Megillah 24b

הָכָא נָמֵי, אִיכָּא נִצּוּיֵי אָבִיו וְנִצּוּיֵי רַבּוֹ.

Here, also, according to Rabba bar Shimi, it is to prevent his father or teacher from quarreling.

פּוֹחֵחַ פּוֹרֵס עַל שְׁמַע וְכוּ׳. בְּעָא מִינֵּיהּ עוּלָּא בַּר רַב מֵאַבָּיֵי: קָטָן פּוֹחֵחַ מַהוּ שֶׁיִּקְרָא בַּתּוֹרָה?

§ We learned in the mishna: One whose limbs are exposed [ poḥe’aḥ ] may recite the introductory prayers and blessing before Shema and translate the Torah reading into Aramaic, but he may not read from the Torah. Ulla bar Rav raised a dilemma before Abaye: What is the halakha with regard to whether a minor whose limbs are exposed may read from the Torah? Can it be argued that a minor’s bare limbs do not fall under the category of nakedness, and therefore it is permitted for him to read the Torah despite the fact that parts of his body are exposed?

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: וְתִיבְּעֵי לָךְ עָרוֹם! עָרוֹם מַאי טַעְמָא לָא — מִשּׁוּם כְּבוֹד צִבּוּר, הָכָא נָמֵי מִשּׁוּם כְּבוֹד צִבּוּר.

Abaye said to him: And according to this reasoning, raise the dilemma with regard to a minor who is totally naked. What is the reason that a minor who is naked may not read the Torah? It is due to respect for the public. Here, too, a poḥe’aḥ may not read from the Torah due to respect for the public.

סוֹמֵא פּוֹרֵס עַל שְׁמַע וְכוּ׳. תַּנְיָא, אָמְרוּ לוֹ לְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה: הַרְבֵּה צָפוּ לִדְרוֹשׁ בַּמֶּרְכָּבָה, וְלֹא רָאוּ אוֹתָהּ מִימֵיהֶם.

The mishna continues: One who is blind may recite the introductory prayers and blessing before Shema , and he may also translate the Torah reading into Aramaic. Rabbi Yehuda says: Anyone who has not seen the luminaries in his life may not recite the first of the blessings before Shema , which is the blessing over the luminaries. It is taught in a baraita that they said to Rabbi Yehuda: Many have seen enough with their mind to expound upon the Divine Chariot, although they have never actually seen it. Similarly, even one who has never seen the luminaries may recite the blessing.

וְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה, הָתָם בְּאֹבַנְתָּא דְלִיבָּא תַּלְיָא מִילְּתָא, וְהָא קָא מִיכַּוֵּין וְיָדַע. הָכָא מִשּׁוּם הֲנָאָה הוּא, וְהָא לֵית לֵיהּ הֲנָאָה.

And how does Rabbi Yehuda counter this argument? He can say that there, with regard to the Chariot, the matter depends upon the heart’s comprehension, and one can concentrate his mind and understand the Chariot even if he has never actually seen it. But here, with regard to the luminaries, the blessing is recited due to the benefit one derives from them, and one who is blind does not derive any benefit from them, and therefore he may not recite a blessing over them.

וְרַבָּנַן — אִית לֵיהּ הֲנָאָה, כְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי. דְּתַנְיָא, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: כׇּל יָמַי הָיִיתִי מִצְטַעֵר עַל מִקְרָא זֶה: ״וְהָיִיתָ מְמַשֵּׁשׁ בַּצׇּהֳרַיִם כַּאֲשֶׁר יְמַשֵּׁשׁ הָעִוֵּר בָּאֲפֵלָה״, וְכִי מָה אִכְפַּת לֵיהּ לְעִוֵּר בֵּין אֲפֵילָה לְאוֹרָה?

And the Rabbis maintain that even a blind man derives benefit from the luminaries, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei said: All of my life I was troubled by this verse, which I did not understand: “And you shall grope at noon as the blind man gropes in the darkness” (Deuteronomy 28:29). I was perplexed: What does it matter to a blind person whether it is dark or light? He cannot see in any event, so why does the verse speak about a blind man in the darkness?

עַד שֶׁבָּא מַעֲשֶׂה לְיָדִי: פַּעַם אַחַת הָיִיתִי מְהַלֵּךְ בְּאִישׁוֹן לַיְלָה וַאֲפֵלָה, וְרָאִיתִי סוֹמֵא שֶׁהָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וַאֲבוּקָה בְּיָדוֹ. אָמַרְתִּי לוֹ: בְּנִי, אֲבוּקָה זוֹ לָמָּה לָךְ? אָמַר לִי: כׇּל זְמַן שֶׁאֲבוּקָה בְּיָדִי, בְּנֵי אָדָם רוֹאִין אוֹתִי וּמַצִּילִין אוֹתִי מִן הַפְּחָתִין וּמִן הַקּוֹצִין וּמִן הַבַּרְקָנִין.

I continued to ponder the matter until the following incident occurred to me. I was once walking in the absolute darkness of the night, and I saw a blind man who was walking on his way with a torch in his hands. I said to him: My son, why do you need this torch if you are blind? He said to me: As long as I have a torch in my hand, people see me and save me from the pits and the thorns and the thistles. Even a blind man derives at least indirect benefit from the light, and therefore he may recite the blessing over the heavenly luminaries.

מַתְנִי׳ כֹּהֵן שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדָיו מוּמִין לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אַף מִי שֶׁהָיוּ יָדָיו צְבוּעוֹת סְטֵיס לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָעָם מִסְתַּכְּלִין בּוֹ.

MISHNA: A priest who has blemishes on his hands may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. Because of his blemish, people will look at his hands, and it is prohibited to look at the hands of the priests during the Priestly Benediction. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even one whose hands were colored with satis , a blue dye, may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction because the congregation will look at him.

גְּמָ׳ תָּנָא: מוּמִין שֶׁאָמְרוּ, בְּפָנָיו יָדָיו וְרַגְלָיו. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: יָדָיו בּוֹהֲקָנִיּוֹת — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: יָדָיו בּוֹהֲקָנִיּוֹת — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. עֲקוּמּוֹת עֲקוּשׁוֹת — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו.

GEMARA: It is taught in a baraita : The blemishes that the Sages said disqualify a priest from reciting the Priestly Benediction include any blemishes found on his face, hands, and feet, but not blemishes that are not visible to others. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: If his hands are spotted with white blotches, he may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. The Gemara notes that this is also taught in a baraita : If a priest’s hands are spotted, he may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. Similarly, if his hands are curved inward or bent sideways, he may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction.

אָמַר רַב אַסִּי: חֵיפָנִי וּבֵישָׁנִי — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: אֵין מוֹרִידִין לִפְנֵי הַתֵּיבָה לֹא אַנְשֵׁי בֵּית שְׁאָן וְלֹא אַנְשֵׁי (בֵּית) חֵיפָה וְלֹא אַנְשֵׁי טִבְעוֹנִין, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁקּוֹרִין לָאַלְפִין עַיְינִין וְלָעַיְינִין אַלְפִין.

Apropos the previous discussion, Rav Asi said: A priest from Haifa or Beit She’an may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction, as he does not know how to properly pronounce the guttural letters. This is also taught in a baraita : One may not allow the people of Beit She’an, nor the people of Beit Haifa, nor the people of Tivonin to pass before the ark in order to lead the service because they pronounce alef as ayin and ayin as alef , and they thereby distort the meaning of the prayers.

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי חִיָּיא לְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר רַבִּי: אִלְמָלֵי אַתָּה לֵוִי — פָּסוּל אַתָּה מִן הַדּוּכָן, מִשּׁוּם דַּעֲבֵי קָלָךְ. אֲתָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ לַאֲבוּהּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: זִיל אֵימָא לֵיהּ: כְּשֶׁאַתָּה מַגִּיעַ אֵצֶל ״וְחִכִּיתִי לַה׳״, לֹא נִמְצֵאת מְחָרֵף וּמְגַדֵּף?!

The Gemara relates that Rabbi Ḥiyya once said to Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: If you were a Levite, you would be disqualified from singing on the platform in the Temple courtyard because your voice is thick. Offended by this remark, Rabbi Shimon went and told his father, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, what Rabbi Ḥiyya had said. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: Go and say to him: When you study and reach the verse: “And I will wait upon [ veḥikkiti ] the Lord” (Isaiah 8:17), will you not be a maligner and a blasphemer? Rabbi Ḥiyya, who was from Babylonia, was unable to differentiate between the letters ḥet and heh , and he would therefore pronounce the word veḥikkiti as vehikkiti , which means: And I will strike.

אָמַר רַב הוּנָא: זַבְלְגָן לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. וְהָא הַהוּא דַּהֲוָה בְּשִׁיבָבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַב הוּנָא, וַהֲוָה פָּרֵיס יְדֵיהּ! הָהוּא דָּשׁ בְּעִירוֹ הֲוָה. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: זַבְלְגָן לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו, וְאִם הָיָה דָּשׁ בְּעִירוֹ — מוּתָּר.

Rav Huna said: A priest whose eyes constantly run with tears may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. The Gemara asks: Wasn’t there a certain priest with this condition in the neighborhood of Rav Huna, and he would spread his hands and recite the Priestly Benediction? The Gemara answers: That priest was a familiar figure in his town. Since the other residents were accustomed to seeing him, he would not draw their attention during the Priestly Benediction. This is also taught in a baraita : One whose eyes run should not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction, but if he is a familiar figure in his town, he is permitted to do so.

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: סוֹמֵא בְּאַחַת מֵעֵינָיו — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. וְהָא הַהוּא דַּהֲוָה בְּשִׁיבָבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן דַּהֲוָה פָּרֵיס יְדֵיהּ! הָהוּא דָּשׁ בְּעִירוֹ הֲוָה. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: סוֹמֵא בְּאַחַת מֵעֵינָיו — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו, וְאִם הָיָה דָּשׁ בְּעִירוֹ — מוּתָּר.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One who is blind in one eye may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction because people will gaze at him. The Gemara asks: Wasn’t there a certain priest who was blind in one eye in the neighborhood of Rabbi Yoḥanan, and he would lift his hands and recite the Priestly Benediction? The Gemara answers: That priest was a familiar figure in his town, and therefore he would not attract attention during the Priestly Benediction. This is also taught in a baraita : One who is blind in one eye may not lift his hands and recite the Priestly Benediction, but if he is a familiar figure in his town, he is permitted to do so.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: מִי שֶׁהָיוּ יָדָיו צְבוּעוֹת — לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. תָּנָא: אִם רוֹב אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר מְלַאכְתָּן בְּכָךְ — מוּתָּר.

We learned in the mishna that Rabbi Yehuda said: One whose hands are colored should not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. It was taught in a baraita : If most of the townspeople are engaged in this occupation, dyeing, he is permitted to recite the Priestly Benediction, as the congregation will not pay attention to his stained hands.

מַתְנִי׳ הָאוֹמֵר: אֵינִי עוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּיבָה בִּצְבוּעִין — אַף בִּלְבָנִים לֹא יַעֲבוֹר. בְּסַנְדָּל אֵינִי עוֹבֵר — אַף יָחֵף לֹא יַעֲבוֹר.

MISHNA: One who says: I will not pass before the ark to lead the prayer service in colored garments, may not pass before the ark to lead the prayer service even in white garments. There is concern that one who insists on wearing clothing of a specific color during his prayers is a heretic and therefore unfit to lead the service. Similarly, if one says: I will not pass before the ark wearing sandals, he may not pass before it even barefoot, as he is not acting in accordance with the teachings of the Sages.

הָעוֹשֶׂה תְּפִלָּתוֹ עֲגוּלָּה — סַכָּנָה, וְאֵין בָּהּ מִצְוָה. נְתָנָהּ עַל מִצְחוֹ אוֹ עַל פַּס יָדוֹ — הֲרֵי זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּינוּת. (צִיפַּן) [צִיפָּהּ] זָהָב וּנְתָנָהּ עַל בֵּית אוּנְקְלִי שֶׁלּוֹ — הֲרֵי זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ הַחִיצוֹנִים.

One who constructs his phylacteries in a round shape exposes himself to danger during times of persecution, when foreign governments impose a ban on the mitzva of phylacteries, and yet he does not fulfill the mitzva to don phylacteries, as phylacteries must be square. If one placed the phylacteries worn on the head on his forehead, and not in its proper place above his hairline, or if he placed the phylacteries worn on the arm on his palm, and not on his biceps, this is the way of the heretics, i.e., those who reject the tradition of the Sages with regard to the proper placement of the phylacteries. If one plated his phylacteries with gold or placed the phylacteries worn on the arm on the outside of his sleeve [ unkeli ], this is the way of the outsiders, i.e., those who do not take part in the traditions of the Jewish people.

גְּמָ׳ מַאי טַעְמָא — חָיְישִׁינַן שֶׁמָּא מִינוּת נִזְרְקָה בּוֹ.

GEMARA: What is the reason that one who wishes to pray only with white clothes or barefoot is not permitted to lead the prayer? We are concerned that perhaps he has been imbued with heresy, as these are the practices of idolaters. He is therefore barred from leading the service.

הָעוֹשֶׂה תְּפִלָּתוֹ עֲגוּלָּה סַכָּנָה וְאֵין בָּהּ מִצְוָה. לֵימָא תְּנֵינָא לְהָא דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן, תְּפִלִּין מְרוּבָּעוֹת הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי! וְאָמַר רָבָא: בְּתִפְרָן וּבַאֲלַכְסוֹנָן!

We learned in the mishna: One who constructs his phylacteries in a round shape exposes himself to danger and does not fulfill the mitzva to don phylacteries. The Gemara comments: Let us say that we already learned in this mishna that which the Sages taught in a baraita : The requirement that phylacteries must be square is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. And Rava said about this: Square means along their seams and their diagonals [ alakhsonan ], i.e., they must be perfectly square. It would seem that all this was already stated in the mishna, which says that round phylacteries are disqualified.

אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: מַתְנִיתִין דַּעֲבִידָא כִּי אַמְגּוּזָא.

Rav Pappa said: It is possible to understand that the mishna is referring to phylacteries that one constructed to be round like a nut, i.e., in the shape of a ball. However, the mishna does not indicate that the phylacteries must be square, as it does not address the case of phylacteries that are rounded but not a true sphere.

מַתְנִי׳ הָאוֹמֵר:

MISHNA: If one says in his prayers: