Megillah, Daf Bet, Section 5
Introduction
According to the Mishnah unwalled cities celebrate Purim and read the Megillah on the fourteenth of Adar and walled cities on the fifteenth. Our sugya asks where this tradition comes from.
כרכים המוקפים חומה מימות יהושע בן נון קורין בחמשה עשר וכו’.
מנהני מילי? אמר רבא: דאמר קרא +אסתר ט’+ על כן היהודים הפרזים הישבים בערי הפרזות, וגו’ מדפרזים בארבעה עשר – מוקפין בחמשה עשר. –
Cities which have been walled since the days of Joshua son of Nun read on the fifteenth.
From where is this ruling derived?
Rava said: Because Scripture says, "Therefore do the Jews of the villages that dwell in the unwalled towns, etc." (Esther 9:19) Since the villages [are to read] on the fourteenth, the walled towns [must read] on the fifteenth.
Esther says that the Jews in unwalled towns celebrate on the fourteenth. From here, Rava deduces that those in walled towns celebrate on the fifteenth.
ואימא: פרזים בארבעה עשר – מוקפין כלל כלל לא!
ולאו ישראל נינהו? ועוד, מהדו ועד כוש כתיב.
But why not say that the villages [should read] on the fourteenth, and those in walled towns not at all?
But are they not also Israelites? And moreover is it not written, From India into Ethiopia (Esther 1:1)?
The Megillah only says that the Jews in unwalled towns celebrate on the fourteenth. Why not conclude, the Talmud asks rhetorically, that Jews in walled towns don’t read the Megillah at all?
The answer is that all Israelites must celebrate Purim, and all Israelites were under Achashverosh’s rule, as we can see from the very opening of the Megillah.
ואימא: פרזים בארביסר, מוקפין בארביסר ובחמיסר, כדכתיב +אסתר ט’+ להיות עשים את יום ארבעה עשר לחדש אדר ואת יום חמשה עשר [בו] בכל שנה! –
But why not say that the villages [should read] on the fourteenth and those in walled towns on both the fourteenth and fifteenth, as it is written, "That they should keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day of the same yearly?" (Esther 9:21).
Verse 21 says that the Jews should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth. This could lead us to conclude that those in unwalled cities celebrate Purim on the fourteenth, and those in walled cities celebrate on both the fourteenth and fifteenth, in line with what is written in verse 21.
אי הוה כתב את יום ארבעה עשר וחמשה עשר – כדקאמרת, השתא דכתיב את יום ארבעה עשר ואת יום חמשה עשר – אתא את ופסיק: הני בארבעה עשר, והני בחמשה עשר. –
If the text had said, "the fourteenth day and the fifteenth" you would have been right. Now, however, that it is written "the fourteenth day and [ve’et] the fifteenth — the et comes and makes a distinction, so that the one set is on the fourteenth and the other set on the fifteenth.
The answer is that the word "et" which doesn’t really have any translation into English, separates the fourteenth from the fifteenth. Those in unwalled cities celebrate on the fourteenth and those in walled cities on the fifteenth.
ואימא: פרזים בארביסר, מוקפין – אי בעו בארביסר, אי בעו בחמיסר! –
אמר קרא בזמניהם – זמנו של זה לא זמנו של זה. –
But why not say that the unwalled cities are on the fourteenth, and the walled cities can [celebrate] if they like on the fourteenth or if they like on the fifteenth?
The verse says, "In their times" (Esther 9:31) the time of one is not the same as the time of the other.
Still, the Talmud asks, how do we know that those in walled cities don’t have a choice as to when to celebrate.
The answer comes from yet another verse—"their times", which implies that there is more than one time, and that each type of city must celebrate Purim at a distinct time.
ואימא בתליסר! – כשושן. –
But why not say that they should celebrate on the thirteenth?
[They must do] as Shushan.
Still, the Talmud presses on, why not celebrate on the thirteenth, a different date but not the fourteenth. The answer is that walled cities pattern themselves after Shushan, the capital, which did not finish defending itself till a day later than the rest of the Jews, on the fourteenth. They celebrated on the fourteenth, therefore so do all walled cities.
אשכחן עשייה, זכירה מנלן? –
אמר קרא +אסתר ט’+ והימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים, איתקש זכירה לעשייה.
We have accounted for the celebration [of Purim]; how do we know that the reading [of the Megillah must be on these days]?
The verse says, "And these days should be remembered and kept" (Esther 9:28). "Remembering" is compared to "keeping."
So far we have only learned about celebrating Purim; but how do we know that the Megillah is to be read on that same day.
The answer is derived from Esther 9:28. "Keeping" is understood as a reference to the feast to celebrate the day. "Remembering" is the reading of the Megillah, which recalls the events. Since the verse compares the two, we learn that they are observed on the same days.