Megillah, Daf Yod Zayin, Part 2
Introduction
In yesterday’s section we learned that Jacob was sixty-three when he received the blessing from Isaac. Shortly thereafter he fled to Lavan. The calculations pick up at this point.
שתין ותלת, וארביסר עד דמתיליד יוסף – הא שבעין ושבעה. וכתיב +בראשית מ"א+ ויוסף בן שלשים שנה בעמדו לפני פרעה – הא מאה ושבע, שב דשבעא ותרתי דכפנא – הא מאה ושיתסר, וכתיב +בראשית מ"ז+ ויאמר פרעה אל יעקב כמה ימי שני חייך. ויאמר יעקב אל פרעה ימי שני מגורי שלשים ומאת שנה, מאה ושיתסר הויין!
Sixty-three, and fourteen more till Joseph was born make seventy-seven, and it is written, "And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh" (Genesis 41:46). This makes a hundred and seven. Add seven years of plenty and two of famine, and we have a hundred and sixteen, and it is written, "And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my wanderings are a hundred and thirty years" (47:8-9).
But [we have just seen that] they were only a hundred and sixteen?
How could Jacob have told Pharaoh that he was 130 years old when according to the calculations, he was only 116?
אלא שמע מינה: ארבע עשרה שנין דהוה בבית עבר (לא חשיב להו). דתניא: היה יעקב בבית עבר מוטמן ארבע עשרה שנה. עבר מת לאחר שירד יעקב אבינו לארם נהרים שתי שנים. יצא משם ובא לו לארם נהרים. נמצא, כשעמד על הבאר בן שבעים ושבע שנה.
Rather, he spent fourteen years in the house of Ever, as it has been taught in a baraita: Jacob was fourteen years hidden in the House of Ever. Ever died, two years after Jacob our father had gone to Aram Naharaim. He then went forth from where he was and came to Aram Naharaim. When he stood by the well he was seventy-seven years old.
The Talmud adds in fourteen years between Jacob’s leaving Canaan and his arrival at the well in Aram Naharaim where he met Rachel. These fourteen years were spent studying in the Bet Midrash (the House) of Ever. The baraita also notes that Ever died two years after Jacob had left his Bet Midrash.
ומנלן דלא מיענש – דתניא: נמצא, יוסף שפירש מאביו עשרים ושתים שנה כשם שפירש יעקב אבינו מאביו. דיעקב תלתין ושיתא הויין! – אלא: ארביסר דהוה בבית עבר לא חשיב להו.
And how do we know that he was not punished [for these fourteen years]? As it has been taught in a baraita: We find that Joseph was away from his father twenty-two years just as Jacob our father was away from his father.
But Jacob’s absence was thirty-six years? It must be then that the fourteen years which he was in the House of Ever are not counted.
The point of all of these calculations was to demonstrate that Jacob was not punished for not having honored his parents during the years he was studying in the House of Ever. This is learned from a deduction Jacob was punished for the twenty-two years in which he was absent from his father, while working for Lavan. The punishment was "measure for measure." Just as he was absent from his father for 22 years, so too did he lose his son for 22 years. But he was not punished for the fourteen years he spent in Aram Naharaim.
סוף סוף דבית לבן עשרין שנין הויין! אלא, משום דאשתהי באורחא תרתין שנין. דתניא: יצא מארם נהרים ובא לו לסכות, ועשה שם שמונה עשר חודש, שנאמר +בראשית ל"ג+ ויעקב נסע סכתה ויבן לו בית ולמקנהו עשה סכות. ובבית אל עשה ששה חדשים והקריב זבחים.
But in the end, the time he spent in the house of Lavan was only twenty years? Because he spent two years on the way, as it has been taught: He left Aram Naharaim and came to Sukkot and spent there eighteen months, as it says, "And Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle" (Genesis 33:17). And in Bethel he spent six months and brought there sacrifices.
Jacob only spent twenty years in Aram Naharaim, seven working for each wife, and six extra earning some flocks of sheep and goats. So why was he punished for twenty-two years?
The answer is that he spent two years going there, one and a half years in Sukkot and another half a year in Bethel.
May we return to you Chapter "The Megillah is Read"
That’s it folks this extraordinary chapter is over. There were some long pages in this chapter including long discussions of when the Megillah is read, some strange mishnahs that went way off topic and finally, about 7 long pages of midrashim on the book of Esther. I hope you found these pages as interesting as I did, and I hope that you come back to them when celebrating the holiday of Purim!
Tomorrow we begin a new chapter back to halakhah!