Megillah 26b (כו:) — the Talmud in English

But

if

the seven leaders of the city sold it in the presence of the people of the city—

the sanctity of the synagogue and the money is removed, and

even

to drink beer with it

with the proceeds,

beer —

that is entirely valid .

At the time of the sale, the sanctity of the synagogue takes effect upon the money. Afterwards, the sanctity is removed from the proceeds, since their sanctity is weakened .

Ravina had a certain mound

[a ruin]

of a synagogue.

He came before Rav Ashi. He said to him: What is the ruling with regard to sowing it

in that place ?

He said to him: Go, purchase it from the seven leaders of the city in the presence of the people of the city

and sow it.

Rami bar Abba was building a synagogue. There was a certain

synagogue

that was old. He wanted to demolish it

the old synagogue,

and bring bricks and beams

[bricks and beams]

from it

and bring them there

to build a new synagogue with them.

He sat and was considering

the matter

of Rav Ḥisda:

As Rav Ḥisda said: A person may not demolish

a

synagogue—

until he builds another synagogue.

And this was his question:

There,

Rav Ḥisda’s reason

is because of

the concern of

negligence

that we are concerned that he might demolish the old synagogue and then be negligent and fail to build the new one. But

in a case such as this,

where the demolition of the old one is only for the sake of building the new one, as he wishes to take bricks and beams from there,

what ?

He came before Rav Pappa—

and he prohibited him

from demolishing it.

He came

before Rav Huna—

and he likewise prohibited him

from demolishing it .

Rava said: With regard to this synagogue, exchanging it or selling it

[exchanging it or selling it]—

is permitted,

because its sanctity takes effect upon the exchange object or the proceeds, and the synagogue itself leaves its sanctity so that it may be used .

But

renting it out

[to rent it out], and

mortgaging it

[to mortgage it]—

is prohibited.

What is the reason?

Because

the synagogue still

retains its sanctity .

The bricks

[bricks] of the synagogue, too—

exchanging them or selling them is permitted; lending them

[to lend them]—

is prohibited,

for the reason stated above.

And

these matters—

with regard to

bricks

that are old,

which have already been built into the wall of the synagogue, and the wall collapsed.

But with regard to

bricks

that are new,

which were prepared for the sake of the synagogue—

there is no concern.

And even the one who says

with regard to one who weaves a garment for a corpse that it is prohibited to derive benefit from it even if he merely designated it for the corpse, because

designation is significant,

agrees here that it is permitted to use them.

For

these matters

where it is prohibited through designation alone apply—

for example, one who weaves a garment for a corpse,

since through the weaving it immediately becomes fit to be spread over the corpse.

But here,

with regard to bricks,

it is like

one who makes

thread intended for weaving,

as the weaving is still lacking. Likewise, with regard to bricks, their placement in the wall is still lacking,

and there is no one who says

that in such a case sanctity takes effect upon them through designation alone .

And if the people of the city gave the synagogue

as a gift,

in order to use it for secular purposes—

Rav Aḥa and Ravina disagree about it. One—

prohibits, and one—

permits.

With regard to what do they disagree?

The one who prohibits

reasons: Is it possible that

through this,

through a mere gift,

its sanctity will be removed

from the synagogue?!

And

the reasoning of

the one who permits is:

For certainly,

were it not that he had

the giver of the gift

benefit from it

from the recipient,

he would not have given it to him

as a gift. Therefore,

the gift is once again considered like a sale,

and it is permitted .

The Sages taught: Objects used for a mitzva—

may be discarded.

Objects serving a sacred use—

must be interred .

And these are objects used for a mitzva: a sukka, a lulav, a shofar, and ritual fringes .

The reason they are objects used for a mitzva is that dwelling in the sukka, hearing the sound of the shofar, and so forth—these themselves are the mitzva.

And these are objects serving a sacred use: a deluska

[a satchel or sack] for

books, phylacteries, and mezuzot; a case for a Torah scroll; and a pouch

[“case” and “pouch” mean the same thing, except that a case is for a long object, whereas a pouch is for a short object]

for phylacteries, and their straps

of the phylacteries.

Rava said: At first

[initially]

I thought

that

this kursaya

[a wooden platform]—

is an object serving an object serving sacred use

of sanctity

and—

is permitted.

For one spreads a cloth over the platform, and places the Torah scroll upon it .

But,

once I saw that they sometimes place

occasionally

a Torah scroll upon it

without a cloth,

I said: It is an object serving a sacred use—

and it is prohibited.

And Rava said: At first I thought,

that

this parisa,

meaning a curtain spread over the ark from within \-

is an object serving an object serving sacred use,

since it serves the ark, and the ark serves the Torah scroll .

But,

once I saw that

at times they

fold it

[they fold it],

and place the scroll upon it—

I said: It is an object serving a sacred use,

since it serves the scroll itself,

and it is prohibited .

And Rava said: With regard to this chest that has become damaged

[an ark that has become defective],

to make

[to make from it]

a smaller chest,

smaller than the first—

it is permitted.

But to make it

a kursaya

[a platform]—

is prohibited,

since this lowers it from its level of sanctity. In an ark, the Torah scroll is always placed, whereas on a platform, the Torah scroll is placed only occasionally [Mishna Berura, section 134, subsection 26] .

And Rava said: With regard to this parisa

[the ark curtain]

that has become worn, to make it into a parisa for Torah scrolls—

it is permitted.

But to make it a parisa

for the Five Books—

is prohibited.

And Rava said: These sacks

[satchels]

for the Five Books, and these chests

[boxes]

for scrolls—

are objects serving a sacred use, and must be interred.

And we raise a difficulty:

Isn’t this obvious?!

And we explain:

It might enter your mind to say that these are not made for honor,

but

to protect

[for safekeeping]

alone they are made,

and therefore they possess no sanctity—

it teaches us

that they are made for honor .

There was a certain synagogue of Roman Jews

[where Jews had come from Rome to Mehoza and made a synagogue for themselves],

which opened onto a certain androna

[room],

in which there lay

[which was lying]

a corpse

that had not yet been buried,

and the priests wanted to enter to pray there

in that synagogue, but they could not because the impurity of the corpse entered the synagogue through the opening.

They came and said to Rava.

He said to them: Lift up the chest

[raise the ark], and

place it

in that doorway,

since

the chest

is a wooden vessel made to remain stationary,

meaning that it is made to remain in one place and not to be moved from place to place,

and

the law is that

a wooden vessel made to remain stationary—

does not contract impurity, and interposes

also

before impurity.

For anything that does not contract impurity interposes before impurity.

The Rabbis said to Rava: But at times they move it

the chest

when

[when]

a Torah scroll is placed upon it, and it is then moved when full and when empty,

and in such a case it contracts impurity !

He said to them:

If so—

it is impossible.

Mar Zutra said: The wrappings of sacred books,

even those of a Torah scroll,

that have become worn—

they may be made into shrouds

for a met mitzva,

whose burial needs are incumbent upon the community,

and this is their geniza .

And Rava said: A Torah scroll that has become worn—

they store it beside a Torah scholar, even one who only recites halakhot,

meaning one who did not serve Torah scholars through study and Gemara, but only through Mishnayot and baraitot.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov said: And

they store the Torah scroll

in an earthenware vessel. As it is stated: “And you shall place them in an earthenware vessel, so that they may endure for many days.”

We see that something placed in an earthenware vessel is preserved for many days.

Rav Pappi said in the name of Rava: From a synagogue, to

make it

a house of scholars

(house of study)—

it is permitted .

But

from a house of scholars, to

make it

a synagogue—

it is prohibited.

But Rav Pappa taught in the name of Rava the opposite:

to make a house of scholars from a synagogue is prohibited, whereas to make a synagogue from a house of scholars is permitted.