Taanit 27b (כז:) — the Talmud in English

There were prophets who

were

among them [among those who ascended to Eretz Yisrael]

and divided them [and divided those four watches that had ascended from the Diaspora],

and established them as twenty-four

watches. That is, they divided the priests of each of those four watches into six groups.

The order of the watches’ service in the Temple was fixed and known. Therefore, had they not divided the watches, the four watches that ascended would have served according to the order that had existed when there were twenty-four watches.

But now that they divided each watch into six, a dispute arose among those six watches, since each one said: “I will serve first in the Temple!” What did they do?

They wrote the designation of each of the five new watches within the watch of Jedaiah on a piece of parchment, as well as the name “Jedaiah,” and

mixed them [shuffled them]

and placed them in a lottery box.

Jedaiah came,

the head of the first watch,

and took

slips corresponding to

his share

, and

corresponding to

the share of his colleagues

that had been added to his, namely, five more, making

six in all.

According to the order in which the slips came into his hand, so they served in the Temple service. The one whose slip came up first served during the first week of the six weeks in which the watch of Jedaiah served. And so on, in that order.

Likewise,

Harim came,

the head of the second watch,

and took his share and the share of his colleagues—

six.

Likewise

did

Pashhur, and likewise

did

Immer.

And

since these four watches volunteered to ascend from the Diaspora before all the others,

the prophets who

were

among them [among those who ascended from the Diaspora] also stipulated:

That even

if, at a later time,

Jehoiarib,

who had been

the head of the watch

first among those watches that had served in the First Temple and had remained in the Diaspora,

ascended

from the Diaspora, and wished to serve in the Temple among the other priestly watches,

Jedaiah would not displace

any of the watches that had been divided from it

from its place [from the time designated for them to serve when they first ascended from the Diaspora],

Rather, Jedaiah is primary,

and it serves at the time designated for it.

And Jehoiarib—

subordinate to it,

and it serves after it.

And how would they do this?

They would divide the descendants of Jedaiah anew into five watches, instead of the six that there had originally been, and Jehoiarib would come and serve after Jedaiah’s fifth watch, in place of the sixth watch that had belonged to Jedaiah.

We learned in our Mishna:

“And the Israelites belonging to that watch would gather in their cities and read the account of Creation.”

From where are these words [From where do we know this],

that they read the account of Creation?

Rabbi Yaakov bar Aḥa said that Rav Asi said:

Because

if not for the ma’amadot,

that is, the sacrificial service that the Israelites offer,

the heavens and the earth would not endure.

This is because if the Israelites did not offer sacrifices that atone for sin, they would be consumed by their sins. And if, Heaven forbid, Israel were consumed, the heavens and the earth, which stand by virtue of Israel,

would not endure.

As it is stated

concerning Abraham, at the covenant between the pieces:

“And he said, ‘O Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?’”

Thus

Abraham said

before the Holy One, blessed be He:

“Master of the Universe! Perhaps Israel will sin before You,

and

You will do to them as You did to the generation of the Flood

and the generation of the Dispersion],

and destroy them?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him:

No.

I will not do this to them.

Abraham said

before Him:

“Master of the Universe, tell me: by what shall I inherit it?”

That is, tell me: by what merit will Israel endure forever and not be destroyed?

He said to him: “Take for Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and so on.”

That is, Israel will endure forever by virtue of the sacrifices.

Abraham said

before Him:

“Master of the Universe, that is understandable” [It is satisfactory],

the matter is reasonable and acceptable,

when the Temple is standing,

when sacrifices can be offered, and Israel can then endure by their merit.

But

when the Temple is not standing,

when they cannot offer sacrifices,

what will become of them?

He said to him: “I have already established for them”

for Israel

the order of sacrifices [the Torah portion concerning sacrifices].

When

Israel

read them before Me, I deem it

for them as though they had offered them before Me

in actuality,

and

through this

I forgive them for all their sins.

And since the ma’amadot were instituted for the sake of offering sacrifices, they therefore read the account of Creation at that time. For if not for the sacrifices, the heavens and the earth would not endure.

The Sages taught: The members of the watch

who ascended to Jerusalem

would pray that the sacrifice of their brethren be accepted favorably.

And the members of the ma’amad,

who remained in their cities while the members of the watch ascended to Jerusalem,

would gather in the synagogue and sit

during that week

through four fasts,

on the following days:

On the second day of the week [on Monday],

on

the

third day, on

the

fourth day, and on

the

fifth day.

The beraita now explains for what purpose they fasted on these four days.

On

the

second day

they would fast

for those who travel by sea,

that they should reach their destination safely.

They fasted for this on the second day because it is stated concerning the second day of Creation: “Let there be a firmament within the waters”; therefore, one must mention and plead for this matter.

On

the

third day

they would fast

for those who travel through deserts.

This is because on the third day of Creation it is stated: “Let the dry land appear.” That is, the land should be suitable for those who travel upon it, so that they would not be harmed by wild animals.

On

the

fourth day

they would fast

for askara

, that it should not befall infants.

This is because on the fourth day the luminaries were suspended in the heavens, and it is said concerning them: “Let there be luminaries.” And the written form of the word [that is, the manner in which the word is written in the Torah] “luminaries” is defective: “curse,” without the letter vav. It is an expression of curse and malediction.

On

the

fifth day

they would fast

for pregnant women [pregnant women]

and nursing women.

This is because it is stated concerning the fifth day: “Let the waters swarm a swarming of living creatures,” which relates to procreation.

And for what purpose would they fast for pregnant and nursing women?

For

pregnant women

they would fast, so that

they would not miscarry

their fetuses.

And for

nursing women

they would fast, so that

they would nurse [so that they would be able to nurse]

their children.

And on the eve of Shabbat they would not fast, out of respect for

Shabbat.

That is, so that they would not enter Shabbat while afflicted by fasting.

And if they did not fast on the eve of Shabbat,

it follows by a fortiori inference

that they did not fast

on Shabbat itself.

On the first day of the week [on Sunday]—

why not [Why did they not fast]?

Rabbi Yohanan said: Because of the Christians, ,

who make Sunday a festival. If the Jews fasted on that day, the Christians would falsely accuse them and say that the Jews were mourning on their day of joy.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Because it is

the first day of the week, the

third day from the creation

of man. For man was created on Friday, and the third day from his creation is Sunday. And on the third day after a person’s renewal there is weakness. As we find concerning the people of Shekhem, of whom it is stated after they circumcised themselves: “And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain” . And since there is weakness on Sunday, they do not fast on it.

Reish Lakish said: Because of the additional soul

that a person possessed on Shabbat and that was taken from him at the conclusion of Shabbat. This causes him weakness.

For Reish Lakish said: An additional soul was given to him

to a person on the eve of Shabbat.

It broadens his mind from Heaven, so that he can eat and drink more than his regular amount throughout the week.

At the conclusion of Shabbat— it is taken from him.

As it is stated: “Shabbat and he was refreshed.”

Once he rested

the person, having rested and observed Shabbat until its conclusion—

woe, it is lost

and removed,

the soul

additional

that had been within him.

We learned in our Mishna:

On the first day: “In the beginning” and “Let there be a firmament.”

The tanna:

The portion of

“In the beginning”

is read

by two,

a Kohen and a Levite. But the portion of

“Let there be a firmament”—

is read

by

one

person.

The Gemara asks:

Granted,

that we learned that the portion of

“Let there be a firmament”

is read

by

one

person,

the matter is understandable, because

there are three verses [there are three verses],

and that is sufficient for the reading of one person.

But

it is difficult concerning what we learned, that the portion of

“In the beginning”

is read

by two,

for

there are five verses [there are five verses in the portion],

and

it is

stated in a

beraita [we learned in a beraita]:

One who reads from the Torah

[one who is called up to read from the Torah]

may not begin with fewer than

a reading of

three verses,

so how can five verses suffice for two readers?!

The explanation of this matter is subject to a dispute between Rav and Shmuel:

Rav said: He skips.

That is, the first reader reads three verses. The second reads again the last verse read by the first reader [this is the meaning of “he skips,” as he jumps backward and repeats the last verse read by his predecessor], and adds two more verses.

And Shmuel said: He divides

[he cuts and divides] the middle verse. That is, the first reader reads the first two verses and half of the third verse. The second reads the second half of the third verse and continues by reading the next two verses. The fourth and fifth

.

The Gemara asks:

And Rav, who said

that he

skips, for what reason did he not say

that he

divides,

as Shmuel explained?

The Gemara explains: This is because

he holds

that

any verse that Moses did not divide, we do not divide [any verse that Moses our teacher did not divide in the Torah, we do not divide].

And Shmuel said: He divides.

Indeed, even a verse that Moses our teacher did not divide in the Torah, we divide.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

But do we divide

[is it possible to interrupt and divide a verse into two parts]?

But did Rabbi Hanina the Scripture-reader say

[and yet Rabbi Hanina, who was a master of Scripture, knew its textual version, and was expert in its cantillation, said]:

“I suffered great anguish before Rabbi Hanina the Great,”

I exerted myself and repeatedly entreated him so that he would permit me to divide a verse in two in order to teach schoolchildren,

and

he did indeed permit me to do so.

It follows that a verse may not be divided into two, except for the sake of teaching children of the school!

But

he permitted me to divide only for

the sake of

schoolchildren, since they are made for study [since they need to learn],

and it is difficult for them to read an entire verse.

Thus we have established that a verse is not divided in two except for the sake of schoolchildren!

And Shmuel,

who holds that a verse may be divided in two for the sake of reading a portion containing five verses, would answer:

Even Rabbi Hanina the Great, despite having permitted it only with great difficulty, nevertheless ultimately permitted it for the purpose of teaching schoolchildren.

But

there,

in the case of teaching schoolchildren,

what is the reason

that they permitted it?—

Because it is impossible [for they cannot be taught except in this manner].

Here too,

even here, in the reading of the portion of Genesis,

it is impossible

[it is impossible] to do otherwise except by dividing the verse in two.

The Gemara continues and asks:

And Shmuel,

who

said

that he

divides

the verse in two, because there is no other possibility,

for what reason did he not say

that he

skips,

as Rav said?

The Gemara explains: Because skipping, as Rav said, is not a satisfactory solution:

a decree because of those who enter

in the middle of the Torah reading,

and a decree because of those who leave

before the end of the reading.

That is, there is concern that people will enter the synagogue after the first reader has completed his reading and will see that the second is reading three verses from the same portion, which contains five verses. Since they did not hear the first reader’s reading, they will think that the first reader read only the remaining two verses, and will infer from this that it is permitted for a person to be called up and read two verses.

Likewise, there is concern that people will leave the synagogue after the first reader has completed reading three verses, and will think that the second will read only the two verses remaining in that portion, and will infer from this that it is permitted for a person to be called up to read two verses.

Meytivi: A portion of six verses,

which is read on one of the days of the year on which the Torah is read,

is read by two

[by two people called up]. Each of them reads three verses.

And

if the portion is

of five

verses, it

is read

by

a

single

reader.

And if the first reader reads three verses

from that portion of five verses, then

the second,

the reader called up after him,

reads two [the two remaining verses]

from this portion,

of five verses,

and

adds and reads

one verse—

from another portion.

And there are those who say

that the second reader, in addition to those two verses remaining in the portion, reads another

three

verses. He does not add only one verse,

because one does not begin

to read

a portion with fewer than three verses.

Now, why does the second reader add and read from another portion?

According to the one who says that he skips [according to the one who says that he skips, namely, Rav]—

let him skip

[let him skip here as well],

and according to the one who says

that he

divides,

namely, Shmuel—

let him divide

[let him divide here as well]!

let him divide here as well]!