Megillah, Daf Yod Daled, Part 1
ויסר המלך את טבעתו אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא: גדולה הסרת טבעת יותר מארבעים ושמונה נביאים ושבע נביאות שנתנבאו להן לישראל, שכולן לא החזירום למוטב, ואילו הסרת הטבעת החזירתן למוטב.
"And the king removed his ring" (Esther 3:10): R. Abba b. Kahana said: This removal of the ring was greater than forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel; for all these were not able to turn Israel to do good, and the removal of the ring did turn them to do good.
In last week’s daf we learned that Israel’s sins were what allowed Haman to issue his decree to kill all of the Jews. Throughout the Tanakh, the prophets and prophetesses consistently warn Israel to repent, but rarely does it work. But what did get the Jews to repent, and mourn and wear sackcloth (Esther 4:3)? The threat to their lives that occurred when Ahashverosh took off his ring.
תנו רבנן: ארבעים ושמונה נביאים ושבע נביאות נתנבאו להם לישראל, ולא פחתו ולא הותירו על מה שכתוב בתורה, חוץ ממקרא מגילה.
מאי דרוש? אמר רבי חייא בר אבין אמר רבי יהושע בן קרחה: ומה מעבדות לחירות אמרינן שירה – ממיתה לחיים לא כל שכן? – אי הכי הלל נמי נימא! – לפי שאין אומרים הלל על נס שבחוצה לארץ.
Our Rabbis taught: "Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied to Israel, and they neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah save only the reading of the Megillah."
How did they derive it [from the Torah]? R. Hiyya b. Abin said in the name of R. Joshua b. Korha: If for being delivered from slavery to freedom we chant a hymn of praise, should we not do so all the more for being delivered from death to life?
If that is the reason we should say Hallel also? [We do not do so] because Hallel is not said for a miracle which occurred outside of the land of Israel.
According to the rabbis the prophets never added anything to the "Torah," i.e. the corpus of commandments that a Jew must observe, except for the reading of the Megillah. This is a reading of Purim we’ve seen elsewhere it s the holiday of innovation. The prophets derived the obligation to read the Megillah from a "kal vehomer" argument. If we sang the praise of God after the Exodus from Egypt, all the more so we should sing it when we were saved from death at the time of Haman. Of course, the problem is that we do not recite Hallel on Purim we say the Megillah. The Talmud answers that we don’t recite Hallel for miracles that occurred outside of Israel.
יציאת מצרים דנס שבחוצה לארץ, היכי אמרינן שירה? – כדתניא: עד שלא נכנסו ישראל לארץ הוכשרו כל ארצות לומר שירה. משנכנסו ישראל לארץ לא הוכשרו כל הארצות לומר שירה.
How then can we say Hallel for the Exodus from Egypt which was a miracle which occurred outside the land of Israel?
As it has been taught: "Until they entered the land of Israel, all lands were counted as proper for saying Hallel [for miracles done in them] After they had entered the land, other countries were not counted as proper for saying [for miracles done in them]."
If we don’t say Hallel for miracles that occurred outside of Israel, then how can we say Hallel for the Exodus itself! The answer is that there is a difference between miracles that occurred before the Israelites entered the land (such as the Exodus), and those that occurred after they entered the land. Once the Jews entered the land, they could only say Hallel for miracles that occurred in the land. That is why we don’t say Hallel on Purim.
רב נחמן אמר: קרייתא זו הלילא,
רבא אמר: בשלמא התם +תהלים קי"ג+ הללו עבדי ה‘ – ולא עבדי פרעה, אלא הכא – הללו עבדי ה‘ ולא עבדי אחשורוש? אכתי עבדי אחשורוש אנן.
R. Nahman said: The reading of the Megillah is equivalent to Hallel.
Rava said: There is a good reason in that case [of the Exodus from Egypt] because it says [in the Hallel], "Praise you O servants of the Lord," and not servants of Pharaoh. But can we say in this case, "Praise you, servants of the Lord" and not servants of Ahashverosh? We are still servants of Ahashverosh.
R. Nahman says that the reading of the Megillah is equivalent to the Hallel. Therefore, we don’t even need to say Hallel on Purim. Rava says that we couldn’t say Hallel on Purim because even after Haman was killed, the Jews remained servants subject to Ahashverosh.
בין לרבא בין לרב נחמן קשיא: והא תניא, משנכנסו לארץ לא הוכשרו כל הארצות לומר שירה, כיון שגלו – חזרו להכשירן הראשון.
Whether for Rava or for R. Nahman, there is a difficulty in what has been taught [above], that "after they had entered the land, other countries were not counted as proper for saying the Hallel [for miracles done in them]!"
When the people went into exile, the other countries became proper as at first.
By offering other reasons for why we don’t say Hallel on Purim, Rava and R. Nahman imply that we could say Hallel for miracles that occurred in other lands. This contradicts the baraita from above. The resolution is that once all of the people went into exile, it again became proper to recite Hallel
ותו ליכא? והכתיב +שמואל א‘ א‘+ ויהי איש אחד מן הרמתים צופים – אחד ממאתים צופים שנתנבאו להם לישראל! – מיהוה טובא הוו. כדתניא: הרבה נביאים עמדו להם לישראל, כפלים כיוצאי מצרים, אלא, נבואה שהוצרכה לדורות – נכתבה, ושלא הוצרכה – לא נכתבה.
Were there no more prophets? But is it not written, "And there was a man from Ramataim-Tzophim", (I Samuel 1:1) [which we interpret], one of two hundred prophets [zophim] who prophesied to Israel?
There were actually very many, as it has been taught, Many prophets arose for Israel, double the number of [the Israelites] who came out of Egypt only the prophecy which contained a lesson for future generations was written down, and that which did not contain such a lesson was not written.
Above, we said that there only 48 prophets. But a verse in Samuel is read [based on pun Ramataim=matayim (200)] as if there were 200 "Tzophim" prophets just in Eli’s time.
The answer is that there were many prophets. But only the prophesies that contain lessons for the future generations was written down.
רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר: אדם הבא משתי רמות שצופות זו את זו. רבי חנין אמר: אדם הבא מבני אדם שעומדין ברומו של עולם. ומאן נינהו – בני קרח. דכתיב +במדבר כ"ו+ ובני קרח לא מתו. תנא משום רבינו: מקום נתבצר להם בגיהנם, ועמדו עליו.
R. Shmuel b. Nahmani said: This [Ramataim-Tzophim] means, a man who came from two heights (ramot) which faced (tzophot) one another.
R. Hanin said: It means: a man who came from ancestors of the most exalted position (rumo). And who were they? The sons of Korah, as it says, And the sons of Korah did not die.
A Tanna taught in the name of our Teacher: A special place was assigned to them in Gehinnom and they stood on it.
The Talmud now offers two other interpretations for the place Ramataim-Tzophim. The first is physical it refers to heights (ramot) that face each other (tzophim means to look or face). The second interpretation is that it refers to Eli’s ancestors. Eli was a priest, a descendent of Korah. Korah’s sons didn’t die. They were swallowed up by the earth, preserved in Gehinnom so that they wouldn’t fall to its depths.