

he is lost to his generation,

for the generation has lost the righteous person who protected them. But he himself is not lost through his death, since he lives for the life of the World to Come.

This can be compared to a person who lost a precious stone.

For

wherever it is,

it is still called a precious stone,

and it has not been lost in itself.

It was lost—

only to its owner.

“Yet all this is worth nothing to me.” Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: When Haman saw

Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate, he said: “Yet all this is worth nothing to me.”

And this is

in accordance with the statement of Rav Ḥisda.