Megillah, Daf Gimmel, Part 1

 

Introduction

This week’s daf begins with another statement attributed to R. Jeremiah, or you may also say R. Hiyya b. Abba, the same authors of the last statement on the previous daf. Topically, this has nothing to do with the reading of the Megillah.

 

ואמר רבי ירמיה ואיתימא רבי חייא בר אבא: מנצפ"ך צופים אמרום. –

ותסברא? והכתיב: +ויקרא כ"ז+ אלה המצות שאין נביא רשאי לחדש דבר מעתה!

ועוד, האמר רב חסדא: מ"ם וסמ"ך שבלוחות בנס היו עומדין? –

 

And R. Jeremiah — or you may also say R. Hiyya b. Abba —said: The [alternative forms of the] letters M’N’Z’P’K were prescribed by the Watchmen.  

Do you really think so? Is it not written, "These are the commandments" (Leviticus 27:34) which implies that no prophet is permitted to introduce anything new afterwards?

And further R.Hisda has said: The mem and the samekh in the Tablets remained in place by a miracle.

 

According to R. Jeremiah the alternative form of writing a mem, nun, zadi, peh and kuf was initiated by the "Watchmen" which Rashi interprets as prophets. Today we use these alternate forms for the appearance of the letter when it is at the end of the word the "sofiot." But R. Jeremiah seems to be suggesting that these forms should always be used.

The Talmud raises two difficulties on this. First of all, how can a prophet introduce something so radically new as how a letter is supposed to be written? After all, there are many laws that are connected to how a letter is written, most importantly the writing of Torah scrolls, mezuzot and tefillin. So how could the Prophets change this.

Second, R. Hisda said that the mem and samekh in the Tablets given to Moses were standing miraculously—they are circles and have nowhere to be attached to the sides! The assumption is that they were carved all the way through the stone, a notion seen elsewhere as well. This refers obviously to the end form of the letter mem, not the form we use elsewhere in words. If the Tablets were given with this form, then this form of the letter must have existed already at the time of the revelation on Sinai.

 

אין, מהוה הוו, ולא הוו ידעי הי באמצע תיבה והי בסוף תיבה, ואתו צופים ותקינו: פתוחין באמצע תיבה וסתומין בסוף תיבה.

 

That is so; they were in use, but people did not know which form came in the middle of a word and which one at the end, and the Watchmen came and ordained that the open forms should be in the middle of a word and the closed forms at the end.

 

The Talmud resolves the difficulty by stating that all forms of the letters were original. The Watchmen resolved that the open forms should be used in the beginning and middle of words and that the closed forms should be used at the ends of words. This is how they are used to this day.

 

סוף סוף אלה המצות – שאין נביא עתיד לחדש דבר מעתה! – אלא שכחום וחזרו ויסדום.

 

But when all is said and done, [we have the text] "These are the commandments" which implies that no prophet was destined ever to introduce an innovation hereafter?  Rather, they forgot them and then they went back and reestablished them.

 

However, the problem still remains. How could the prophets change anything after the giving of the Torah?

The answer (found elsewhere in the Talmud as well) expresses a certain ideology concerning change. While it might seem that the prophets were innovating, in actuality what they were doing was restoring the initial revelation. The initial revelation was forgotten, and then the prophets came back and restored it.

 

Just a short note—this Talmud expresses some fascinating ideology and perhaps some metaphysics about writing. But it is not to be taken as historically accurate. The form of letters used three thousand years ago does not look much at all like the form of the letters we use today.