Megillah, Daf Kaf Aleph, Part 6
Introduction
Today’s section begins to discuss the three readers on weekday Torah readings, as well as how many verses each is to read. We should remember that in mishnaic times readings had not yet been fixed. Some flexibility seems to have still remained as far as how many verses each reader would read.
בשני ובחמישי, בשבת במנחה קורין שלשה וכו’. הני שלשה כנגד מי? אמר רב אסי: כנגד תורה נביאים וכתובים. רבא אמר: כנגד כהנים לוים וישראלים.
On Mondays and Thursdays and on Shabbat at minhah three read.
What do these three represent? R. Assi said: The Torah, the Prophets and the Writings.
Rava said: Priests, Levites, and Israelites.
The three who read on Mondays, Thursdays and Shabbat at minhah are representative of either the Tanakh (the three parts) or the division of Israel into three groups, Priests, Levites and Israelites.
אלא הא דתני רב שימי: אין פוחתין מעשרה פסוקין בבית הכנסת וידבר עולה מן המנין. הני עשרה כנגד מי? אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי: כנגד עשרה בטלנין שבבית הכנסת, רב יוסף אמר: כנגד עשרת הדברות שנאמרו למשה בסיני. (רבי לוי אמר: כנגד עשרה הילולין שאמר דוד בספר תהלים). ורבי יוחנן אמר: כנגד עשרה מאמרות שבהן נברא העולם.
But that which R. Shimi taught, They do not read less than ten verses [of the Torah] in the synagogue, and the verse "And [God] spoke to [Moses saying]" counts as one of the ten:" What do these ten represent?
R. Joshua b. Levi said: The ten men of leisure in the synagogue.
R. Joseph said: The ten commandments which were given to Moses on Sinai.
(R. Levi said: The ten times Hallels [praises] which David said in the book of Psalms.)
R. Yohanan said: The ten statements with which the world was created.
R. Shimi says that every Monday, Thursday, Shabbat minhah Torah reading must have at least ten verses, and that the opening verse, "And God spoke to Moses" counts. What are these ten representative of?
The first version is that the men of leisure who are in the synagogue. Elsewhere we learn that in order for a place to be called a city, it must have ten men of leisure, people who have no other work to do. Where else to go but the synagogue?!
R. Joseph says they represent the ten commandments.
R. Levi’s statement holds that they are representative of the ten times the word Halleluyah appears in the last five psalms of the book of Psalms.
R. Yohanan says it refers to the ten statements with which the world was created.
הי נינהו? – ויאמר דבראשית?
הני תשעה הוו! – בראשית נמי מאמר הוא, דכתיב +תהלים ל"ג+ בדבר ה’ שמים נעשו וברוח פיו כל צבאם.
What are these? The expressions "And [God] said" in the first chapter of Genesis.
But there are only nine?
"In the beginning" is also a statement [through which the world was created], since it is written, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all of the hosts" (Psalms 33:6).
The Talmud now explains R. Yohanan’s statement, that the ten verses are representative of the ten statements with which God created the world. These refer to the nine time that the Torah says "And God said," plus the phrase "In the beginning" which created the original heavens and earth. This last line seems to be stating something that is not so clearly stated in the Torah itself God’s word created the heavens and earth. It is possible to read the Torah as if the sky and earth were there before God began creating. This was a point of some contention among ancient interpreters.
אמר רבא: ראשון שקרא ארבעה – משובח, שני שקרא ארבעה – משובח, שלישי שקרא ארבעה – משובח.
Rava said: If the first one reads four verses he is praiseworthy; if the second reads four verses he is praiseworthy; if the third reads four verses he is praiseworthy.
In the time of the Talmud, as I said above, the number of verses each person was to read was not yet set. If there are three readers and ten verses must be read, then one of them must read four verses. Rava says that any of the three readers who reads four verses is praiseworthy. The Talmud now explains by analogy how first, second or third is the best position elsewhere.
ראשון שקרא ארבעה משובח – דתנן: בשלש קופות של שלש סאין שבהן תורמין את הלשכה, והיה כתוב עליהן אב"ג, לידע איזו מהן נתרמה ראשון להקריב ממנה ראשון, שמצוה בראשון.
"If the first reads four verses he is praiseworthy", as we have learned "There were three baskets holding three se’ahs each, in which the priests take up the money-offerings out of the [shekel] chamber, and on them were written Aleph, Beth, Gimel, so as to show which was taken out first, so that sacrifices could be brought from that one first, since it is a mitzvah to offer from the first.
The mishnah cited here is from Tractate Shekalim. They would gather the shekels collected from all of Israel into three baskets, labeled by the order in which they were collected. Why should we know the order? Because it is a mitzvah to use the shekels collected to first to buy the first sacrifices. This shows that being first is best.
אמצעי שקרא ארבעה משובח – דתניא: +במדבר ח’+ אל מול פני המנורה יאירו, מלמד שמצדד פניהם כלפי נר מערבי, ונר מערבי כלפי שכינה. ואמר רבי יוחנן: מכאן שאמצעי משובח.
"If the middle one reads four verses, he is praiseworthy", as it has been taught: [The seven lamps] shall give light in front of the candlestick" (Numbers 8:2); this teaches that they leaned in to face the western lamp and the western lamp faced the Shekhinah.
And R. Yohanan said: This shows that the middle one is praiseworthy.
The menorah was shaped so that the three branches on either side of the middle branch faced the middle one, and the middle one was drawn in to face the Holy of Holies, where the Shekhinah, God’s presence dwells. From here R. Yohanan learns that the middle one is praiseworthy, proving that sometimes the middle position is the preferred one.
ואחרון שקרא ארבעה משובח – משום מעלין בקדש ולא מורידין.
רב פפא איקלע לבי כנישתא דאבי גובר וקרא ראשון ארבעה ושבחיה רב פפא.
"If the last reads four verses he is praiseworthy": Because of the principle that "in dealing with holy things we go up but never go down."
R. Papa was once in the synagogue of Ave Govar, when the first one [who was called up] read four verses, and R. Papa praised him.
The final position is praiseworthy because of the principle that we always increase holiness, never decrease. Thus in conclusion any of the positions may be considered praiseworthy.
Nevertheless, R. Papa praised the person who read four verses during the first Aliyah.
אין פוחתין מהן ואין מוסיפין. תנא: הפותח מברך לפניה, והחותם מברך לאחריה. והאידנא דכולהו מברכי לפניה ולאחריה – היינו טעמא דתקינו רבנן: גזירה משום הנכנסין ומשום היוצאין.
They may not read less, nor may they read more. It was taught: The one who reads first blesses before the reading, and the one who reads last blesses after it.
Now all bless both before and after the reading, the reason is that the rabbis decreed this because of people entering and leaving the synagogue.
Originally, the first Torah reader would say the blessing before he reads and the last Torah reader would bless after the reading. If there were three aliyot, then the first and last would say a blessing and the middle person would not recite any blessing.
This custom had changed already before the end of the Talmudic period. The custom had become for each person receiving an Aliyah to recite a blessing before and a blessing after, as we do it today. This was because of people who come in and out of synagogue. If they missed the opening blessing, they might think that one does not bless before reading Torah. And if they missed the closing blessing, they might think that one does not bless after reading Torah. To prevent that error, the rabbis decreed that everyone should bless both before and after.