Megillah 2a (ב.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

The

Megilla is read

at times

on

the

11th

of Adar, at times

on the 12th

of that month, at times

on the 13th,

at times

on the 14th,

and at times

on the 15th .

However,

not earlier

than the 11th [it is never read before the 11th]],

and not later

than the 15th [it is never read after the 15th of Adar].

And now we explain how the Megilla is read on each of these days:

Residents of

walled cities

that were walled from the days of Joshua son of Nun —

read it on the 15th

of Adar .

But the residents of

villages and large towns

that were not walled from the days of Joshua —

read it on the 14th [

and the Gemara will explain from where we derive that there is a distinction between walled and unwalled cities] .

Although the residents of every place are included in these two days, this is only according to the basic law.

Rather,

the Sages eased the requirement for the residents of

the villages ,

and instituted that they should

advance the

reading to

the day

of assembly ,

namely, Mondays and Thursdays, on which the villagers gather in the towns for judgment, since the courts sit in the towns on Mondays and Thursdays, as Ezra instituted [Bava Kamma 82a] .

Since the villagers are not proficient in reading the Megilla themselves and need one of the townspeople to read it for them ,

the Sages eased the requirement for them, allowing them to read it on the Mondays and Thursdays preceding the 14th of Adar.

This is a leniency for them, since they already come to the town on these days for judgment [and the reason why they were granted this leniency is explained in the Gemara].

The day of assembly sometimes falls on the 11th, sometimes on the 12th, and sometimes on the 13th.

How

does the obligation to read the Megilla apply on each of these days?

If

it falls

on the

14th,

the

on a Monday,

which is the day of assembly, then

the villages and large towns read it on that day [

the villagers are not deferred from this day of assembly to the preceding day of assembly ],

while the walled cities

read

on the following day,

Tuesday.

And if

the

14th

falls on

day

Tuesday or Wednesday,

then the

villagers advance

the reading to

the day of assembly,

namely, the 13th of Adar if the 14th falls on Tuesday, and the 12th if the 14th falls on Wednesday;

the large towns read on that day

as required by their law,

while the walled cities

read

on the following day.

If

the 14th of Adar

falls on

a

Thursday,

which is the day of assembly,

the villages and large towns read on that day [

as above, the villagers are not deferred from the day of assembly to the previous day of assembly],

while the walled cities

read

on the following day.

If

the 14th

falls

on

Friday, the villages advance the reading to the day of assembly,

namely, the 13th,

while the large towns and

also

the walled cities read on that day .

The residents of the walled cities do not read on the 15th when it falls on Shabbat, because the Sages decreed that the Megilla should not be read on Shabbat, since not everyone is proficient in its reading, and we are concerned that one might take the Megilla in his hand and go to an expert to learn, thereby violating the prohibition against carrying [as below, 4b; see there. As for the Sunday following Shabbat, the walled cities are not deferred, since that would be the 16th, and the verse says "and it shall not pass," as stated below].

If

the 14th

falls on Shabbat, the villages and large towns advance the reading to the day of assembly,

namely, the 12th of Adar [ and the reason the townspeople advance the reading to the day of assembly is explained below [4b]: Since they are in any event deferred from their appointed time, namely, Shabbat, they are deferred to the day of assembly on which the villagers read],

while the walled cities

read

on the following day .

And if

the

14th

falls after Shabbat,

on Sunday, then

the villages advance the reading to the day of assembly,

namely, Thursday, the 11th of Adar ,

the large towns read on that day, while the walled cities

read

on the following day.

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna:

The Megilla is read on the 11th

and so on.

From where

do we know that the 11th, 12th, and 13th are suitable for reading the Megilla, when the verse mentions only the 14th and 15th?

And he responds rhetorically:

From where?!

We do not derive this from Scripture, and it is not an obligation imposed upon them; rather, it is an enactment of the Sages,

as we shall say below

[in the next Mishna], for

the Sages eased the requirement for

the

villagers

so that they could

advance

its reading

to the day of assembly, so that

they would be free on Purim and

provide

then

water and food for their brethren in the walled cities .

If so, why do you ask from where it is derived from Scripture? It is an enactment of the Sages!

And we explain:

This is what we are saying: Since

it necessarily follows that

all

these days on which the Megilla is read were

instituted by the Members of the Great Assembly —

who lived in the days of Mordekhai and Esther and instituted the rejoicing of Purim and the reading of the Megilla —

they instituted them

so that it would be possible to read on them,

For if it were conceivable

that

the Members of the Great Assembly instituted only the 14th and 15th

and no other days,

they instituted,

then this cannot be said, for who

could come, the Sages

who came after them,

and uproot the enactment that the Members of the Great Assembly instituted,

allowing the villagers to read on other days?

But we learned: A court cannot overturn the words of another court ,

unless

it is

greater than it

[than the other court]

in wisdom and in number?!

Rather, it is obvious: All

the days of reading

were instituted by the Members of the Great Assembly.

If so, they certainly alluded to these days in the Megilla! And this is what we ask:

Where is it alluded

to in the verse that they instituted this matter?

Rav Shaman bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The verse states, "To establish the days of Purim

these, at their appointed times."

The wording "their appointed times" implies that

many appointed times were instituted for them.

And we challenge: From where do we derive five times? Perhaps

this “

at their appointed times”

is needed for its own purpose,

for the fourteenth and fifteenth, which are explicitly stated in the verse, so that they may fulfill the mitzvot of Purim on them?

And we explain: If it comes for its own purpose,

then let the

verse say: “

to fulfill, etc., at

the time,

” which indicates that we are required to perform the mitzvot of Purim at the time specified for them. And

why

does the verse write

“their appointed times”?

It indicates that

many times

were established for them.

And we challenge:

But it is still needed

for the verse to use the plural expression “their appointed times,” to say that

the appointed time of one

—those in walled cities—

is not like the appointed time of the other

—those in unwalled towns! For had it written only “at the time,” I would have said that there is one time for both: if they wish, both may read on the fourteenth, and if they wish, both may read on the fifteenth?

And we explain:

If so,

if this is the purpose for which the verse comes,

let the verse say “their time.” What is

the reason that the verse writes

“their appointed times”? You can conclude from this

that

all

three of these points are included in this expression: the word includes “time” and “times”; we know that it is needed for its own purpose and that their appointed times differ; and many times were established.

And we challenge: If so,

say

that there are

many times,

even before the eleventh of Adar and after the fifteenth of Adar, and it should be possible to read the Megilla?

And we answer: The verse

“their appointed times,”

from which it is possible to derive additional days, derives them

analogously to “their time.”

It derives:

Just as their time,

which is explicitly mentioned concerning them,

consists of two days,

namely,

the fourteenth and fifteenth, so too their appointed times

—two

days are included by it, and no more.

And we challenge: If it comes to include two days,

say the twelfth and thirteenth

[that is, the twelfth and thirteenth], and from where do we know that they read on the eleventh?

And we answer:

As Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said

below [to resolve the Gemara’s difficulty]: The

thirteenth

of Adar

is a time of gathering for everyone,

for both in Shushan and in the other places the Jews gathered on that day to take vengeance on their enemies,

and

since the principal part of the miracle took place on it,

it does not need to be included.

Here too,

there is no difficulty: perhaps the verse comes to include only the twelfth and thirteenth, for

the thirteenth is a time of gathering for everyone

—and it does not need to be included

among the days on which they read.

And we challenge:

And say

that the verse included

the sixteenth and seventeenth

[that is, the sixteenth and seventeenth of Adar]? And from where do we know that the verse comes to include only the days preceding the fourteenth? And we answer:

“And it shall not pass” is written

[this is the wording of the verse: “And the Jews undertook for themselves and for their descendants, etc., and it shall not pass, etc., to observe these two days, etc.”], indicating that “it shall not pass” these two days—that is, they may not read after them.

And Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said:

From here we derive additional days for reading:

the verse says: “And he sent letters to all the Jews, etc., to establish for them to observe the fourteenth day, etc.,

as the days on which the Jews rested

”

etc.

And apparently the verse should have written:

“Days

on which they rested,” which would indicate that those days—the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar, mentioned at the beginning of the verse—are the days on which they rested. What is the reason that the verse writes

“as the days”?

Rather, this verse comes

to include

two additional days like them, namely,

the eleventh and twelfth,

on which they read the Megilla.

And we challenge:

And say

that

the twelfth and thirteenth

are included by the verse?

Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said: The thirteenth is a time of gathering for everyone, and it does not need

the verse

to include it.

And we challenge:

And say that the sixteenth and seventeenth

are included by the verse?

And we answer:

“And it shall not pass” is written.

And we consider the matter:

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani,

who derives it from “as the days,”

why did he not say that it is derived from “their appointed times”?

And we explain: Because as for the interpretation by which we expound the word “at their appointed times” in three ways—

“time,” “their time,” and “their appointed times”—

it is not understood by him

to expound it in this manner.

And

on the other hand,

Rav Shemen bar Abba,

who derives it from “their appointed times,”

why did he not say that it is derived from “as the days”?

He could have said to you: That “

as the days”

is written for future generations,

and not to include other days from it. For this is the meaning of the verse: “And he sent letters to the Jews, to establish for future generations the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar—as those days on which the Jews rested at the time of the miracle.”

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This—

the statement of our Mishna that the villagers read early, on the day of assembly—

is the statement of Rabbi Akiva, the anonymous

[that is, Rabbi Akiva stated it, like many Mishnayot that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi recorded anonymously without specifying who said them, and which are the statements of Rabbi Akiva],

who expounds

to include all these days from

“time,”

“their time,”

“their appointed times.”

But the Sages

disagree with him and do not expound this derivation,

and say: It is read only at its appointed time

explicitly stated in the verse, namely, the fourteenth and fifteenth.

It was challenged: Rabbi Yehuda said: When

did the Sages permit the villagers to read early, on the day of assembly?

When the years are properly ordered,

when they are intercalated by the court, the new moons are sanctified by their authority, messengers are sent to all Israel to announce when the new moon of Nisan was sanctified, and all Israel observe the festivals according to their determination,

and Israel is settled on its land,

so that the messengers reach the farthest parts of the Land of Israel by Passover to inform them that the month had been sanctified.

But nowadays,

when Israel is not settled on its land and the messengers will not reach all of Israel by Passover,

since

Israel

will calculate by it—

by the reading of the Megilla, saying: We read the Megilla on the fourteenth of Adar; therefore, fifteen days of the month of Adar remain, and they count another fifteen days in the month of Nisan and observe Passover.

And if we advance the reading of the Megilla, perhaps they will err and count from the day of the reading of the Megilla, and advance the observance of Passover before its proper time, with the result that they will eat leaven during the final days of Passover! Therefore,

it is read only at its appointed time,

namely, the fourteenth and fifteenth.

And now,

Rabbi Yehuda,

who distinguishes between the time when the years are properly ordered and the present time,

in accordance with whose view

did he state his ruling?

If we say it is in accordance with the view of Rabbi Akiva,

then

even nowadays

he maintains that

this enactment applies,

that the villagers read early. For Rabbi Akiva lived in the present time and taught this halakha in the Mishna. But Rabbi Yehuda says that nowadays it is read only at its appointed time!?

Rather, is it not

Rabbi Yehuda

in accordance with the view of the Sages

who stated it?

And

even so, he says that

when

the

years are properly ordered, and Israel

is

at least settled on its land

—it

was read

also on the other days! We see that the Sages likewise expound “time,” “their time,” “their appointed times”!?

And we conclude:

The challenge against Rabbi Yoḥanan,

who said that according to the Sages it is always read only at its appointed time, is

a refutation.

There are those who say:

This is what

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This is the statement of Rabbi Akiva

the anonymous,

who maintains that even nowadays they read early, on the day of assembly.

But the Sages said: Nowadays,

when Israel is not settled on its land,

since they will calculate by it, it is read only at its appointed time.

For although they too expound “time, their time, their appointed times,” after the destruction they were stringent, lest people err in their calculations.

It was also taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda said: When

we say that the villagers read early, on the day of assembly,

when the years are properly ordered and Israel is settled on its land. But nowadays, since they will calculate by it

—it is read only at its appointed time.

Rav Ashi found difficult

the beraita

of Rabbi Yehuda

above, which says that nowadays it is read only at its appointed time,

against Rabbi Yehuda

of the Mishna below,

and he establishes the beraita

in accordance with Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda.