Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 8, scan section 59

the taking of the handful of flour [Lev. ii. 2] ; the burning with incense of the fat of a sacrifice on the altar ; the pinching or wringing off of the head of fowls brought at sacrifices [Lev. i. 15]; the receiving of the blood of a sacrifice; the sprinkling thereof on the altar ; the giving the bitter water to drink to a woman suspected of adultery ; the striking off of the heifer's neck [Deut. xxi. 4], and the purification of a leprous person. The following acts may be done during the whole of the night : The cutting of the sheaves for the " omer," and the burning of the fat and members of a burnt-offering on the altar [Lev. vi. 9]. This is the rule; Whatever is commanded to 56 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. be done by day may legally be done during the whole of the day ; and whatever is commanded to be done by night, it is lawful to do during the whole of the night. GEMARA: Whence do we deduce this? Because it is writ- ten : " Those days are remembered and celebrated." The read- ing of Hallel, as is written [Ps. cxiii. 3] : " From the rising of the sun unto the going down." R. Joseph says: As it is written [ibid, cxviii. 24] : " This is the day which the Lord hath made." " The use of the Lulab," because it is written [Lev. xxiii. 40] : " And ye shall take unto yourselves on the first day." " The sounding of the cornet," because it is written [Num. xxix. 7] : "A day of blowing of the cornet shall it be unto you." "And the additional offering," as it is written [Lev. xxiii. 37] : " Every- thing upon its day." And the prayer at the additional offering is like the offering itself.* " This is the rule" etc. What is it meant to include? The putting away of the spoon of frankincense, and the taking it away (because the old must be taken away at the same time that the new is brought, as will be explained in Tract Mena'hoth). "By night" etc. What is it meant to include? The eating of the Paschal lamb, which is only before sunrise ; and the Mishna is not in accordance with Elazar b. Azariah (as will be explained in Tract Mena'hoth). * The remaining laws of the Mishna are also deduced here from verses or from analogies of expression ; but they are found in other and more proper places, and are therefore here omitted. APPENDIX TO FOOTNOTE ON PAGE 53. Jastrow's Dictionary has just reached us, and we are surprised not to find under sub. TIE the quotation T1E1, repeated twice on page 19b, old ed., mentioned by us in our note, which means they struck the Halakha on its head. We fail to find any reason for this omission, as it seems to us very important that the quotation should occur. CHAPTER III. REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE POSTURE OF THE READER OF THE MEGILLA, AND HIS CLOTHES, BEFORE PRAYER. MISHNA : The Megilla may be read either sitting or standing, by one person only, or by two persons at the same time. They alike fulfil their duty. In places where it is usual to say a bless- ing (after reading it) it is obligatory to say it, but not when it is not customary. Three men are called to read in the Holy Scrolls on Mondays and Thursdays ; and in the afternoon of the Sabbath neither more nor less than that number may be called, nor shall any section from the Prophets then be read. He who commences the reading of the Holy Scrolls shall pronounce the first benedic- tion before reading it, and he who concludes the reading shall pronounce the last benediction after reading it. On the first of the month, on the intermediate days of the festivals, four men are to be called. This number may neither be added to nor diminished, nor shall any section of the Prophets then be read (the first of these men shall say the first blessing before reading, and the lajt who concludes the reading shall say the last blessing after reading). This is the rule : On all days, when an additional offering is prescribed, which are nevertheless not festivals, four men are to be called ; five on festivals ; six on the Day of Atonement ; and seven on the Sabbath. This number may not be diminished, but it may be increased, and a section of the Prophets must be read on those days. The first and the last readers shall pronounce the benedictions before and after reading. GEMARA: We have learned in a Boraitha : It is not so with the reading of the Torah, which can be read only when the congregation sits. Whence do we deduce this? Said R. Abahu : It is written [Deut. v. 28] : " But as for thee, stand thou here by me." From this we infer, he should stand, and the congregation should sit. He says again : How do we know that the Master should not teach the disciple when he sits on the bed, and the disciple on the floor? Because it is written: "Stand by (with) me " (as I stand so you should stand). 57 53 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. The rabbis taught : From the time of Moses till Rabban Gamaliel the Law was studied standing ; when R. Gamaliel died, sicknesses came into existence, and they began to study sitting. And this is what we have learned in a Mishna elsewhere, that since R. Gamaliel had died the honoring of the Law had ceased. One verse says [Deut. ix. 9] : "I sat on the mount " ; and another [ibid. x. 10] : " I stood on the mount." Said Rabh : He stood when he studied, and he sat when he repeated. R. Johanan, however, said : By " sitting " is meant abiding, as is written [Deut. i. 46] : " And ye sat in Kadesh," which means "dwelt." Rabha says: The easy things he learned standing, and the difficult things he sat down to understand. " By one person, or by two," etc. We have learned in a Borai- tha : The law is not so with the Holy Scrolls (which only one can read, not two). The rabbis taught : The scrolls of the Pentateuch one should read and the other should interpret ; but not one shall read and two interpret ; but the Prophets : One should read and two may interpret it, but two should not read and two interpret. In case of Hallel and the Megilla, however, even ten may read and ten in- terpret. Why so ? Because Hallel and the Megilla are dear to the people, and even if ten read they will give their attention. " In places where it is usual to say a blessing" etc. Says Abayi : The Mishna refers only to the benediction after it ; but before, it is obligatory. As R. Jehudah said in the name of Sam- uel : For all religious duties, one should pronounce a benediction before they are done. What blessing should be pronounced before the reading of the Megilla ? R. Shesheth of Qartazia said in the presence of R. Ashi : Three blessings : Blessed be He, etc., who has commanded us to read the Megilla; Blessed be He, etc., who has performed miracles for our ancestors ; and the benediction of the time. What blessing is said after the reading of the Megilla ? " Blessed