Megillah, Daf Kaf Daled, Part 4

 

 

פוחח פורס על שמע וכו’. בעא מיניה עולא בר רב מאביי: קטן פוחח מהו שיקרא בתורה? אמר ליה: ותיבעי לך ערום? ערום מאי טעמא לא משום כבוד צבור, הכא נמי משום כבוד צבור.

 

A person in rags may publicly recite the Shema etc.

Ulla b. Rab asked of Abaye: Is a child in rags allowed to read in the Torah? He replied: You might as well ask about a naked one. Why is a naked person not allowed? Out of respect for the congregation. So too here, [he is not allowed] out of respect for the congregation.

 

Abaye explains that it doesn’t matter whether the person is an adult who is publicly reciting the Shema with rags on or a child who is reading Torah dressed in rags: In either case it is not respectful for the congregation so it should not be done.

 

סומא פורס על שמע וכו’. תניא, אמרו לו לרבי יהודה: הרבה צפו לדרוש במרכבה ולא ראו אותה מימיהם. ורבי יהודה: התם באבנתא דליבא תליא מילתא, והא קא מיכוין וידע. הכא משום הנאה הוא, והא לית ליה הנאה.

 

A blind man may publicly recite the Shema etc. It has been taught: They said to R. Judah: Many have seen [with their mind’s eye] to expound the Chariot, and yet they never saw it?

What says R. Judah to this? In that case all depends on the understanding of the heart, and the expounder directs his mind and knows, but here it is because of the benefit [he derives from light], and this one derives no benefit.

 

According to R. Judah, whose statement was found in the Mishnah, since a blind man does not benefit from light, he cannot recite the Shema publicly because it includes the blessing, "Who creates the light."

The rabbis argue that people can understand something without directly experiencing it with their senses. The study of the the "Chariot" is the mystical study of God through the lens of the first chapter of Ezekiel. People have seen the Chariot in their minds, even if they’ve never actually seen it with their eyes.

R. Judah responds that the two matters are not comparable. The mystical speculation about God is about understanding one can have such understanding without actually seeing the Chariot (or God). But the blessing over the Shema is thanking God for benefiting from light. Since this person has not benefited, he should not recite the blessing.

 

ורבנן: אית ליה הנאה, כרבי יוסי. דתניא, אמר רבי יוסי: כל ימי הייתי מצטער על מקרא זה +דברים כ"ח+ והיית ממשש בצהרים כאשר ימשש העור באפלה, וכי מה אכפת ליה לעור בין אפילה לאורה? עד שבא מעשה לידי. פעם אחת הייתי מהלך באישון לילה ואפלה, וראיתי סומא שהיה מהלך בדרך ואבוקה בידו. אמרתי לו: בני, אבוקה זו למה לך? אמר לי: כל זמן שאבוקה בידי בני אדם רואין אותי, ומצילין אותי מן הפחתין ומן הקוצין ומן הברקנין.

 

The Rabbis, however, hold that he does derive benefit, like R. Yose, as it has been taught: R. Jose said: All my life I was troubled by this verse, "And you shall grope at noonday as the blind gropes in darkness" (Deuteronomy 28:29). Now why should a blind person care whether it is dark or light? And then the following incident occurred. I was once walking on a pitch black night when I saw a blind man walking in the road with a torch in his hand. I said to him, My son, why do you carry this torch? He replied: As long as I have this torch in my hand, people see me and save me from the holes and the thorns and briars.

 

The rabbis who say that a blind man can recite the blessing "Who creates the lights" and with it the whole Shema, point out that a blind person does indeed benefit from the light. R. Yose noticed this when he was out walking on a pitch black night and saw a blind person carrying a torch. Obviously, the torch would not help him see. Nevertheless, he does derive benefit from it, for through its light others can protect him. We all can benefit not just directly from the wonders of the world, but indirectly through the good use that others make of them.