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Megillah 17a

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Megillah 17a

Megillah 17a. The full printed text of this folio side — 17 numbered segments, about 467 words — with the classic commentaries printed on the page.

Original text

Segment 1

לָמָּה נִמְנוּ שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל יִשְׁמָעֵאל? כְּדֵי לְיַחֵס בָּהֶן שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב. דִּכְתִיב: ״וְאֵלֶּה שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל מְאַת שָׁנָה וּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים״. כַּמָּה קַשִּׁישׁ יִשְׁמָעֵאל מִיִּצְחָק? אַרְבֵּיסַר שְׁנִין, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְאַבְרָם בֶּן שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים בְּלֶדֶת הָגָר אֶת יִשְׁמָעֵאל לְאַבְרָם״, וּכְתִיב: ״וְאַבְרָהָם בֶּן מְאַת שָׁנָה בְּהִוָּלֶד לוֹ אֵת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ״, וּכְתִיב: ״וְיִצְחָק בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה בְּלֶדֶת אוֹתָם״, בַּר כַּמָּה הֲוָה יִשְׁמָעֵאל כִּדְאִתְיְלִיד יַעֲקֹב? בַּר שִׁבְעִים וְאַרְבְּעָה, כַּמָּה פָּיְישָׁן מִשְּׁנֵיהּ — שִׁתִּין וּתְלָת.

Why were the years of Ishmael mentioned in the Torah? For what purpose were we told the life span of that wicked man? In order to reckon through them the years of Jacob. As it is written: “And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty-seven years” (Genesis 25:17). How much older was Ishmael than Isaac? Fourteen years. As it is written: “And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram” (Genesis 16:16). And it is written: “And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him” (Genesis 21:5). And it is written with regard to Jacob and Esau: “And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them” (Genesis 25:26). Based on these verses, how old was Ishmael when Jacob was born? Seventy-four. How many of his years remained then until his death? Sixty-three, as Ishmael died at the age of a hundred and thirty-seven.

Segment 2

וְתַנְיָא: הָיָה יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁנִּתְבָּרֵךְ מֵאָבִיו בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים וְשָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנָה, וּבוֹ בַּפֶּרֶק מֵת יִשְׁמָעֵאל. דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיַּרְא עֵשָׂו כִּי בֵרַךְ וְגוֹ׳ וַיֵּלֶךְ עֵשָׂו אֶל יִשְׁמָעֵאל וַיִּקַּח אֶת מָחֲלַת בַּת יִשְׁמָעֵאל אֲחוֹת נְבָיוֹת״, מִמַּשְׁמַע שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״בַּת יִשְׁמָעֵאל״, אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁהִיא אֲחוֹת נְבָיוֹת? מְלַמֵּד שֶׁקִּידְּשָׁהּ יִשְׁמָעֵאל וָמֵת, וְהִשִּׂיאָהּ נְבָיוֹת אָחִיהָ.

And it was taught in a baraita : Jacob our father was sixty-three years old at the time he was blessed by his father, and at that same time Ishmael died. How is it known that these two events occurred at the same time? As it is written: “When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob… then Esau went to Ishmael and took for a wife Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth” (Genesis 28:6–9). From the fact that it is stated: “the daughter of Ishmael,” do I not know that she was the sister of Nebaioth? For what purpose then does the verse say this explicitly? This teaches that Ishmael betrothed her to Esau and in the meantime he died, and Nebaioth her brother married her off. Therefore, special mention is made of Nebaioth. Consequently, it is understood that Jacob was sixty-three years old when he received his blessing and left his father’s house.

Segment 3

שִׁתִּין וּתְלָת וְאַרְבֵּיסַר עַד דְּמִתְיְלִיד יוֹסֵף, הָא שִׁבְעִין וְשִׁבְעָה, וּכְתִיב: ״וְיוֹסֵף בֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה בְּעׇמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי פַּרְעֹה״, הָא מְאָה וּשְׁבַע, שַׁב דְּשִׂבְעָא וְתַרְתֵּי דְּכַפְנָא — הָא מְאָה וְשִׁיתְּסַר,

If we calculate these sixty-three years and the fourteen until Joseph was born, this means that Jacob should have been seventy-seven at the time of Joseph’s birth. And it is written: “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh” (Genesis 41:46). This indicates that Jacob should have then been at least a hundred and seven years old when Joseph was thirty. Add the seven years of plenty and the two of famine, and this would then indicate that Jacob should have been a hundred and sixteen years old when he arrived in Egypt in the second year of the famine.

Segment 4

וּכְתִיב: ״וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה אֶל יַעֲקֹב כַּמָּה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֶּיךָ. וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל פַּרְעֹה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי מְגוּרַי שְׁלֹשִׁים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה״, מְאָה וְשִׁיתְּסַר הָוְיָין,

But it is written: “And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years” (Genesis 47:8–9). Jacob indicated that he was a hundred and thirty when he arrived in Egypt, which is different from the hundred and sixteen years calculated previously. Where are the missing fourteen years from Jacob’s lifetime?

Segment 5

אֶלָּא שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שְׁנִין דַּהֲוָה בְּבֵית עֵבֶר לָא חָשֵׁיב לְהוּ. דְּתַנְיָא: הָיָה יַעֲקֹב בְּבֵית עֵבֶר מוּטְמָן אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה. עֵבֶר מֵת לְאַחַר שֶׁיָּרַד יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ לַאֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם שְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים, יָצָא מִשָּׁם וּבָא לוֹ לַאֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם, נִמְצָא כְּשֶׁעָמַד עַל הַבְּאֵר — בֶּן שִׁבְעִים וָשֶׁבַע שָׁנָה.

Rather, learn from here that the fourteen years that Jacob spent in the house of Eber are not counted here. As it is taught in a baraita : Jacob was studying in the house of Eber for fourteen years while in hiding from his brother Esau. If we were to calculate the life spans recorded in the Torah, we would find that Eber died when Jacob was seventy-nine years old, two years after Jacob our father went down to Aram-naharaim, to the house of Laban. When Jacob left after completing his studying there, he then went immediately to Aram-naharaim. Therefore, when Jacob stood at the well upon his arrival in Aram-naharaim, he was seventy-seven years old.

Segment 6

וּמְנָלַן דְּלָא אִיעֲנַשׁ — דְּתַנְיָא: נִמְצָא יוֹסֵף שֶׁפֵּירַשׁ מֵאָבִיו עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁפֵּירַשׁ יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ מֵאָבִיו, דְּיַעֲקֹב תְּלָתִין וְשִׁיתָּא הָוְיָין! אֶלָּא: אַרְבֵּיסַר דַּהֲוָה בְּבֵית עֵבֶר לָא חָשֵׁיב לְהוּ.

And from where do we derive that Jacob was not punished for the fourteen years that he was in the house of Eber, during which time he failed to fulfill the mitzva of honoring one’s parents? As it is taught in a baraita : It turns out that Joseph was away from his father for twenty-two years, just as Jacob our father was away from his own father for that same period of time. According to the previous calculation, however, the baraita is difficult, as Jacob was absent for thirty-six years. Rather, conclude from here that the fourteen years that he was in the house of Eber are not counted, as he was not punished for them.

Segment 7

סוֹף סוֹף דְּבֵית לָבָן עֶשְׂרִין שְׁנִין הָוְיָין! אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם דְּאִשְׁתַּהִי בְּאוֹרְחָא תַּרְתֵּין שְׁנִין, דְּתַנְיָא: יָצָא מֵאֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם וּבָא לוֹ לְסֻכּוֹת, וְעָשָׂה שָׁם שְׁמוֹנָה עָשָׂר חוֹדֶשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְיַעֲקֹב נָסַע סֻכּוֹתָה וַיִּבֶן לוֹ בָּיִת וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכּוֹת״, וּבְבֵית אֵל עָשָׂה שִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים, וְהִקְרִיב זְבָחִים.

The Gemara raises an objection: But ultimately, Jacob was in Laban’s house for only twenty years. Why, then, is he faulted for being away from his father for twenty-two years? Rather, he was punished because on his journey back from Aram-naharaim he tarried another two years before returning home to his parents, as it is taught in a baraita : Jacob left Aram-naharaim and came to Sukkot, and spent eighteen months there, as it is stated: “And Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, built himself a house, and made booths [ sukkot ] for his cattle” (Genesis 33:17). The Gemara understands this verse to mean that first he made booths [ Sukkot ], to live in during the summer, and then he built a house in the winter, and afterward he again made booths [ sukkot ] during the next summer, indicating that he must have been there for eighteen months. He then was in Bethel for six months, and he brought offerings, totaling two years in all. In this way, all the various calculations of years are reconciled.

Segment 8

הֲדַרַן עֲלָךְ מְגִילָּה נִקְרֵאת

May we return to you Chapter “The Megillah is Read”

Segment 9

הַקּוֹרֵא אֶת הַמְּגִילָּה לְמַפְרֵעַ — לֹא יָצָא. קְרָאָהּ עַל פֶּה, קְרָאָהּ תַּרְגּוּם בְּכׇל לָשׁוֹן — לֹא יָצָא. אֲבָל קוֹרִין אוֹתָהּ לַלּוֹעֲזוֹת בְּלַעַז, וְהַלּוֹעֵז שֶׁשָּׁמַע אַשּׁוּרִית — יָצָא.

MISHNA: With regard to one who reads the Megilla out of order, reading a later section first, and then going back to the earlier section, he has not fulfilled his obligation. If he read it by heart, or if he read it in Aramaic translation or in any other language that he does not understand, he has not fulfilled his obligation. However, for those who speak a foreign language, one may read the Megilla in that foreign language. And one who speaks a foreign language who heard the Megilla read in Ashurit , i.e., in Hebrew, has fulfilled his obligation.

Segment 10

קְרָאָהּ סֵירוּגִין וּמִתְנַמְנֵם — יָצָא. הָיָה כּוֹתְבָהּ, דּוֹרְשָׁהּ וּמַגִּיהָהּ, אִם כִּוֵּון לִבּוֹ — יָצָא, וְאִם לָאו — לֹא יָצָא.

If one read the Megilla at intervals, pausing and resuming, or while he is dozing off, he has fulfilled his obligation. If one was writing a Megilla, or expounding upon it, or correcting it, and he read all its words as he was doing so, the following distinction applies: If he had intent to fulfill his obligation with that reading he has fulfilled his obligation, but if not, he has not fulfilled his obligation.

Segment 11

הָיְתָה כְּתוּבָה בְּסַם וּבְסִיקְרָא וּבְקוֹמוֹס וּבְקַנְקַנְתּוֹם, עַל הַנְּיָיר וְעַל הַדִּפְתְּרָא — לֹא יָצָא, עַד שֶׁתְּהֵא כְּתוּבָה אַשּׁוּרִית, עַל הַסֵּפֶר, וּבִדְיוֹ.

If one reads from a Megilla that was written not with ink but with sam or with sikra or with komos or with kankantom , or from a Megilla that was written not on parchment but on neyar or on diftera , a kind of unprocessed leather, he has not fulfilled his obligation. He does not fulfill his obligation unless he reads from a Megilla that is written in Ashurit , i.e., in the Hebrew language and using the Hebrew script, upon parchment and with ink.

Segment 12

גְּמָ׳ מְנָא הָנֵי מִילֵּי? אָמַר רָבָא, דְּאָמַר קְרָא: ״כִּכְתָבָם וְכִזְמַנָּם״ — מָה זְמַנָּם לְמַפְרֵעַ לָא, אַף כְּתָבָם לְמַפְרֵעַ לָא.

GEMARA: It was taught in the mishna that one who reads the Megilla out of order has not fulfilled his obligation. The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? Rava said: The verse states concerning Purim: “That they should unfailingly observe these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed times every year” (Esther 9:27), and the word “times” is referring to the two days of Purim, the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar. And we learn by way of analogy: Just as their appointed times cannot be out of order, as the fifteenth of Adar cannot possibly come before the fourteenth, so too, their writing must not be out of order.

Segment 13

מִידֵּי ״קְרִיאָה״ כְּתִיבָה הָכָא? ״עֲשִׂיָּיה״ כְּתִיבָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״לִהְיוֹת עוֹשִׂים אֵת שְׁנֵי הַיָּמִים״, אֶלָּא מֵהָכָא, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה נִזְכָּרִים וְנַעֲשִׂים״, אִיתַּקַּשׁ זְכִירָה לַעֲשִׂיָּיה: מָה עֲשִׂיָּיה לְמַפְרֵעַ לָא, אַף זְכִירָה לְמַפְרֵעַ לָא.

The Gemara rejects this derivation: Is reading written here at all? It is “ observing” that is written here in this verse, not reading, as it is written: “That they should unfailingly observe these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed times.” Rather, the proof is from here, as it is written: “And that these days should be remembered and observed throughout every generation” (Esther 9:28). Remembering is juxtaposed to observing, indicating: Just as observing cannot be out of order, as was derived from the words “That they should unfailingly observe these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed times,” so too, remembering, by reading the Megilla, may not be out of order.

Segment 14

תָּנָא: וְכֵן בְּהַלֵּל, וְכֵן בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּבִתְפִלָּה.

§ The Sages taught in a baraita : This halakha of not reading out of order applies also to hallel , and also to the recitation of Shema , and also to the Amida prayer, meaning that to fulfill one’s obligation he must recite the text of each of these in order.

Segment 15

הַלֵּל מְנָלַן? רַבָּה אָמַר, דִּכְתִיב: ״מִמִּזְרַח שֶׁמֶשׁ עַד מְבוֹאוֹ״. רַב יוֹסֵף אָמַר: ״זֶה הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה ה׳״.

The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that hallel may not be recited out of order? Rabba said: As it is written in hallel : “From the rising of the sun until its setting the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Psalms 113:3). Just as the sunrise and sunset cannot be reversed, so too, hallel may not be recited out of order. Rav Yosef said: It is derived from the verse in hallel that states: “This is the day that the Lord has made” (Psalms 118:24); just as the day follows a certain order, so too, hallel must be recited in its proper order.

Segment 16

רַב אַוְיָא אָמַר: ״יְהִי שֵׁם ה׳ מְבוֹרָךְ״. וְרַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב אָמַר: מֵהָכָא: ״מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם״.

Rav Avya said: It is derived from the verse in hallel : “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Psalms 113:2), indicating that the blessing of God must “be” just as it is written. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said, and some say that it was Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov who said: It is derived from here, the end of the aforementioned verse: “From now and for evermore” (Psalms 113:2), i.e., it should be like time, which cannot be reversed.

Segment 17

קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, דְּתַנְיָא: קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע כִּכְתָבָהּ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: בְּכׇל לָשׁוֹן. מַאי טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי? אָמַר קְרָא:

From where do we know one has not fulfilled his obligation of reciting the Shema if he recited it out of order? As it is taught in a baraita : The recital of the Shema must be as it is written, i.e., in Hebrew; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. But the Rabbis say: It may be recited in any language. The Gemara asks: What is the reason of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi? The verse states:

Megillah 17a

Megillah 17a

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Tosafot

Rabbeinu Chananel

Rashba

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Maharsha (Chidushei Halachot)

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