Megillah 5a (ה.) — the Talmud in English

And that which we said, that we advance it to the day of reading, applies specifically with regard to gifts to the poor.

But

the rejoicing,

that is, the Purim feast,

is observed only at its proper time,

on the fourteenth of Adar, even for the villagers who advance it to the day of assembly.

Rav said: With regard to the Megilla,

when it is read

at its proper time,

that is, on the fourteenth of Adar,

it may be read even by an individual,

since everyone reads it on that day, and there is publicizing of the miracle even if he reads it alone.

But if it is read

not at its proper time ,

for example, by the villagers who advance it to the day of assembly , they read it

with ten

specifically, because publicizing of the miracle is required.

Rav Asi said: Whether at its proper time

and

whether not at its proper time,

it is a mitzva to read it

with ten,

because of publicizing the miracle .

It happened, and Rav took seriously the view of Rav Asi,

and sought out ten people in order to read it .

And we raised an objection:

Did Rav really say this,

that when it is not at its proper time ten are required?

But Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shemuel bar Sheilat, said in the name of Rav: When Purim falls on Shabbat,

when the Megilla is not read on Shabbat,

Friday is their proper time!

Since Rav Yehuda did not say, “They advance it to Friday,” it follows that this is what he meant: Friday is the time established for them by the Men of the Great Assembly. Therefore, we raise the difficulty: Is Friday their proper time? But

Shabbat,

which is the fourteenth of Adar,

is their proper time!?

Rather, is it not that this is what he meant:

After the Sages enacted for them that they should advance the reading and not read on Shabbat,

when it is not at their proper time—it is

like their proper time

which is fixed for every matter.

Just as

at

their proper time

we read

even by an individual, so too when it is not

at their proper time,

when it was advanced by the Sages, we read

even by an individual.

If so, there is a contradiction between one statement of Rav and another, for he said above that when it is not at its proper time ten are required!?

We reject this:

No,

Rav did not state his ruling

with regard to reading the Megilla with ten,

to say that when it is not at its proper time it is like its proper time and ten are not required.

Rather, what

is the meaning of that which he said:

“Friday is their proper time”?

It serves to exclude the view of Rabbi, who said

above, concerning Purim that falls on Shabbat, that

since the towns are displaced from their place

they should be displaced to the day of assembly,

and they should not read on Friday.

Rav teaches us

Rav’s ruling,

that Friday is the proper time

for the residents of the towns

itself—and they read on it, and do not advance the reading to the day of assembly.

Mishna:

Which is a large city,

in which they read on the fourteenth?

Any

city in which there are ten idle men [the matter will be explained in the Gemara]. But if there are

fewer than this,

than ten idle men,

—

it is

considered

a village .

a village .

With regard to these—

the times for reading the Megilla—

the Sages said

that if it falls on Shabbat,

they advance

the reading to before its proper time,

but do not postpone it

until after Shabbat.

But the time for the wood of the priests,

when there were families in Israel that had fixed days during the year to bring wood to the Temple for the pyre, and they would bring a wood offering with them—if their time fell on Shabbat, they postponed it until the next day.

And

likewise

the Ninth of Av [and likewise the other fasts, Rashi ],

if it falls on Shabbat, they postpone it until the next day.

And likewise the peace-offerings of

the Festival offering

that are brought on a Festival: if the Festival falls on Shabbat, their bringing is postponed until the next day, since they have a period of compensation throughout all seven days [as will be explained in the Gemara].

And

likewise the mitzva of

Hakhel,

which takes place during the first year of the Sabbatical cycle, on the day following the first day of Sukkot, when the king would read from the book of Devarim, and all the people were obligated to come and bring their wives and children. On Shabbat it is impossible to bring the children, because of the prohibition against carrying .

And the Jerusalem Talmud explains that they do not perform the mitzva of Hakhel on Shabbat because they needed to make a wooden platform on which the king would sit and read [and it was impossible to make it on the previous day, because the Temple courtyard was crowded ].

With regard to all these, if their time falls on Shabbat,

they postpone them and do not advance them.

Although they said

with regard to reading the Megilla that

they advance it and do not postpone it, they are permitted

on the day on which they advance the reading of the Megilla

to engage in eulogies and to fast, and

on that day they give

gifts to the poor .

Rabbi Yehuda said: When

do the villagers advance the reading to the day of assembly? In

a place where they enter

the towns

on Mondays and Thursdays,

for then it is beneficial for them to read on these days.

But

in

a place where they do not enter either on Mondays or on Thursdays—

they read it only at its proper time,

since advancing it provides them with no benefit.

Gemara:

A tanna

taught: The phrase in the Mishna, “in which there are ten idle men,” refers to

ten idle men

who are idle from their work and supported by the community, so that they will be available

in the synagogue

at the time of prayer, as it says in tractate Berakhot: When the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to the synagogue and does not find ten people there, He immediately becomes angry .

We learned in our Mishna:

With regard to these they said: They advance them and do not postpone them.

What is the reason

that they do not postpone the reading of the Megilla?

Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: The verse states,

with regard to reading the Megilla,

“and it shall not pass.”

And we derive from this verse that they do not postpone it beyond the times established by the Sages.

And

further,

Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: From where do we derive that one counts months for years,

for example, if a person said on the first of Nisan, “Wine is forbidden to me by a vow for one year,” the law is that he is prohibited until the first of Nisan of the following year, even though there are still eleven days in which the solar year exceeds the lunar year, and, furthermore, sometimes the months are made deficient. From where do we derive this law?

As it is stated: “For the months of the year.”

And we interpret it:

You count months for years, but you do not count days for years.

And the Sages of Caesarea in the name of Rabbi Abba

added and

said: From where do we derive that one does not calculate hours for months,

for example, if one says, “This is your bill of divorce if I do not come from now until a certain month,” and that month was deficient, and he came on the night after the twenty-ninth day of the month: the law is that this is a bill of divorce, and we do not say that he is still within the month, since a lunar month is twenty-nine and a half days . From where do we derive this law?

As it is stated: “Until a month of days.”

And we interpret it:

You calculate days for months, but you do not calculate hours for months .

We learned in our Mishna:

But the time for the wood of the priests, the Ninth of Av, the Festival offering, and Hakhel—they postpone them and do not advance them.

And we explain the reason for all of them:

The Ninth of Av

is not advanced because

the onset of calamity—

is not advanced.

The Festival offering and Hakhel

are not advanced

because

before the Festival

the time of their obligation has not yet arrived.

And if they advance them, they do not fulfill their obligation.

And likewise, the wood of the priests has a fixed time. If they advance it, they do not fulfill their obligation, for the time of their obligation has not yet arrived .

A tanna

taught in a beraita:

The Festival offering, and the entire period of the Festival offering—

are postponed.

And we examined this:

Granted,

the statement that the offering of

the Festival offering

is postponed means

that if

the Festival

falls on Shabbat,

and it is possible to sacrifice the offering during the intermediate days of the Festival, then

we postpone it

the Festival offering

until after Shabbat.

But

what is the meaning of the statement that

the time of the Festival offering

is postponed?

What does this refer to?

Rav Oshaya said: This is what it means: The Festival offering

that is, the Festival offering itself. And the tanna says that if the Festival

falls on Shabbat,

its bringing is postponed until after Shabbat.

And

likewise, “the time of the Festival offering,” that is,

the burnt offering of appearance [which is an obligation of the pilgrimage Festival, as it is written: “and they shall not appear before Me empty-handed,” meaning that they must bring burnt offerings and sacrifices],

even on a Festival

that falls on a weekday,

since it is

the time

of the offering of

the Festival offering,

even so

they postpone

bringing it until the intermediate days of the Festival.

Whose is this beraita?

It is the opinion of Beit Shammai.

As we learned: Beit Shammai say: One brings peace-offerings on Yom Tov,

for they may be eaten, and labor performed for the sake of eating is permitted on Yom Tov, as it is written: “However, that which may be eaten by every person—that alone may be performed for you”.

But one may not place his hands upon them

on Yom Tov, since the mitzva of placing one’s hands requires him to lean upon the animal with all his strength, and he thereby uses the animal, which is a form of shevut. Rather, one places his hands upon them on the previous day.

But one may not

bring

burnt-offerings

as ראיה-offerings on Yom Tov, since a burnt-offering is not eaten by its owners; rather, it is entirely for the Most High. And we derive: “for you”—specifically, and not for the Most High. Rather, one delays bringing them until the intermediate days of the festival.

And Beit Hillel say: One brings peace-offerings and burnt-offerings

on Yom Tov [and concerning that which is written, “for you,” we derive: “for you”—and not for gentiles],

and

also

places his hands upon them,

as they hold that “immediately after placing one’s hands comes slaughter,” and therefore one is required to place his hands upon them on Yom Tov [But Beit Shammai do not hold by this law].

Rava said:

There is another explanation of the beraita: This is what the tanna is saying: The

festival-offering, throughout the time of the festival-offering—

that is, throughout the entire festival, until the final Yom Tov of the festival—

may be delayed,

but

any further

may not

be delayed .

The source of this law is in a Mishna from Tractate Hagiga.

As we learned

there:

One who did not celebrate

[that is, he did not bring the festival peace-offering and the ראיה burnt-offering]

on the first Yom Tov of the festival

of Sukkot,

continues celebrating throughout the entire festival, and

also on

the final Yom Tov of the festival.

But if

the festival passed

and he did not celebrate—

he is not liable for it,

since he has no further opportunity for compensation . We see that one may delay and bring the festival-offering throughout the time that it can still be brought during that festival.

Rav Ashi said:

There is another explanation of the beraita: This is what the tanna is saying:

The festival-offering and throughout the time of the festival-offering,

if it falls on Shabbat—

may be delayed, and even Shavuot, which

is only

one day

—

may be delayed,

since it has an opportunity for compensation throughout all seven days.

There is proof of this matter,

for

Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disputed the matter with regard to Shavuot that occurs on Friday.

Beit Shammai say that the day of slaughter [the day on which the burnt-offerings and peace-offerings are offered] of Shavuot is after Shabbat, because they hold that burnt-offerings may not be offered on Yom Tov.

And Beit Hillel say that there is no need to wait, since peace-offerings and burnt-offerings may indeed be offered on Yom Tov.

And

we learned

there that

Beit Hillel concede

that

if Shavuot occurs on Shabbat—

the day of slaughter is after Shabbat,

since peace-offerings and burnt-offerings may not be offered on Shabbat.

In any event, we see that Shavuot has an opportunity for compensation. For according to everyone, if Shavuot occurs on Shabbat, the offerings are offered on the following day.

Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina said: Rabbi planted a sapling on

the fifth of

Purim.