Megillah 16b — the Talmud in English

And we object:

Is it possible that something over which that righteous man suffered

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would cause him to stumble in it

himself?

And what is that over which that righteous man suffered?

For Rava bar Meḥasya said in the name of Rav Ḥama bar

Guria, who said in the name of Rav: Because of the weight of two sela of fine wool ,

which Jacob added to Joseph beyond his other brothers,

for he made him a striped tunic,

the matter unfolded —

and our forefathers descended to Egypt!

Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said: He hinted a hint to him

Joseph to Benjamin,

that a son would in the future issue from him, who would emerge from before the king in five royal garments .

As it is said: “And Mordecai went out in royal clothing of blue wool, and so forth.” [

Mordecai was of the seed of Benjamin, as it is written concerning him: “A Benjaminite”].

It is written there:

“And he fell upon the necks of Benjamin his brother.”

And we object:

How many necks did Benjamin have?!

Rabbi Elazar said: He wept over two Sanctuaries ,

which were destined to be in Benjamin’s portion —

and were destined to be destroyed.

“And Benjamin wept upon his necks” —

he wept over the Tabernacle of Shiloh, which was destined to be in Joseph’s portion —

and was destined to be destroyed .

It is written there:

“And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother

Benjamin.” Rabbi Elazar said:

thus

he said to them

Joseph:

Just as there is nothing in my heart against my brother Benjamin, who

for

was not involved in my sale, so there is nothing in my heart against you.

“For it is my mouth that speaks to you.” As my mouth —

so is my heart [

for I do not speak one thing with the mouth and another thing in the heart].

“And to his father he sent the following: ten donkeys carrying from the best of Egypt.”

What

is

“from the best of Egypt”?

Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: He sent him old wine ,

which is pleasing to the minds of the elderly .

“And his brothers also went and fell before him.” Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This is

what people say: A fox [

a fox],

in its hour,

at the time when its fortune prospers —

prostrates itself [

bowed down]

before him.

And we object: Why does he call Joseph, in relation to his brothers,

“a fox”?

For

what is Joseph’s inferiority

of Joseph

compared with his brothers [

his brothers]?

Rather, if it was stated —

this is how it was stated:

It is written:

“And Israel bowed upon the head of the bed.” Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: A fox, in its hour —

prostrates itself before him.

And here he properly calls Joseph, in relation to Israel, “a fox,” and for this reason Israel bowed to Joseph .

“And he comforted them and spoke to their heart.” Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This teaches that he said to them words that are accepted by the heart .

And so he said to them:

And if ten candles —

could not extinguish one candle,

how could one candle extinguish ten candles?

It is written in the Scroll:

“For the Jews there was light and joy and gladness and honor.”

Rav Yehuda said: “Light” —

this is Torah .

And likewise

it says: “For a commandment is a lamp, and Torah is light.”

“Joy” —

this is a Festival .

And likewise it says: “And you shall rejoice in your Festival.”

“Gladness” —

this is circumcision .

And likewise it says: “I rejoice over Your word

as one who finds abundant spoil,” and this means circumcision, which was given by a statement and not by speech.

As it is said: “And the Lord said to Abraham: And you shall keep My covenant, and so forth” .

“And honor” —

these are tefillin .

And likewise it says: “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall fear you”; and it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: These are the tefillin of the head,

visible to every eye.

And concerning all these commandments Haman decreed that they should not engage in them [ and he decreed concerning these because they are the testimony of Israel. Maharsha], and now they returned to performing them publicly.

It is written:

“And Parshandatha, and so forth, the ten sons of Haman.”

Rav Adda of Jaffa said: The ten sons of Haman and the

word

“ten”

written after them —

must be recited in one breath .

What is the reason?

Because

all of them —

their souls departed together .

Rabbi Yohanan said: The vav of Veizata must be stretched upright

a fork

like a rudder for a ship

“Livrot” is the name of a river. And mordeya is a piece of wood with which the ship’s captain steers the ship, to distance it from the stones and obstacles. Rashi, Bava Metzia 87a].

And concerning this “must be stretched upright,” there are several interpretations among the early authorities:

The Ran explains: that is, one must lengthen its reading and not snatch it

. And in the Tosafot of the Rosh he interpreted: that is, one must raise one’s voice.

The Ran further brought that some say that one must make it larger than the other letters.

And the Ritva interpreted that one must raise its bent head upward

. What is the reason?

Because

they all stood upright with one uprightness.

They were all hanged on one tree

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: Rabbi Sheila of Kefar Tamarata expounded: All the songs—

,

one below the other. Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said: Rabbi Sheila of Kefar Tamarata expounded: All the songs are written

thus:

a ariah,

which is the writing

on top of a leivena

which is the blank space [and a leivena is twice the size of an ariah],

and a leivena

on top of an ariah.

Except for this song,

namely, the ten sons of Haman,

and

the names of

the kings of Canaan

who fell into Joshua’s hands,

in which

it is written

an ariah on top of an ariah, and a leivena

on top of a leivena

.

What is the reason?

so that there should be no standing for their downfall

of the enemies of Israel . So that they should have no place to extend their steps beneath it .

It is written:

“And the king said to Esther the queen in Shushan

the citadel: The Jews have killed

and so on.”

Rabbi Abbahu said: This teaches that an angel came and slapped him on the mouth.

For he began speaking in a language of anger , and in the end he said: “What is your request still? And it shall be done.”

“And when she came before the king, he said, with the book,

the evil thought of his shall return upon his head, and so on, upon his head, and they hanged him and his sons upon the tree”

. And we object:

“He said”?

But

“she said” should have been said

to say?! For apparently this is the meaning of the verse: when she came before the king, she said to him that, besides the book which he had commanded to send to all the provinces, his evil thought, and so on, should return [Tosafot].

Rabbi Yohanan said: She said to him: Let him say aloud—

what is written in the book

.

“Words of peace and truth.” Rabbi Tanhum said, and some say Rabbi Asi said: This teaches that a

Megilla

requires ruled lines, like the truth of the Torah,

that is, like the Torah scroll itself

. “And Esther’s statement was confirmed.” Esther’s statement, yes,

but

“the words of the fasts

and their cry,” which is written immediately before it—

not

confirmed?

Rabbi Yohanan said:

This “confirmed” also refers to the verse immediately before it, and thus the verse says:

“The words of the fasts and Esther’s statement”—

confirmed the words of these Purims.

“For Mordecai the Jew was viceroy of King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and pleasing to most of his brethren.”

Pleasing

to most of his brethren—

but not to all of his brethren

.

This teaches that some of the Sanhedrin separated from him

,

because he ceased from the words of Torah

and entered into authority.

Rav Yosef said: Great is Torah study—

more than saving

lives

for initially it counted Mordecai after four

people,

but ultimately—

after five.

For

initially,

in the days of Cyrus, when Zerubbabel went up from the exile and Mordecai with him,

it is written: “Those who came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan”—

we see that the verse counted Mordecai after four.

And ultimately it is written: “Those who came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan”—

the verse made him important after five.

Rav said, and some say Rav Shmuel bar Marta: Great is Torah study—

more than the building of the Temple.

For it is puzzling: why did Ezra not go up with Zerubbabel in the days of Cyrus, but only in the seventh year of the last Darius, after the Temple had been built? Rather,

because

Ezra was studying Torah from Baruch ben Neriah, and

as long as Baruch ben Neriah was alive

in Babylonia,

Ezra did not leave him and go up.

Rabbah said in the name of Rav Yitzhak bar Shmuel bar Marta: Great is Torah study—

more than honoring father and mother

.

From where do we know it?

For

concerning

all those

fourteen

years that Jacob our forefather was in the house of Eber

,

and studied Torah there,

he was not punished

for not honoring his father during those years. But for the other years that Jacob remained in the house of Laban and on the road, he was punished

. And from where do we know this?