Megillah 31a (לא.) — the Talmud in English

On fast days

they read

the blessings and the curses

from the portion of Bechukotai, to make known that it is because of sin that calamity comes upon the world, so that they will repent and be saved from the trouble for which they are fasting.

One does not interrupt while reading the curses; rather

one

person reads them all,

and the first two read the portion of the blessings that precedes the curses.

On Mondays and Thursdays,

and

on Shabbat at the afternoon service -

they read in order.

That is, according to the order of the weekly portions throughout the year.

And these readings are not counted

as the Monday, Thursday, and afternoon-Shabbat readings

in the count

of the reading of the portion on Shabbat; rather, they read that same portion again.

And from where do we know that on a Festival day one must read a passage relating to the Festival?

As it is stated: “And Moses declared the appointed times of the Lord to the Children of Israel,”

we derive from this

that their mitzva is that they read

the portion of

each and every one

of the Festivals

at its proper time.

Gemara:

The Sages taught: On Passover -

they read from the portion of the Festivals, and they recite the haftara -

“On Passover: Gilgal”

(the Passover sacrifice that Israel offered at Gilgal; Joshua 5:10).

But nowadays, when there are two days of

Passover Festivals [outside Eretz Yisrael], on

the first day -

they recite the haftara

“On Passover: Gilgal,” and on the following day,

the second Festival day, -

“On Passover: Josiah.”

And

on

the other days of Passover -

one selects and reads a passage relating to Passover.

What is it?

Rav Pappa said: MAFU is the mnemonic.

That is, the initial letters of these portions:

“Draw out and take for yourselves,” “When you lend money to My people,” “Carve for yourself,” and “And the Lord spoke to Moses,” in the portion of Beha’alotekha; Passover is mentioned in each of these portions.

On the last Festival day of Passover -

they read

the portion

“And it came to pass when he sent away,”

because on the seventh day of Passover they sang the Song at the Sea.

And they recite the haftara “David spoke,”

because that too is a song, and it also speaks about the Exodus from Egypt.

And on the following day -

they read

“Every firstborn,” and they recite the haftara “Yet today

he shall stand at Nob,” and so forth, which speaks of the downfall of Sennacherib, because Sennacherib’s downfall took place on the night of Passover .

Abaye said: But nowadays the world follows the practice of reading

these portions during the days of Passover:

“Draw out” -

that is:

“Draw out and take for yourselves,”

“Bull” -

“An ox, or a sheep, or a goat,”

“Sanctify” -

“Sanctify to Me every firstborn,”

“With money” -

“When you lend money to My people,”

“Carve” -

“Carve for yourself,”

“In the wilderness” -

“And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness,”

“Send away” -

the Song in the portion of Beshalach,

“Firstborn” -

“Sanctify to Me every firstborn.”

On Shavuot -

they read “Seven weeks,” and they recite the haftara from Habakkuk,

because it speaks of the giving of the Torah.

Others say: They read “In the third month

and so forth,” which is the biblical account of the giving of the Torah,

and they recite the haftara of the Chariot,

because the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed at Sinai amid myriads upon myriads of thousands of hosts.

But nowadays, when there are two days

of Shavuot,

we follow both opinions -

but in reverse order.

That is, on the first day we follow the view of Others, who are the later authority: “In the third month,” because the giving of the Torah took place on the sixth of Sivan, which is the date on which the first Festival day falls, and we recite the haftara of the Chariot. On the second day, we follow the view of the first tanna.

On Rosh HaShana

we read

“In the seventh month,” and we recite the haftara “Is Ephraim a precious son to Me,”

because it is written at the end of the verse: “Surely I remember him; therefore My heart yearns for him.”

And some say

that they read

“And the Lord remembered Sarah,”

to recall the Binding of Isaac, which is written in that portion, so that it will be remembered for us in judgment .

And they recite the haftara from

the account of

Hannah,

because she was remembered on Rosh HaShana.

But nowadays, when there are two days

of Rosh HaShana, on

the first day -

we read

according to the view of Some say - “

And the Lord remembered Sarah.”

On the following day -

we read

“And God tested Abraham,”

so that the Binding will be remembered for us in judgment,

and they recite the haftara -

“Is Ephraim a precious son.” On Yom Kippur -

they read

from the portion

“After the death,” and they recite the haftara: “For thus said the High and Exalted One,”

because it speaks of the attribute of repentance, as it is written there: “Is this not the fast that I choose,” and so forth.

And at the afternoon service

of Yom Kippur -

they read from

the portion

of forbidden relationships,

because forbidden relationships are a common transgression: a person’s soul desires them and his inclination overwhelms him. Therefore, they mention that one who has transgressions in his possession should withdraw from them .

And they recite the haftara -

from the

Book of

Jonah,

because it contains the repentance of the people of Nineveh, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, accepted their repentance and relented concerning the evil that He had said He would bring upon them.

Rabbi Yohanan said:

In

every place

where you find

the mention of

His might

of the Holy One, blessed be He, -

there

you find

also

His humility .

This matter is written in the Torah, repeated

[written a second time] -

in the Prophets, and stated a third time -

in the Writings.

It is written in the Torah: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords,”

which demonstrates His might.

And it is written afterward: “Who executes the judgment of the orphan and widow” \-

which demonstrates His humility.

It is repeated in the Prophets: “Thus said the High and Exalted One, who dwells forever and whose name is holy, and so forth,” and it is written afterward: “And with the crushed and lowly in spirit

to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the crushed.”

It is stated a third time in the Writings, as it is written: “Make a level road

[praise]

for Him who rides in the upper heavens, whose name is God,” and it is written afterward: “A father of orphans and a judge of widows.”

On the first Festival day of Sukkot -

they read from the portion of the Festivals in the Torah of the priests, and they recite the haftara: “Behold, a day is coming for the Lord,”

because it is written there: “To celebrate the Festival of Sukkot.”

But nowadays, when there are two days, on the following day -

as for the reading, we likewise read

as on the first day.

As for the haftara, what do they recite

on the following day?

“And all the people assembled themselves to King Solomon.”

The passage speaks of the dedication of the Temple, when all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Sukkot in Jerusalem.

And on all the other days of the Festival -

they read about the offerings of the Festival.

On

the last Festival day -

they read “Every firstborn,”

but they begin with “You shall surely tithe,” because that portion contains many

mitzvot and laws

that apply during the time when the Festival of Sukkot occurs, which is the season of gathering, and the time when the poor need to gather food into their homes. It contains the mitzva of the tithe for the poor, “You shall surely give,” “You shall surely open,” and additional mitzvot,

and

the subject of

the firstborn.

And they recite the haftara: “And when Solomon had finished,”

because it is written there: “On the eighth day he sent the people away,” referring to the eighth day after the Festival of Sukkot.

On the following day -

they read

the portion

“And this is the blessing,”

and they recite the haftara: “And Solomon stood

and so forth, “and he spread out his hands toward heaven,” and so forth, because it speaks of the dedication of the Temple, which took place during the Festival of Sukkot.

Rav Huna said that Rav said: When Shabbat occurs during the intermediate days, whether on

the intermediate days of

Passover,

or

on

the intermediate days of

Sukkot, we read “Behold, You say to me.”

As for the haftara,

what is it?

On Passover

they recite the haftara:

“The dry bones,”

because they emerged from Egypt before the appointed end.

And on Sukkot -

“On the day when Gog comes.”

On Hanukkah -

they read

from

the portion of the

princes, and they recite the haftara -

“The lamps of Zechariah,”

as it is written there: “And behold, an entirely golden menorah.”

And if two Shabbatot occur

during Hanukkah, then on

the

Shabbat

the first -

they recite the haftara

“The lamps of Zechariah,”

and on

the second

they recite the haftara

“Solomon’s lamps,”

that is: “And Hiram made,” and so forth, “and the five menorot on the right,” and so forth.

On Purim -

they read

“And Amalek came.”

On Rosh Chodesh -

they read

“And on the beginnings of your months.”

When Rosh Chodesh occurs on Shabbat -

they recite the haftara: “And it shall be that from one new moon to another.”

If

Rosh Chodesh

occurs on Sunday -

on Shabbat

the day before, they recite the haftara: “And Jonathan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon.”