Megillah, Daf Daled, Part 3

 

Introduction

Today’s section returns to discussing the Mishnah, which had stated that the people who live in the villages can read on the market day, earlier than the fourteenth.

 

אלא שהכפרים מקדימין ליום הכניסה. אמר רבי חנינא: חכמים הקילו על הכפרים להיות מקדימין ליום הכניסה כדי שיספקו מים ומזון לאחיהם שבכרכין.

 

The villages, however, may push the reading forward to the day of gathering.

R. Hanina said: The sages were lenient on the villages by allowing them to push the reading forward to the day of gathering, in order that they might provide food and water to their brothers in the cities.

 

The rabbis were lenient allowing the people of the villages to move up the reading to coincide with the Day of Gathering so that they could come into the city and provide their brethren with food.

The Talmud will discuss who the rabbis were lenient on.

 

למימרא דתקנתא דכרכין הוי? והתנן: חל להיות בשניכפרים ועיירות גדולות קורין בו ביום, ואם איתאליקדמו ליום הכניסה!

הוו להו עשרה, ועשרה לא תקינו רבנן.

 

That is to say this enactment is for the benefit of the cities; but we have not learned: "If Purim falls on Monday, the villages and large towns read on that day." Now if it is as you say, they should push the reading forward to the [previous] Court day?

This would bring it to the tenth, and the sages did not fix the tenth [as a possible day].

 

However, R. Hanina’s statement is actually difficult to understand. If we wanted the villagers to be free to provide food for the city folk on the day of gathering, we should allow them to read before the day on which everyone else gathers. If Purim falls on Monday, they should read the previous Thursday. This way they can come into town and bring food to their brothers on Monday.

The problem is that this would mean they read on the tenth and the rabbis did not allow the reading of the Megillah on the tenth.

 

תא שמע: חל להיות בחמישיכפרים ועיירות גדולות קורין בו ביום. ואם איתאליקדמו ליום הכניסה, דאחד עשר הוא!

מיום הכניסה ליום הכניסה לא דחינן.

Come and hear: If it falls on Thursday, the villages and large towns read on that same day. Now if it is as you say, they should push the reading forward to the [previous] day of gathering which is the eleventh?

We do not shift it from day of gather to another.

 

If we wanted the villagers to be free to provide food, then if Purim falls on Thursday, they should move it up to Monday for the villagers. This way they could bring food in to the cities on Thursday. Monday would be the 11th of Adar which is a potential day on which the Megillah can be read.

The answer is that we don’t move readings that should be on one day of gathering (Thursday) to another day of gathering. Note that we could have given this answer in the earlier part of the sugya as well.

 

תא שמע, אמר רבי יהודה: אימתיבמקום שנכנסים בשני ובחמישי, אבל מקום שאין נכנסים בשני ובחמישיאין קורין אותה אלא בזמנה. ואי סלקא דעתך תקנתא דכרכין היאמשום דאין נכנסים בשני ובחמישי מפסדי להו לכרכין? – לא תימא כדי שיספקו מים ומזון, אלא אימא: מפני שמספקים מים ומזון לאחיהם שבכרכין.

 

Come and hear [again]: R. Judah says: When [is the reading pushed forward]? In places where the villagers come into town on Mondays and Thursdays, but in places where they do not come into town on Mondays and Thursdays it is read only on the proper day.

Now if you assume that the regulation is for the benefit of the cities, because they do not come into town on Mondays and Thursdays; are the cities to be deprived of the benefit?

Do not say [in the statement of R. Hanina] "in order that they may provide food and water" rather say, "because they provide food and water to their brothers in the cities."

 

R. Judah in the Mishnah says that in a place where the villagers don’t regularly come into the towns on Mondays and Thursdays, then everyone reads at the proper time. This causes a problem to the point of view that held that allowing the villagers to read on the day of gathering was a benefit to the townsfolk. If people dont gather on those days, why should the townsfolk lose the benefit? The villagers should still be told to read on the day of gathering specifically to encourage them to come in and bring food.

Therefore we emend slightly the original statement of R. Hanina. The sages were lenient on the villagers allowing them to read on the day of the gathering. If they do not come into the town, they themselves lose the leniency of reading earlier. But this leniency was not for the benefit townsfolk.