Megillah, Daf Lammed Aleph, Part 5
Introduction
The "ma’amadot" refers to the gathering of people in towns when the local priests are serving in the Temple. The priests were divided into 24 groups each serving a week at a time in the Temple. Each group of priests has a parallel "ma’amad." While the priests were in the Temple serving at the altar, the parallel ma’amad would gather in the home town and read the Torah, every day a different portion of the story of creation. These institutions are described in much greater detail in Tractate Taanit.
[במעמדות] במעשה בראשית וכו’. מנהני מילי? אמר רבי אמי: אלמלא מעמדות לא נתקיימו שמים וארץ, שנאמר +ירמיהו ל"ג+ אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי, וכתיב +בראשית ט"ו+ ויאמר ה’ אלהים במה אדע כי אירשנה, אמר אברהם לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם! שמא חס ושלום ישראל חוטאים לפניך ואתה עושה להם כדור המבול וכדור הפלגה? – אמר לו: לאו. – אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם, במה אדע? – אמר לו: קחה לי עגלה משלשת וגו’. – אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם, תינח בזמן שבית המקדש קיים, בזמן שאין בית המקדש קיים מה תהא עליהם? – אמר לו: כבר תקנתי להם סדר קרבנות, כל זמן שקוראין בהן מעלה אני עליהן כאילו מקריבין לפני קרבן, ומוחל אני על כל עונותיהם.
On ma’amadot the story of the creation.
From where do we know this?
R. Ammi said: Were it not for the ma’amadot, the heaven and earth would not be firmly established, as it says, "But if not for My covenant [which continues] day and night, I would not have set the laws of heaven and earth" (Jeremiah 33:25).
And it is written, "And he said, O Lord God, How shall I know that I shall inherit it?" (Genesis 15:8). Abraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, perhaps God forbid, 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 Dispersal [of the world]?
He answered: No. He then said before Him: Master of the Universe: By what shall I know this? He said: "Take a heifer of three years old" etc. (Genesis 15:9). He then said before Him: Master of the Universe: This is very well for the time when the Temple will be standing, but in the time when there will be no Temple what will happen to them? He replied to him: I have already set for them the order of the sacrifices. Whenever they will read the section dealing with them, I will account it to them it as if they were bringing me an offering, and forgive all their sins.
There are several central ideas to this section. First of all, there is a connection between the observance of God’s laws, specifically the offering of the sacrifices in the Temple, and the existence of the world. Second, God tells Abraham to offer a sacrifice in order to know that God will never destroy the word again, as he did in the generation of the flood and in the generation of the dispersal. This aids in connecting the idea that the existence of the world, the wellbeing of humanity, is ensured by the sacrifices which uphold God’s covenant.
Abraham foresees the destruction of the Temple and already asks God what is to be done once the Temple is destroyed. God responds that studying the portions of the Torah that deal with the sacrifices is as effective as offering them as well. Both atone for Israel thereby protecting the world from God’s destruction.
All of this explains that the ma’amad reads the account of the creation while the priests are offering the sacrifices because it is the sacrifices that uphold creation.