Megillah 4b (ד:) — the Talmud in English

And we raise an objection:

Does this imply that the enactment was for the walled cities

—this enactment?

But didn’t we learn:

If the fourteenth of Adar

falls on

a Monday,

the villages and the large towns read on that very day. And if it is so

that it is an enactment for the walled cities,

let

the villagers

advance it to the preceding assembly day,

namely Thursday, so that they would be able to supply water and food to the walled cities?!

And we answer: It cannot be said this way, for if they advanced it to the preceding assembly day,

they would have

the reading of the villagers on

the tenth

of Adar,

and

a reading on

the tenth—

the Sages did not institute.

Come and hear

that it is not an enactment for the walled cities, from what we learned in the Mishna:

If

the fourteenth of Adar

falls on

a Thursday,

the villages and the large towns read on that very day. And if it is so

that it is an enactment for the walled cities,

let

the villagers

advance it to the preceding assembly day,

namely Monday,

for

that

is the eleventh,

and the Sages instituted that it be read on it?!

And we answer:

From one assembly day to the

preceding assembly day—we do not postpone it.

Come and hear

from the following Mishna. For we learned:

Rabbi Yehuda said: When

the villages advance their reading to the assembly day,

it is in a place where they enter

the towns

on Mondays and Thursdays. But

in

a place where they do not enter on Mondays and Thursdays—

they read it only at its proper time,

namely on the fourteenth of Adar, like the inhabitants of the town.

And if it enters your mind

that

it is an enactment for the walled cities,

then why,

because

the villagers

do not enter on Mondays and Thursdays, would the walled cities lose out?

They still require that the villagers advance their reading, so that they will be free on the fifteenth?!

Rather,

do not say

as we initially assumed, that the Sages instituted this enactment

so that they would supply water and food

to their brothers in the walled cities;

rather, say

that it is a benefit the Sages granted the villagers: They may read the Megilla on the days when they come to the towns in any event for judgment—

because they supply water and food to their brothers in the walled cities.

Therefore, wherever they do not enter on Mondays and Thursdays, since this is not a leniency for them and is not a benefit granted to them, they read it only at its proper time.

We learned in our Mishna:

How so? If

the fourteenth of Adar

falls on a Monday, the villages and the large towns read on that very day, etc.

We analyze this:

What is different

in

the first clause of

the Mishna, where

the tanna stated

the days for reading the Megilla according to

the order of the month,

according to the sequence of the days of the month: The Megilla is read on the eleventh, the twelfth, the thirteenth, and so on,

and what is different

in

the latter clause,

when the tanna came to explain how the obligation to read applies on each of these days,

that the tanna stated

the

order of the days,

namely, according to the sequence of the days of the week: If it falls on Friday, if it falls on Shabbat, if it falls after Shabbat, and so on—and according to this order, the days of the month appear in reverse order: the thirteenth, the twelfth, and the eleventh?!

And we explain:

Since

if the tanna had stated the latter clause according to the order of the month, he would first have stated: “If it falls after Shabbat”—when the villagers read on the eleventh—and afterward Shabbat—when they read on the twelfth—and afterward Friday—when they read on the thirteenth—then

they would have confused it,

since this is not the order of the days of the week, and as a result they might err.

Therefore, he

stated

in the latter clause

the order of the days,

and he does not explicitly mention the order of the month being reversed. He merely stated that they advance it to the assembly day, and this does not lead to error.

We learned in our Mishna:

If

the fourteenth of Adar

falls on Friday, etc.,

the large towns and the walled cities read on that very day.

Whose view is the Mishna?

Either

it is according to

Rabbi, or

it is according to

Rabbi Yosei.

What

are the words of

Rabbi,

as you said that the Mishna follows his view?

For it was taught:

If the fourteenth

falls on Friday, the villages and the large towns advance their reading to the assembly day, while the walled cities read on that very day.

And Rabbi disagrees with the first tanna:

Rabbi says: I say,

the towns should not be displaced from their place

that was fixed for them;

rather, both these and those read on that very day.

What is the reason of the first tanna,

who says that when it falls on Friday, the large towns advance their reading to the assembly day?

As it is written: “To observe these two days according to their writing and according to their appointed time

“to observe these two days according to their writing and according to their appointed time

every year,”

which indicates that all the years should be alike. And we derive:

Just as in

every year and year—

every year—

the towns precede the walled cities,

since the towns read on the fourteenth and the walled cities on the fifteenth,

so too here—

we require that

the towns precede the walled cities.

Therefore, when the fourteenth falls on Friday, and the walled cities read on that day, the towns too advance their reading to the assembly day, so that they precede the walled cities.

And we challenge this:

But perhaps

we should derive the opposite:

“Every year”: Just as every year—

the towns are not displaced from their place, so too here,

when the fourteenth falls on Friday—

the towns should not be displaced from their place?

And we answer:

Here it is different, for it is impossible,

since we must necessarily displace the towns from their place so that they precede the walled cities. And since the walled cities were advanced to read on Friday, the towns are displaced to the assembly day.

And Rabbi—what is his reason

for disagreeing with the first tanna and maintaining that the towns too read on Friday?

Because he expounds that verse as follows:

“Every year”: Just as every year—

the towns are not displaced from their place, so too here—

the towns should not be displaced from their place.

And we challenge Rabbi’s reason:

But perhaps

we should derive the opposite, as does the first tanna:

“Every year”: Just as every year—

the towns precede the walled cities, so too here—

the towns should precede the walled cities?

And we answer:

Here it is different, since it is impossible

to advance the towns, for in every year they are not displaced from their place.

Accordingly, the Mishna, which teaches that the inhabitants of the towns read on that very day and are not displaced to the assembly day, follows Rabbi.

And now we explain

what

is the statement of

Rabbi Yosei,

as you said that the Mishna also follows his view:

For it was taught:

If the fourteenth of Adar

falls on Friday, the walled cities and the villages advance their reading to the assembly day, while the large towns read on that very day.

And Rabbi Yosei disagrees with the first tanna:

Rabbi Yosei says: The walled cities do not precede the towns; rather, both these and those,

the towns and the walled cities,

read on that very day.

What is the reason of the first tanna,

who says that the walled cities advance their reading to the assembly day and do not read on the fourteenth like the towns?

As it is written: “Every year.”

And we derive:

Just as every year—

the towns read on the fourteenth, and the appointed time of one

—the towns—

is not the appointed time of the other

—the walled cities—

so too here,

when the fourteenth falls on Friday, we require that

the towns

read

on the fourteenth,

and we must advance the walled cities, because we require that

the appointed time of one

not

be

the appointed time of the other.

Therefore, the inhabitants of the towns read on that very day, while the walled cities advance their reading to the assembly day, so that their appointed time will not be the same as that of the towns.

And we challenge this:

But perhaps

we should derive the opposite:

“Every year”: Just as every year—

the walled cities do not precede the towns, so too here, the walled cities should not precede the towns,

and both should read on Friday? And we answer:

Here it is different, since it is impossible

to act in this manner, for we require that the appointed time of one not be the same as the appointed time of the other.

And

what is the reason of Rabbi Yosei,

who says that the walled cities should not precede the towns, but should read with them on Friday?

He expounds the verse

“every year”

as follows:

Just as every year—

the walled cities do not precede the towns, so too here—

the walled cities should not precede the towns.

And we challenge Rabbi Yosei:

But perhaps

we should expound it this way:

“Every year”: Just as every year—

the appointed time of one is not the appointed time of the other, so too here, the appointed time of one should not be the appointed time of the other,

and we should advance the walled cities to the assembly day so that their appointed time will not be the same?!

And we answer:

Here it is different, since it is impossible,

for we require that the walled cities not precede the towns.

Accordingly, our Mishna follows Rabbi Yosei.

And we wonder:

And

does

Rabbi maintain

that

the towns are not displaced to the assembly day?!

But it was taught: If

If

the fourteenth

of Adar

falls on Shabbat, the villages advance their reading to the assembly day, the large towns read on Friday, and the walled cities—

on the following day,

the fifteenth of Adar.

But

Rabbi says: I say: Since the towns have been displaced

from their place,

they should be displaced to the assembly day.

We see that he displaces the towns to the assembly day?!

And we reject this:

Can this be compared?

Are the cases similar?

There,

in that beraita,

their appointed time

is

Shabbat! And since they have been displaced,

since the Megilla is not read on Shabbat,

they should be displaced

already to the assembly day.

In contrast,

here,

in the Mishna cited above,

the appointed time

of the towns

is Friday,

and therefore we do not displace them; instead, the walled cities read together with them.

In accordance with whose view is this statement of Rabbi Helbo in the name of Rav Huna: If Purim falls on Shabbat—

everyone is displaced to the assembly day?

We do not conclude the matter, and we wonder:

“Everyone is displaced”—

would it enter your mind? But there are the walled cities, which

certainly

observe it on the following day,

on the fifteenth, since that is their appointed time?!

Rather,

this is what Rav Huna said:

Anyone who is displaced

from his place

is displaced to the assembly day.

In accordance with whose view

is that statement of Rav Huna?

Rabbi’s.

For he said this in the beraita cited above.

In any event, everyone agrees

that

the Megilla is not read on Shabbat.

What is the reason?

Rabba said: Everyone is obligated

to read the Megilla, but not everyone is proficient in reading the Megilla.

Therefore, we issue

a decree

that it not be read on Shabbat,

lest

because he is anxious to read it, since everyone is obligated in it,

he take it in his hand and go to someone proficient

in order

to learn

its reading,

and carry it

four cubits in the public domain.

And this is likewise

the

reason that

we do not sound the

shofar

on Shabbat;

and this is likewise

the

reason that

we do not take the

lulav

on Shabbat: All of them are decrees lest one go to someone proficient in order to learn.

Rav Yosef said

another reason why it is not read on Shabbat:

Because the eyes of the poor are lifted toward the reading of the Megilla,

in order to receive gifts to the poor, but it is impossible to give them on Shabbat; therefore, we do not read it.

It was taught likewise:

that gifts are given to the poor on the day the Megilla is read:

Although they said that the villagers advance the reading to the day of assembly, they collect

gifts for the poor

on that very day

on which they read it,

and distribute

them to the poor

on that very day.

And we raise an objection: What is the meaning of this wording,

“Although they said”?!

Is it not

on the contrary, because they said

that they advance the reading—that

is precisely why

we say that they collect on that day, on that earlier day?!

Rather,

say it this way:

Since they said that the villagers advance the reading to the day of assembly,

they collect on that day and distribute on that day, because the poor set their eyes on the reading of the Megilla,

as in the statement of Rav Yosef.