Megillah, Daf Lammed Bet, Part 2

 

 

תנו רבנן: פותח ורואה, גולל ומברך, וחוזר ופותח וקורא, דברי רבי מאיר. רבי יהודה אומר: פותח ורואה ומברך וקורא.

 

Our Rabbis taught: [The one who reads] opens the scroll and sees [the place], then rolls it together and says the blessing, then opens it again and reads, the words of R. Meir. R. Judah says: He opens and looks and says the blessing, and reads.

 

The difference between R. Meir and R. Judah is whether one keeps the Torah scroll open while reciting the blessings. R. Meir says that he does not while R. Judah says that he does.

 

מאי טעמא דרבי מאיר – כדעולא, דאמר עולא: מפני מה אמרו הקורא בתורה לא יסייע למתורגמן – כדי שלא יאמרו תרגום כתוב בתורה, הכא נמי – כדי שלא יאמרו ברכות כתובין בתורה.

 

What is R. Meir’s reason? It like that of Ulla as Ulla said: Why did they say that he who reads from the Torah should not aid the translator? So that people should not say that the translation is written in the Torah. So too here [R. Meir’s reason is] so that they should not say that the blessings are written in the Torah.

 

R. Meir says that one should close the Torah while reciting the blessings so that people don’t think that the blessings are written in the Torah. We should remember that it was very important for the rabbis that blessings remain "Oral Torah." They considered it forbidden to write down any Torah except for the Bible. R. Meir did not want to even give the impression that he was reading blessings from the Torah.

This is the same as Ulla’s rule with regard to the translation. The rabbis did not want to give the impression that the translation was written. Therefore, the person reading could not be the same person translating, and he could not even help the person translating.

 

ורבי יהודה: תרגום איכא למיטעי, ברכות – ליכא למיטעי.

 

And R. Judah? [How would he respond]? With regard to translation a mistake might be made, but no mistake will be made with regard to the blessings.

 

R. Judah admits that people might be confused and think that the translations are written into the Torah. But no one will think such a thing about the blessings over the Torah and therefore one need not close the scroll before reciting the blessings.

אמר רבי זירא אמר רב מתנה: הלכה, פותח ורואה ומברך וקורא.

ולימא הלכה כרבי יהודה! – משום דאפכי להו.

 

R. Zera said in the name of R. Matanah: The halakhah is that he opens and looks, then says the blessing and reads.

Let him say, "The halakhah follows R. Judah"?

Because he might reverse the names.

 

R. Zera rules that the halakhah is that one need not close the Torah before reciting the blessings, in accordance with R. Judah. He does not state that the halakhah follows R. Judah lest people confuse who said what in the baraita.

 

אמר רבי זירא אמר רב מתנה: הלוחות והבימות אין בהן משום קדושה.

 

R. Zera said in the name of R. Matanah. The boards and the platforms do not have any sanctity in them.

 

This statement is here because it’s stated by the same amora from above. As far as its content, Rashi says that he doesn’t really know what it means, but that others say it refers to boards used to hold Torah scrolls that are not rolled up as those are that he uses. Rambam says that these are boards on which teachers write verses for kids to read. The Ra’avad says that they are planks on which the translator and the person reading the haftorah stands. This would make them similar to the platforms on which people stand when reading the Torah.

These items do not have the sanctity of the Torah. They may be thrown away when they are used up. But they do have the sanctity accorded to other elements of the synagogue. One may not sell them unless it is to buy an item of higher holiness.