Megillah 23b — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

since it is on account of the honor of the Torah

which ascends, to read

opposite it

in the Prophets—

also is not required.

Rava objected to this: But

the haftara of

“Add your burnt offerings”

[which is the haftara of Parashat Tzav],

which does not contain twenty-one

verses—

and we read it!?

And we answer:

That case is different—

for the matter concludes

[the matter ends] before twenty-one verses, and therefore we do not read further.

And we ask:

But where the matter does not conclude—

do we not

read fewer than twenty-one verses?

But did Rav Shmuel bar Abba not say: Many times I would stand before Rabbi Yohanan, and when we would read ten verses

in the haftara—

Rabbi Yohanan said to us:

“

Stop!”

And we answer:

A place where there is a translator—

is different,

because there is hardship for the congregation if they read many verses .

For Rav Tahlifa bar Shmuel taught: They said

that one does not read fewer than twenty-one verses

only in a place where there is no translator. But a place where there is a translator—

he stops

where the matter concludes, even if it does not contain twenty-one verses .

Mishna:

One does not divide the Shema,

that is, if a quorum of men came to the synagogue after the congregation had recited the Shema, one stands and says Kaddish, Barekhu , and the first blessing of the recitation of the Shema [“divide” is in the sense of a piece, that is, half of the matter] ,

Nor does one pass before the ark

[as the prayer leader] ,

Nor do

the priests

lift their hands ,

Nor does one read from the Torah

in public,

nor does one read the haftara from the Prophets,

nor do they perform the standing and sitting

for the dead: when they carried the dead person to bury him, they would sit to mourn for him—and stand, and they would do so seven times; and whoever wished to deliver a eulogy would deliver it,

nor do they recite the mourners’ blessing,

that is, the blessing of the wide square [and in the Gemara it will be explained what it is],

and

likewise they do not perform

the consolation of mourners,

that is, when they returned from the grave, they would stand and console the mourner,

and

likewise they do not recite

the wedding blessing,

that is, the seven blessings,

nor do they recite the zimun

for the blessing after the meal

with the Name,

that is, to say: “Let us bless our God,”

all these matters—they do not perform them with

fewer than ten

men.

And in

the redemption of

land

belonging to sacred property — ten are required,

nine

of them Israelites—

and

one

priest.

And a person,

if he comes to redeem himself from sacred property—his law is

like theirs,

like land [and in the Gemara it explains how a person becomes sacred property].

Gemara:

From where are these matters

that ten are required?

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: For the verse says: “And I shall be sanctified among the Children of Israel.”

And we derive:

every matter of sanctity—

shall not be

performed with

fewer than ten .

What does it indicate,

how is this matter indicated by this verse?

For Rabbi Hiyya taught: It is derived

by a gzera shava of

“within” \-

“within.”

For

it is written here: “And I shall be sanctified within the Children of Israel,” and it is written there,

in the incident of Korah:

“Separate yourselves from within this assembly.”

And

the incident of Korah is derived by a gzera shava:

“assembly”—

“assembly”

from the spies.

For it is written there,

regarding the spies:

“How long shall I bear with this evil assembly?”

Just as there,

regarding the spies—

ten

there were, for there were twelve spies, and Joshua and Caleb were excluded from the category of “evil assembly,” since they were not of that counsel,

so too here,

in the incident of Korah—

ten.

And now we derive from Korah, by the gzera shava of “within”—“within,” with regard to a matter of sanctity, about which it is written: “And I shall be sanctified within the Children of Israel,” that ten are required for it.

We learned in our Mishna:

And they do not perform the standing and sitting

with

fewer than ten.

What is the reason?

Since it is required

for the appointed person

to say

to those consolers:

“Stand, honored ones, stand; sit, honored ones, sit,”

[that is, after they had sat a little, the appointed person would say to them: Stand and go to another place. Rashbam in Bava Batra 100b], with

fewer than ten—

it is not proper conduct

to burden an agent with this, to call them “honored ones.” For if so, what have you left for the many? We learned in our Mishna:

And they do not recite the mourners’ blessing or the wedding blessing.

And we inquire into it:

What is the mourners’ blessing?

And we explain:

The blessing of the wide square.

That is, when they would provide the mourner with a meal, they would make the first meal in the wide square, and there they would recite the blessing [as we say in tractate Ketubot 8b, see there. And see also Tosafot here].

For Rabbi Yitzhak said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: The mourners’ blessing—

is recited

with ten, and mourners are not included in the count,

for they recite one special blessing for the mourners separately, and one for the consolers separately, and they do not include them together [as we say there in tractate Ketubot].

The wedding blessing—

with ten, and the bridegrooms are included in the count .

We learned in our Mishna:

And they do not recite the zimun over the food with the Name with fewer than ten.

What is the reason?

Since it is required to say: “Let us bless our God” ,

with

fewer than ten—

it is not proper conduct

to say a blessing with the Name.

We learned in our Mishna:

And the lands require nine and a priest, and a person—

is like them.

From where are these matters

that with regard to land nine and a priest are required?

Shmuel said: Ten “priests” are written in the section

of sacred properties.

One “priest”—

is required

for itself,

to say that a priest is required for the redemption of sacred land.

And the other

verses of “priest”—

constitute a restriction after a restriction, and a restriction after a restriction—

is only to include,

for even an Israelite is effective. Therefore nine

Israelites—

and one priest .

And we object:

But perhaps

what is required is

five priests and five Israelites,

for the second “priest” written in the section came to exclude, but a third priest is no longer needed for exclusion; if so, the verse teaches that another priest is required, and likewise with all of them: one to exclude and to say that an Israelite suffices, and one to say that another priest is required!?

And we conclude:

It is difficult.

We learned in our Mishna:

And a person

who comes to redeem himself—

is like them.

And we wonder:

Can a person become sacred property ?

Rabbi Abbahu said: It is regarding

a person who

says: “My value is upon me”

that it is speaking.

For it was taught: One who says, “My value is upon me,” is assessed like a slave

and gives his value to sacred property.

And a slave—

this

is compared to land .

For it is written

about them:

“And you shall hold them as an inheritance for your sons after you, to inherit as a possession.”

And therefore, just as with land ten are required, so too with one who says “My value is upon me,” who is assessed like a slave—ten are required.

Mishna:

One who reads from the Torah may not read fewer than three verses.

And he may not read to the translator more than one verse,

so that the translator should not err, for he translates orally and is liable to err .