Megillah 32a — the Talmud in English

And we explain:

because

there are those who

reverse them,

saying that Rabbi Yehuda said in accordance with the words of Rabbi Meir, and Rabbi Meir—in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda. Therefore Rabbi Zeira did not say: “The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda.”

The Sages taught:

One who comes up to read from the Torah

opens

the scroll

and sees

where it is necessary to read, and

rolls

the scroll

and blesses. And he returns and opens—

and reads. The words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says: He opens and sees,

and does not roll it again ,

and blesses, and reads.

What is the reason of Rabbi Meir?

As [the ruling] of Ulla.

For Ulla said: Why did they say

that

one who reads from the Torah should not assist the translator?

So that those who see will not say

that

the translation is written in the Torah,

and they will come to write the translation in the Torah.

And

here too,

it is necessary to roll the scroll when he blesses, so that

they will not say: The blessings are written in the Torah.

And Rabbi Yehuda

could say to you: Regarding

the translation—

there is room for error

and for saying that it is written in the Torah, and therefore he should not assist the translator. But regarding

the blessings—

there is no room for error

in this.

Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rav Mattana: The halakha—

he opens and sees, and blesses and reads.

And he need not roll it before he blesses .

Let him say: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda?

And we explain:

because

there are

those who reverse them.

Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rav Mattana: The tablets [

Rashi wrote that some explain that these are those made for our books, which do not have margins. And Tosafot brought from the Arukh that these are the empty margins in a Torah scroll above and below, and between one sheet and another. See there ],

And

likewise

the platforms,

that is, the platform that they would make for the king, and he would read the Torah upon it [ on the evening after the first day of the Festival of Sukkot, at the conclusion of the seventh year, as we say in tractate Sota, page 41a; see there]—

there is no sanctity in them .

Rabbi Shefatya said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: One who rolls a Torah scroll—

must position it at the seam.

That is, opposite the seam, so that the place of the seam will be in the middle . Because there it is appropriate to tighten it well .

And Rabbi Shefatya said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: The

individual who reads from a Torah scroll and

rolls

the

scroll

of the

Torah

from one matter to another, while the scroll is resting on his knees,

rolls it from the outside,

that is, he rolls the page that is farther from him toward the inside.

And he does not roll it from the inside

toward the outside, lest, when he takes hold of the inner page in order to roll it, the outer page spread out and fall to the ground .

And when he tightens it

after he has finished rolling it—

he tightens it from the inside

toward the outside,

and he does not tighten it from the outside

toward the inside, because then he covers the writing with his arms, whereas it is a mitzva to show the writing to the people when he tightens it .

And Rabbi Shefatya said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Ten who read from the Torah [

since the Torah is not read with fewer than ten people, he stated “ten who read from the Torah,” but it does not mean that all of them read from the Torah]],

the greatest among them—

rolls

the Torah scroll,

because this is its honor. And also, since he is the greatest among them, it is fitting for him to receive reward corresponding to them all, as we say below [Tosafot].

The one who rolls it

the Torah scroll—

receives the reward of them all.

For Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Ten who read from the Torah, the one who rolls

the

scroll

of the

Torah—

received the reward of them all.

And we raise an objection:

“The reward of them all”—can it enter your mind,

that he takes the reward for the mitzva of the congregation?

And we explain:

Rather, say

this:

He received reward corresponding to them all.

And Rabbi Shefatya said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: From where [do we know] that one may use a heavenly voice,

that is, if a person is thinking of beginning to do something and hears a voice saying “yes,” or they hear it saying “no,” that he may follow that voice, and this does not constitute divination ?

As it is stated: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying

“This is the way, walk in it, etc.”

And these words

apply where

he hears the voice of a man,

and even

in a city, and the voice of a woman in the field

specifically . Because this voice is uncommon, and necessarily a heavenly voice has come to him .

And it is when he says: “Yes, yes,” and when he says: “No, no,”

that is, when he repeats his words; then we say that it is a heavenly voice .

And Rabbi Shefatya said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Anyone who reads without melody, and studies without song ,

the verse says about him: “And I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they shall not live, etc.”

Abaye objected to this:

But

because he does not know how to sweeten the voice, “ordinances by which they shall not live”—

do you read this concerning him [

that it is the concluding part of the verse above ]?!

Rather, [it is] in accordance with [the statement of] Rav Mesharshya. For he said: Two Torah scholars who sit in one city and are not comfortable with one another in halakha,

that is, they do not engage with one another in halakha, in order to learn from one another ,

the verse says about them: “And I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they shall not live” .

meaning that they do not engage with one another in halakha in order to learn from each other, the verse says about them: “I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they could not live” .

Rabbi Parnakh said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Anyone who holds a Torah scroll

naked ,

without the cloth surrounding it—

is buried naked.

And we raise an objection: He is buried

naked

literally—

can it enter your mind?

And we explain:

Rather, say

this:

He is buried naked—

without mitzvot.

And we raise an objection: But still,

“without mitzvot”—can it enter your mind?

For is it because he held a Torah scroll naked that he forfeited all the mitzvot he performed?

Rather, Abaye said: He is buried naked—

without that mitzva

which he performed at that time. For example, if he read from the Torah and held the scroll naked, he has no reward for the mitzva of reading [Tosafot; see there].

Rabbi Yannai, son of Rabbi Yannai the Elder, said in the name of Rabbi Yannai the Great: It is preferable that the cloth be rolled

over the scroll; that is, he should hold the scroll and roll the cloth over it.

And he should not roll the Torah scroll

inside the cloth; that is, he should not place the cloth in his lap and roll the scroll inside it.

We learned in our Mishna:

“And Moses declared the appointed times of the Lord to the children of Israel,” their mitzva—

that each one should read them at its time.

The Sages taught:

It is written: “And Moses declared the appointed times of the Lord to the children of Israel.” And why was it necessary to write here, “And Moses declared”? Did Moses not state all the mitzvot to Israel?

Rather, we derive from this that

Moses instituted for Israel that they should ask and expound concerning the matter of the day

the laws of Passover—

on Passover. The laws of Shavuot—

on Shavuot. The laws of the Festival—

on the Festival .

on Shavuot. The halakhot of the Festival— on the Festival . This was Moses’ practice: He would speak with them about the laws of each festival at its proper time, to make known the statutes of God and His teachings. And they accepted and fulfilled the reward of the mitzvot for themselves and for their children, in this world and the World to Come [the wording of Rashi].

We have returned to you, chapter “The Residents of the City,” and the tractate Megilla is concluded

For this is what Moses would do: he would speak with them about the laws of each and every Festival at its time, to make known the statutes of God and His teachings.

And they accepted and fulfilled the reward of the mitzvot upon themselves and upon their children—in this world and in the world to come [the wording of Rashi].

We shall return to you, chapter “The Residents of the City,” and tractate Megilla is concluded