Taanit 27b — the Talmud in English

There stood prophets who

were

among them [among those who ascended to the Land of Israel]

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

and established them as twenty-four

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

The order of the service of the watches 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 existed when there were twenty-four watches.

But now, when they divided each watch into six, a dispute arose among those six watches, for each one of them would say: “I shall 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

stirred them together]

and placed them in a lottery box.

Jedaiah came,

the head of the first watch,

and took

notes corresponding to

his portion

, and

corresponding to

the portion of his colleagues

that had been added to him, namely five more, in total—

six.

According to the order in which the notes came up in his hand, so would they serve in the service of the Temple. The one whose note came up first would serve during the first week of the six weeks in which the watch of Jedaiah would serve, and so on, in that order.

And likewise

Harim came,

the head of the second watch,

and took his portion and the portion of his colleagues—

six.

And so

did

Pashhur, and so

did

Immer.

And

since these four watches volunteered to ascend from the exile before everyone else, therefore

so did the prophets who

were

among them [among those who ascended from the exile] stipulate:

That even

if, after some time,

Jehoiarib,

who was

the head of the watch

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

ascends

from the exile, and wishes to serve in the Temple among the other priestly watches,

Jedaiah shall not displace

and all the watches that were divided from him

from his place [from the time fixed for them to serve when they first ascended from the exile],

Rather, Jedaiah is primary,

and he serves at the time fixed for him.

And Jehoiarib—

secondary to him,

and he serves after him.

And how will they do this?

They will divide the descendants of Jedaiah anew into five watches, instead of the six that they were initially, and Jehoiarib will come and serve after the fifth watch of Jedaiah, in place of the sixth watch that belonged to Jedaiah.

We learned in our Mishna:

“And the Israelites of 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?

that they read the account of Creation?

Rabbi Yaakov bar Aha said in the name of Rav Asi:

Because

if not for the ma'amadot,

that is, the involvement with the offerings that Israel brings—

the heavens and the earth would not have endured.

That is because if Israel did not bring offerings that atone for sin, they would be consumed because of 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 event of the covenant between the pieces:

“And he said, O Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

Thus

Abraham said

before the Holy One, blessed is He:

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

and

You will deal with them as with the generation of the Flood

and the generation of the Dispersion,

and destroy them?

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

Всевышний:

No.

I will not do this to them.

Abraham said

before

Him: “Master of the universe, inform me: whereby shall I inherit it?”

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

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

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

Abraham said

before

Him: “That is satisfactory” [satisfactory],

the matter is agreeable and acceptable,

when the Temple exists,

when it is possible to bring offerings, and then Israel will endure by their merit.

But

when the Temple does not exist,

when they will be unable to bring offerings,

what will become of them?

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

for Israel

the order of the offerings [the section of the offerings written in the Torah].

When

Israel

read them before Me, I consider

it for them as though they had brought them before Me

in actuality,

and

through this

I forgive them for all their iniquities.

And since the ma'amadot are made for the purpose of bringing offerings, therefore they read the account of Creation then. For if not for the offerings, the heavens and the earth would not endure.

The Sages taught: The people of the watch

who ascended to Jerusalem

would pray concerning the offering of their brethren, that it be accepted favorably.

And the people of the ma'amad,

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

would gather in the synagogue and sit

during that week

through four fasts,

on these days:

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

on

the

third day, on

the

fourth day, and on

the

fifth.

Now the beraita explains for what purpose they fasted on these four days.

On

the

second day

they fasted

for those who descend to the sea,

that they should reach their destination safely.

And they fasted for this on the second day because it is stated concerning the second day of the creation of the world: “Let there be a firmament within the waters”; therefore it is necessary to mention the matter and seek mercy for it.

On

the

third day

they fasted

for those who travel in deserts.

Because on the third day of Creation it is stated: “And let the dry land appear.” That is, the dry land should be fit for those who travel upon it, so that they should not be harmed by wild animals.

On

the

fourth day

they fasted

for askara

, so that it should not befall infants.

That is because on the fourth day the luminaries were suspended, and it was 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: “curses.” For it is an expression of curse.

On

the

fifth day

they fasted

for pregnant women [

pregnant women]

and nursing women.

Because it is stated concerning the fifth day: “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures,” which is a matter of procreation.

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

For

pregnant women

they fasted—in order

that they should not miscarry

their fetuses.

And for

nursing women

they fasted—in order

that they should nurse [

that they should be able to nurse]

their sons.

And on the eve of Shabbat they would not fast, because of the honor of

Shabbat.

That is, so that one would not enter Shabbat while afflicted.

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

kal va-chomer

they would not fast

on Shabbat itself.

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

what is the reason they did not [why did they not fast]?

почему они не постились]?

Rabbi Yohanan said: Because of the Christians,

who make Sunday a festival. And if Israel fasted on that day, the Christians would slander them and say that Israel mourns on their day of joy.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said: Because it is,

the first day of the week,

the third day of the creation

of man. For man was created on the sixth day, and the third day of his creation is Sunday. And on the third day of renewal in a person there is weakness. As we find concerning the people of Shechem, regarding 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.

Resh Lakish said: Because of the additional soul

that a person had on Shabbat and that was taken from him at the conclusion of Shabbat. And this matter causes him weakness.

For Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: An additional soul was given to him

to a person on the eve of Shabbat.

For the heavenly powers broaden his mind, so that he can eat and drink more than his regular amount throughout the week.

At the conclusion of Shabbat—

they take it from him.

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

Once he has ceased

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

woe, it has been lost

and taken away

the soul

that had been within him.

We learned in our Mishna:

On the first day: “In the beginning,” and “And let there be a firmament.”

The tanna:

The portion of

“In the beginning”

is read

by two,

by a kohen and a Levite. But the portion of

“And let there be a firmament”—

is read

by

one

person.

The Gemara asks:

Granted,

that which we learned, that the portion of

“And let there be a firmament”

is read

by

one

person,

the matter is understandable, because

there are three verses [

they are three verses], and that is sufficient for the reading of one person.

But

there is cause for astonishment concerning that which 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

behold,

it was taught [

we learned in a beraita]:

one who reads from the Torah [

one who goes up to read from the Torah],

may not reduce the reading from

a reading of

three verses,

and how can five verses suffice for two readers?!

In explaining this matter, Rav and Shmuel disagreed:

Rav said: He repeats.

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

And Shmuel said: He divides

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

The Gemara asks:

And Rav, who said

that

he repeats, for what reason did he not say

that

he divides,

as in Shmuel’s explanation?

The Gemara explains: This is because

he holds [

he is of the opinion]:

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 it].

And Shmuel said: He divides.

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

And the Gemara is astonished:

Do we divide [

can it be said that we interrupt and divide a verse into two parts]?

But did Rabbi Hanina the Scripture-reader not say [

and behold, Rabbi Hanina, who was a master of Scripture, knew its wording, and was expert in its cantillation, said]:

I suffered great distress with Rabbi Hanina the Great,

I exerted myself and returned to him many times so that he would permit me to divide a verse into two in order to teach the children of the school,

and

indeed, he permitted me this matter.

But

he permitted me to divide only for the

need of

the children of the school, since they are made for learning [

since they need to learn], and it is difficult for them to read an entire verse.

We have therefore learned that we do not divide a verse into two, except for the need of the children of the school!

And Shmuel,

who holds that a verse may be divided into two for the reading of a portion that contains five verses, will reply and say:

Indeed, Rabbi Hanina the Great too, although he permitted it only with great difficulty, nevertheless permitted it in the end in order to teach the children of the school.

But

there,

in the teaching of the children of the school,

what is the reason,

what is the reason that they permitted it to them—

because it is impossible [

for it is impossible to teach them except in this manner],

here too,

also here, in the reading of the portion “In the beginning,”

it is impossible [

it is impossible] in another manner, except by dividing the verse into two.

The Gemara continues and asks:

And Shmuel,

who

said

that

he divides

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

for what reason did he not say

that

he repeats,

as Rav said?

And the Gemara explains: Because repeating, as Rav said, is not a good 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 conclusion of the reading.

That is, there is a concern that people will enter the synagogue after the first has finished his reading, and they will see that the second is reading three verses from that portion that contains five verses; and since they did not hear the first one’s reading, they will think that the first read only the remaining two verses, and they will learn from this that it is permitted to go up and read two verses.

And likewise, there is concern that there will be people who leave the synagogue after the first has finished reading three verses, and they will think that the second will read only the two verses remaining in that portion, and they will learn from this that it is permitted to go up to read two verses.

He raised an objection: 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 who go up]. Each of them reads three verses.

And

if the portion

of five

verses—is read

by

a

single

reader.

And if the first reads three verses

from that portion of five verses, then

the second,

the one who goes 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 some say

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

three

verses. And he does not add only one verse,

because one does not begin

to read

in a portion with fewer than three verses.

And now, why does the second add and read from another portion?

According to the one who says “he repeats” [

according to the one who said that he repeats, namely Rav]—

let him repeat [

let him repeat here as well],

and according to the one who says

that he

divides,

namely Shmuel—

let him divide [

let him divide here as well]!