Megillah, Daf Yod Het, Part 3

 

Introduction

Today’s section deals with reading the Megillah in a language other than Hebrew.

 

קראה תרגום לא יצא וכו‘. היכי דמי? אילימא דכתיבה מקרא וקרי לה תרגום – היינו על פה! – לא צריכא, דכתיבה תרגום וקרי לה תרגום.

 

If he read it in translation, he has not fulfilled his obligation.

How so? If you say that it was written in Hebrew and he read it in a translation? This is the same as reading by heart!

It was only necessary for the case where it was written in a translation and he reads it in a translation.

 

When the mishnah says that if he reads it in translation he has not fulfilled his obligation, it refers to a case where it was written in translation. If it was written in Hebrew and then he translated while reading, he was reading it by heart, and we already know that this is not valid.

 

אבל קורין אותה ללועזות בלעז וכו‘. והא אמרת קראה בכל לשון לא יצא!

רב ושמואל דאמרי תרוייהו: בלעז יווני.

היכי דמי? אילימא דכתיבה אשורית וקרי לה יוונית – היינו על פה!

אמר רבי אחא אמר רבי אלעזר: שכתובה בלעז יונית.

 

But they may read it to those who do not speak Hebrew in a language other than Hebrew.

But you have just said: If he read it in any other language, he has not fulfilled his obligation?

Rav and Shmuel both said: In the Greek vernacular.

How so? If you say that it is written in Hebrew and he reads it in Greek? This is the same as saying by heart?

R. Aha said in the name of R. Elazar: When it was written in the Greek vernacular.

 

While the Mishnah seems to allow one to read it in any language to those who don’t know Hebrew, Rav and Shmuel limit this to Greek. Below we will see that this opinion is related to Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel’s opinion from the Mishnah who accorded special qualities to the Greek language, placing it one notch below Hebrew, but above all other languages. Assumedly, in his day, Greek was considered the international language, the language that "civilized" people spoke.

As above, the case is one in which the scroll was written in Greek. If it was written in Hebrew, one would not be able to read it in Greek.

 

ואמר רבי אחא אמר רבי אלעזר: מנין שקראו הקדוש ברוך הוא ליעקב אל? – שנאמר +בראשית ל"ג+ ויקרא לו אל אלהי ישראל. דאי סלקא דעתך למזבח קרא ליה יעקב אל – ויקרא לו יעקב מיבעי ליה, אלא ויקרא לו ליעקב אל, ומי קראו אל – אלהי ישראל.

 

R. Aha also said in the name of R. Elazar: How do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, called Jacob El [God]? As it says, "And the God of Israel called him [Jacob] El" (Genesis 33:20). For should you think that [what the text means is that] Jacob called the altar El, then it should be written, "And Jacob called it." Rather [it is written] "And He called to Jacob, El." And who called him so? The God of Israel.

 

This statement is brought here only because it was stated by R. Aha in the name of R. Elazar.

Genesis 33:20 states, "And [Jacob] placed there an altar, and he called it God (El) the God of Israel." The simple reading of the verse is probably that Jacob called the altar "God, God of Israel." But this reading is unacceptable to R. Aha, so he rereads the verse as if God jumps in. Jacob sets up the altar, and in return God calls Jacob, "El (God)."

We should note there are a series of midrashim that accord God-like qualities to Jacob, mostly that he and God look exactly alike. This brief midrash may be part of this larger idea.

 

מיתיבי: קראה גיפטית, עברית, עילמית, מדית, יוונית – לא יצא. – הא לא דמיא אלא להא: גיפטית לגיפטים. עברית לעברים, עילמית לעילמים, יוונית ליוונים – יצא. –

 

They objected [against Rav and Shmuel]: "If one reads it in Coptic, in Hebrew, in Elamean, in Median, in Greek, he has not fulfilled his obligation"!

This means only as in following: "If one reads it in Coptic to the Copts, in Hebrew to the Hebrews, in Elamean to the Elameans, in Greek to the Greeks, he has fulfilled his obligation."

 

The Talmud now returns to reading the Megillah in another language. Rav and Shmuel allowed it to be read only in Greek. But a baraita states explicitly that it may not be read in other languages, even to those who speak that language!

The Talmud resolves it by saying that Rav and Shmuel’s statement related to a different baraita that did allow one to read the Megillah in another language to a person who understood that language.

 

אי הכי, רב ושמואל אמאי מוקמי לה למתניתין בלעז יוונית? לוקמה בכל לעז! [אלא מתניתין כברייתא], וכי איתמר דרב ושמואל – בעלמא איתמר. רב ושמואל דאמרי תרוייהו: לעז יווני לכל כשר.

 

If that is the case, why do Rav and Shmuel explain the Mishnah to refer to the Greek vernacular? Let them make it refer to any vernacular?

Rather the Mishnah agrees with the baraita, and the statement of Rav and Shmuel was meant to be a general one: Rav and Shmuel both say that the Greek vernacular is good for all peoples.

 

The problem with the above resolution is that Rav and Shmuel allow the Megillah to be read only in Greek, whereas the baraita allows other languages as well.

To resolve this, the Talmud acknowledges that the Mishnah does indeed allow the Megillah to be read in other languages to those who understand that language. Rav and Shmuel were not interpreting the mishnah, as we thought above. They were offering a general rule the Megillah may be read in Greek to anyone, even to one who does not understand Greek.

והא קתני יוונית ליוונים – אין, לכולי עלמא – לא! – אינהו דאמור כרבן שמעון בן גמליאל – דתנן, רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר: אף ספרים לא התירו שיכתבו אלא יוונית. –

 

But it is stated, "In Greek for the Greeks" for the Greeks he may, but for others he may not?

They [Rav and Shmuel] said like Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel, as we have learned: Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel says: When they allowed scrolls to be written in other languages, they only allowed Greek."

 

The baraita allowed Greek only for the Greeks. According to this opinion, Greek is no different from any other language. But Rav and Shmuel agree with Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel who accords a special status to Greek. The Talmud resolves this by saying that they hold like Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel who accords a special status to Greek. Torah scrolls may only be translated into Greek, not into other languages.

 

ולימרו הלכה כרבן שמעון בן גמליאל! – אי אמרי הלכה כרבן שמעון בן גמליאל הוה אמינא: הני מילי – שאר ספרים, אבל מגילה דכתיב בה ככתבם אימא לא – קמשמע לן.

 

Let them then say, The halakhah follows Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel? Had they said, The halakhah follows Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel, I would have said that this is the case with other books of the Scriptures but not with the Megillah, in which it is written, "According to their writing." Therefore it teaches us [that this is not so].

 

Rav and Shmuel did not just say "The halakhah follows Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel" who allows all scrolls to be written only in Greek (and Hebrew, of course), for had they said that we would not have known that even the Megillah may be written in Greek. The word "according to their writing" might have led us to believe that the Megillah had to be written in Hebrew. Rav and Shmuel inform us that even the Megillah may be written in any language.