Megillah 17b — the Talmud in English

The verse says: ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact folio location")

“And they shall be.”

And we expound:

They shall be as they are,

as they are written in Scripture. That is, in the holy tongue.

And the Rabbis—what is their reason?

The verse says: “Hear” -

in every language that you hear.

And we ask:

But Rabbi also has, behold, “Hear” written,

which implies in every language?

And we answer:

That

verse

is needed for him

to derive from it:

make your ear hear

what

you bring forth from your mouth.

That is, he should not read silently.

And the Rabbis,

who derive from “Hear” that he may read it in any language, do not need this verse to derive the teaching “make your ear hear,” because they disagree with Rabbi, and

hold like the one who says: One who reads the Shema but does not make it heard to his ear -

has fulfilled it.

And we ask:

But the Rabbis also have “And they shall be” written,

which implies: they shall be as they are?

And we answer:

That is needed

to say

that he should not read it retroactively.

And Rabbi—“that he should not read it retroactively” -

from where does he derive it?

But he derives from the verse “And they shall be” that it must be read specifically in the holy tongue!?

And we explain: He derives it

from

the fact that the verse needed to write

“words,”

but it wrote

“the words”;

from this extra “the” he derives that he should not read it retroactively.

And the Rabbis,

what do they derive from this extra “the”?

And we say: They do not understand

“words” -

“the words” as implying

a derivation.

It has been clarified for us that from these verses—from “And they shall be” or from the extra “the”—the tanna above derives that one should not read the recitation of the Shema retroactively.

And we consider this:

Shall we say that Rabbi holds

that

the entire Torah -

was stated in every language

to be read in the public Torah reading ,

for if it enters your mind

that it was stated specifically

in the holy tongue, why do I need “And they shall be” written

concerning the recitation of the Shema? In any event we need to read in the holy tongue, like everyone who reads the Torah! It must be that the entire Torah is read in every language, and only for the recitation of the Shema do we require specifically the holy tongue! And we reject this: In truth, it can be said that he holds that the entire Torah was stated in the holy tongue. Nevertheless,

it was necessary

to write “And they shall be” concerning the recitation of the Shema, because

it might enter your mind

to derive from

“Hear,”

that it is read in every language that you hear, despite the fact that the entire Torah is read specifically in the holy tongue, and

like the Rabbis

who expound it in this manner; therefore

the Torah wrote “And they shall be,”

to say that even the recitation of the Shema is read specifically in the holy tongue.

Shall we say that the Rabbis hold

that

the entire Torah

in its entirety -

in the holy tongue

specifically

was stated

to be read,

for if it enters your mind

that

it was stated in every language, why do I need to write

in the recitation of the Shema

“Hear,”

which implies: in every language? In any event, we read in every language! Rather, it must be that the entire Torah is read specifically in the holy tongue, and therefore it is necessary to derive from “Hear” that the recitation of the Shema is read in other languages as well!

And we reject this: Even if we say that the Rabbis hold that it was stated in every language, nevertheless

it was necessary

to write “Hear.” For

it might enter your mind

that we should expound

“And they shall be” like Rabbi,

that they shall be specifically as they are, therefore

the Torah wrote “Hear,”

to say that one reads it in every language.

Prayer -

from where do we know

that it is not recited retroactively?

For it was taught in a beraita: Shimon HaPakuli

[some say that he was called this because he earned his livelihood from cotton, which is called pakula. Rashi]

arranged the eighteen blessings

in the prayer

before Rabban Gamliel in order ,

that is, according to the order of the verses, as follows. And this event took place

in Yavneh.

Therefore it is necessary to recite them specifically in order, and not retroactively, for they are arranged according to the order of the verses.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said, and some say,

that

in a baraita it was taught: One hundred and twenty elders

of the men of the Great Assembly,

and among them several prophets, instituted the eighteen blessings -

in order .

The Sages taught: From where do we say

the blessing of

the Patriarchs

in the prayer?

As it is stated: “Give to the Lord, sons of gods.”

That is to say, mention before the Lord the mighty ones of the land, who are the Patriarchs.

And from where do we say

a blessing whose subject is

the might

of the Lord [“You are mighty, etc.]]'”]?

As it is stated

in the continuation of that verse:

“Give to the Lord the honor and might.”

And from where do we say

a blessing whose subject is

the sanctities

of the Lord [“You are holy, etc.]]'”]?

As it is stated

at the end of the preceding chapter:

“Give to the Lord the honor of His name; bow down to the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

And what

reason did they

see fit to say

the blessing of

understanding [“You graciously grant knowledge to man, etc.]]'”]—

[“You graciously grant knowledge to man, etc.”]

after holiness?

As it is stated: “And they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they shall revere the God of Israel,” and adjacent to it is: “And those who err in spirit shall know understanding.”

And what did they see fit to say the blessing of repentance [“Return us, our Father, etc.]]'”]

[“Bring us back, our Father, etc.”]

after

the blessing of

understanding?

As it is written: “And his heart shall understand, and he shall repent and be healed.”

That is to say, through his heart understanding, he will return from his wickedness, and he will be healed [the healing of the soul]. We see that repentance is written after understanding.

And we raise a difficulty:

If so,

if the reason is because repentance is written after understanding,

let us say healing

after repentance,

as it is written in the verse: “and he shall repent,” and after that—“and he shall be healed”! And why do we say forgiveness after repentance?

And we answer:

It does not enter your mind

to say this, to say healing after repentance.

For it is written: “And he shall return to the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly forgive.”

Therefore we say forgiveness after repentance.

And we challenge this:

And what have you seen that you rely upon this

verse, “And he shall return to the Lord”—to place forgiveness after repentance;

rely upon this

first verse, “and he shall repent and be healed”—to place healing after repentance?

And we answer:

Another verse is written: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your illnesses, Who redeems your life from the pit,”

therefore we say healing after forgiveness.

And it is implied from this verse that healing and redemption are after forgiveness.

And we raise a difficulty:

Does this mean that redemption and healing

both are

after forgiveness? But it is written: “

And his heart shall understand

and he shall repent and be healed,”

we see that healing is after understanding?!

And we explain:

That “

and he shall repent and be healed”—

is not healing from illnesses, but healing through forgiveness,

that is to say, he is forgiven from Heaven, and his soul is healed of its sins. But the blessing “Heal us” is healing of the body; therefore they arranged it after forgiveness, in the order written in the verse: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your illnesses, etc.]]'”.

And what

reason did they

see fit to say redemption [“

Redeemer of Israel”]

in

the blessing

seventh,

after forgiveness, and did we not say the blessing of healing after forgiveness, as it is written: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your illnesses”]?

Rava said: Since they are destined to be redeemed in the seventh,

for the Sabbatical cycle in which the son of David comes differs from the other years, for the first year is famine and not famine, etc., as we say in chapter Ḥelek [Sanhedrin 97a], and in the seventh year of the Sabbatical cycle there are wars, and at the conclusion of the seventh the son of David comes,

therefore they established it

for redemption

in

the blessing

seventh.

And we challenge this:

But the Master said: In

the year

sixth—

voices,

that is to say, a voice will go out that the Messiah, son of David, is coming .

In the seventh—

wars; at the conclusion of the seventh—

the son of David comes,

so, redemption exists only at the conclusion of the seventh!?

And we answer:

War also—

is the beginning of redemption.

For it is redemption from the troubles that always come upon us.

And what did they see fit to say healing in

the blessing

eighth?

But it would have been fitting for redemption to be said in the eighth, and not in the seventh! For its beginning is only in the seventh, since the son of David comes only at the conclusion of the seventh; and if so, it should have been established for redemption in the eighth, for the principal redemption is in the eighth year! And they should have established the blessing of healing in the seventh, after forgiveness, as the verse states: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals, etc.]]'”!?

Rabbi Aḥa said:

this is the reason:

since circumcision was given on the eighth

[on the eighth day],

which requires

it

healing, therefore they established it

for healing

in

the blessing

eighth.

And what did they see fit to say the blessing of the years in

the blessing

ninth?

Rabbi Alexandri said:

this blessing

was said corresponding to those who drive up prices

and it was

written: “Break the arm of the wicked.”

And this verse speaks of those who drive up prices, for it is written in that section: “He lies in wait in secret, like a lion in his den; he lies in wait to seize the poor.” But does a robber lie in wait for a poor person?

Rather, the verse speaks of those who drive up prices, for most of their intention is toward the poor. And David seeks mercy and says: “Break the arm of the wicked,” through Your giving abundance in the world.

And when David said it—

in

the section

ninth he said it.

And what did they see fit to say the ingathering of the exiles after the blessing of the years?

As it is written: “And you, mountains of Israel, shall give forth your branches

and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for they are near to come.”

We see that the ingathering of the exiles is at the time of the blessing of the years, and therefore we say it after the blessing of the years.

And once the exiles have been gathered—

judgment is done to the wicked, as it is stated: “And I will turn My hand against you and purge away your dross as with lye,” and it is written

that through this:

“And I will restore your judges as at first,”

and afterward: “Zion shall be redeemed through justice and those who return to her through righteousness”; therefore we say “Restore our judges” after the ingathering of the exiles.

And once judgment has been done to the wicked—

the sinners are finished

[the heretics],

and the intentional sinners

[those who act intentionally]

are included with them. As it is stated: “And He shall break the sinners and the sinful together.”

Therefore we say this blessing after the judgment of the wicked in the blessing “Restore our judges.”

And once the sinners are finished—

automatically

the horn of the righteous is exalted. For it is written: “All the horns of the wicked I shall cut off—

the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”

And He includes the righteous converts

in the blessing

with the righteous, as it is stated: “Before the aged you shall rise and show deference to the old,” and adjacent to it is: “And when a convert dwells with you.”

Therefore we say here the blessing “Upon the righteous.”

And where is their horn exalted

of the righteous?

In Jerusalem. As it is stated: “Ask for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you prosper.”

Therefore we say here the blessing “And to Jerusalem, Your city.”

And once Jerusalem is rebuilt—

David comes. As it is stated: