Megillah, Daf Kaf Bet, Part 4
Introduction
The sugya continues to try to answer the question of how many people read from the Torah on public fast days.
תא שמע: זה הכלל: כל שיש בו ביטול מלאכה לעם, כגון תענית צבור ותשעה באב – קורין שלשה, ושאין בו ביטול מלאכה לעם, כגון ראשי חדשים וחולו של מועד – קורין ארבעה, שמע מינה.
Come and hear: This is the general principle: Wherever people would be prevented from working, as on a public fast and on the ninth of Av, three read. Wherever people would not be prevented from working, as on Rosh Hodesh and the intermediate days of festivals, four read. Learn from this.
The baraita says that on days where an extra reader would delay people from getting to work only three aliyot are read. The examples are public fasts and Tisha B’av. On days where people don’t go to work anyway, such as Rosh Hodesh and the intermediate days of the festival (Hol Hamoed) we can allow for an extra Aliyah and four are read.
It is interesting that the baraita assumes people don’t work on Rosh Hodesh. This may have been a custom in the Mishnaic period. Rashi says it only refers to women, who had a custom not to work on Rosh Hodesh. Today people work on Rosh Hodesh.
In any case, the baraita seems to conclusively prove that we read three aliyot on all public fast days.
אמר רב אשי: והא אנן לא תנן הכי: זה הכלל: כל יום שיש בו מוסף ואינו יום טוב – קורין ארבעה, לאתויי מאי – לאו לאתויי תענית ציבור ותשעה באב!
R. Ashi said: But we have not taught this way: This is the general rule: wherever there is a musaf but not a festival four read:
What does this come to include? Does it not include a public fast and the ninth of Av?
R. Ashi rejects the proof from that baraita, because the Mishnah did not teach that way. The general rule in the Mishnah was that only on days on which there is Musaf do we read four aliyot. This, according to R. Ashi, would include fast days although there is no musaf sacrifice, there are additional prayers. Therefore, four aliyot are read.
ולרב אשי מתניתין מני? לא תנא קמא ולא רבי יוסי. דתניא: חל להיות בשני ובחמישי – קורין שלשה ומפטיר אחד. בשלישי וברביעי קורא אחד ומפטיר אחד. רבי יוסי אומר: לעולם קורין שלשה ומפטיר אחד.
But according to R. Ashi, who is the author of the Mishnah? It is neither the First Tanna nor R. Yose, as it has been taught: If it [the ninth of Av] falls on Monday or Thursday, three read and one [of them] says a haftarah. If on Tuesday or Wednesday, one reads and [the same] one says the haftarah.
R. Yose, however, says that in all cases three read and one [of them] says the haftarah.
The problem R. Ashi has is that there is a debate in a baraita over how many people read on the ninth of Av. We can easily see that no one holds that we read four aliyot. Indeed, the first opinion holds that if it falls on Tuesday or Wednesday only one person reads! So how can R. Ashi read the Mishnah as if it says that four read.
ואלא קשיא זה הכלל! – לא, לאתויי ראש חודש ומועד. – הא בהדיא קתני לה: בראשי חדשים ומועד קורין ארבעה! – סימנא בעלמא יהיב, דלא תימא יום טוב וחולו של מועד כי הדדי נינהו, אלא נקוט האי כללא בידך: כל דטפי ליה מילתא מחבריה – טפי ליה גברא יתירא. הלכך, בראש חודש ומועד דאיכא קרבן מוסף – קורין ארבעה, ביום טוב דאסור בעשיית מלאכה – חמשה, ביום הכפורים דענוש כרת – ששה. שבת דאיכא איסור סקילה – שבעה.
But then the words "this is the general rule" are difficult!
No. They include Rosh Hodesh and the intermediate days of the festival.
But these were stated explicitly: On Rosh Hodesh and the intermediate days of the festival four read!
[The Mishnah] is merely giving a sign that you should not say that the festivals and the intermediate days have the same rule, but rather you should take this general principle in your hands: For every additional distinguishing mark an additional person reads. Therefore on Rosh Hodesh and the intermediate days of the festival, when there is an additional sacrifice, four read; on festivals (Yom Tov), when [in addition] work is prohibited, five read; on Yom Kippur when [in addition] there is a penalty of karet, six read; on Shabbat when there is a penalty of stoning, seven read.
In light of the baraitot which both said that three read on the public fast days, the Talmud now offers a reading of the Mishnah. The general principle does not come to teach that since public fast days have an extra prayer they have four aliyot, as R. Ashi learned it. Rather, it comes to teach that Rosh Hodesh and the intermediate days have less aliyot than Yom Tov, because only on the latter is work prohibited. Each time there is some distinguishing mark, an Aliyah is added, as the Talmud explains.