Megillah, Daf Lammed Aleph, Part 1
Introduction
This mishnah lists the portions read first on the holidays, then on non-biblical holidays and concludes with some general rules.
I have explained the mishnah only where I felt that it requires explanation.
The one slightly confusing issue is the readings for Sukkot. On the first day of Sukkot we read from Leviticus 23, the same reading as on Pesah. On the remaining days we read the sacrifices listed for that day in Numbers 29:17 ff. Sukkot differs from Pesah in that on Pesah the same musaf offerings are made every day. On Sukkot each day has a different number of offerings. As an aside, this is one reason why we recite the full Hallel for all seven days of Sukkot but only on the first day of Pesah.
משנה.
1) בפסח קורין בפרשת מועדות של תורת כהנים,
2) בעצרת +דברים ט"ז+ שבעה שבעת,
3) בראש השנה +ויקרא כג+ בחדש השביעי באחד לחדש,
4) ביום הכפורים +ויקרא ט"ז+ אחרי מות.
5) ביום טוב הראשון של חג קורין בפרשת מועדות שבתורת כהנים, ובשאר כל ימות החג בקרבנות החג.
6) בחנוכה +במדבר ז’+ בנשיאים,
7) בפורים – +שמות י"ז+ ויבא עמלק,
8) בראשי חדשים – +במדבר כ"ח+ ובראשי חדשיכם.
9) במעמדות במעשה בראשית,
10) בתעניות ברכות וקללות. אין מפסיקין בקללות, אלא אחד קורא את כולן.
11) בשני ובחמישי, בשבת במנחה – קורין כסדרן, ואין עולים להם מן החשבון,
12) שנאמר: +ויקרא כ"ג+ וידבר משה את מעדי ה‘ אל בני ישראל, – מצותן שיהו קורין כל אחד ואחד בזמנו
Mishnah Five
1) On Pesah we read from the portion of the festivals in Leviticus (Torat Kohanim) (Leviticus 23:4).
2) On Shavuot, Seven weeks (Deuteronomy 16:9).
3) On Rosh Hashanah On the seventh day on the first of the month (Leviticus 23:23).
4) On Yom Hakippurim, After the death (Leviticus 16).
5) On the first day of the Festival [of Sukkot] they read from the portion of the festivals in Leviticus, and on the other days of the Festival [of Sukkot] the [sections] on the offerings of the Festival.
6) On Hanukkah they read the section of the princes (Numbers 7).
7) On Purim, And Amalek came (Exodus 17:8).
8) On Rosh Hodesh, And on the first of your months (Numbers 28:11).
9) On Maamadot, the account of the creation (Genesis 1:1-2:3).
10) On fast days, the blessings and curses (Leviticus 26:3 ff and Deuteronomy 28).
a) They do not interrupt while reading the curses, but rather one reads them all.
11) On Monday and Thursday and on Shabbat at minhah they read according to the regular order and this does not count as part of the reading [for the succeeding Shabbat].
12) As it says, And Moshe declared to the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Lord (Leviticus 23:44) it is their mitzvah that each should be read in its appropriate time.
Section six: Hannukah literally means dedication and refers to the dedication of the Temple after its restoration in the time of the Maccabees. The portion in the Torah read on Hannukah is a list of the gifts brought by the princes of each tribe at the dedication of the Mishkah, the tabernacle.
Section seven: On Purim we read about Amalek because Haman was, according to the rabbis, from Amalek.
Section nine: On Ma amadot people would gather in the Temple or in their own cities while their local kohanim took there turn at service in the Temple. See Taanit 4:2-3.
Section ten: The curses (called today the tochekhah or rebuke) are read on fast days as a warning to people that they must repent. When reading the curses we don t interrupt, making them into two or more aliyot rather they are all read by the same person. This is still the custom today, making one of the aliyot in Ki Tavo the longest aliyah of the year.
Section eleven: Besides Shabbat morning, the Torah is also read on Mondays, Thursdays and Shabbat at minhah (the afternoon service). These readings go according to the regular cycle but they don t count toward the regular progression. This means that the same portion that is read at all three occasions and then again on Shabbat. We only move forward on Shabbat.
Section twelve: The chapter ends with a midrash on Leviticus 23:44. The verse states that Moshe told the holidays to the people of Israel, but this verse is superfluous Moshe taught all of the commandments to the people. Therefore the midrash teaches that not only did Moshe teach the holidays, but he taught each one at the time that it fell. By his example we learn that on all holidays we read the Torah portion relevant to that holiday.
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