Megillah, Daf Lammed, Part 6
Introduction
Today’s section discusses what was interrupted by the special Shabbatot the regular cycle of Torah reading, or just the haftorah. We should note that many scholars believe that in Israel during the special Shabbatot they did not read the regular Torah reading, whereas in Babylonia they read the regular parshat hashavua and read only a special maftir and haftorah, as we do today.
בחמישית חוזרין לכסדרן וכו’. לסדר מאי? רבי אמי אמר: לסדר פרשיות הוא חוזר, רבי ירמיה אמר: לסדר הפטרות הוא חוזר.
On the fifth they return to the regular order.
What regular order? R. Ammi said: They return to the order of weekly portions.
R. Jeremiah said: They return to the order of haftarot.
During the four special Shabbatot special Torah and haftorah readings were read. After the fourth Shabbat, they return to reading the regular order. But the mishnah does not explain the regular order of what: Torah readings or haftarot?
R. Ammi says they go back to the regular order of Torah readings. This implies that during the special Shabbatot, they did not read the regular portion of the week.
But R. Jeremiah seems to imply that only the haftarot were interrupted by the special Shabbatot. The regular Torah reading cycle was not interrupted (this is how we behave today). On the fifth Shabbat they go back to the regular order of haftarot.
אמר אביי: כוותיה דרבי אמי מסתברא. דתנן: לכל מפסיקין: לראשי חדשים, לחנוכה ולפורים, לתעניות ולמעמדות, וליום הכפורים. בשלמא למאן דאמר לסדר פרשיות הוא חוזר – היינו דאיכא פרשה בחול, אלא למאן דאמר לסדר הפטרות הוא חוזר – הפטרה בחול מי איכא? – ואידך: הא כדאיתא, והא כדאיתא.
Abaye said: The opinion of R. Ammi is the more reasonable, as it was taught: the regular reading is interrupted for any special occasion: for Rosh Hodesh, for Hanukkah, for Purim, for fasts, for ma’amadot and for Yom Kippur.
This accords well with the one who says that the order of weekly portions is resumed, that is why a portion is read on weekdays.
But according to the one who says that the order of haftarot is resumed, is there any haftarah on [ordinary] weekdays?
The one rule holds where it applies, and the other where it applies.
Abaye cites the mishnah to support R. Ammi, who said that they interrupted the cycle of Torah portions. The mishnah refers to interrupting the cycle for events that can only occur during the week, such as fasts (for rain on Monday or Thursday) or "ma’amadot" (readings by the local population when the local priests are serving in the Temple). Thus it must mean that the regular Torah reading is interrupted, not the haftorah, for there is no haftorah during the week.
R. Jeremiah resolves the mishnah by saying that if the holiday falls during the week, then the there is no haftorah and only the Torah reading is interrupted. But if it falls on Shabbat, then the regular Torah reading is not interrupted; only the haftorah. [Again, this is how we behave today].
ובתעניות למה לי הפסקה? ליקרי מצפרא בענינא דיומא, ובמנחה – בתעניתא!
מסייע ליה לרב הונא, דאמר רב הונא: מצפרא כינופיא.
But on fast days [according to R. Jeremiah], why should there be an interruption [of the regular portion]? Let us read in the morning from the portion of the week and at minhah on the subject of the fast?
This supports R. Huna; for R. Huna said: In the morning of fast days there is a public assembly.
Theoretically, according to R. Jeremiah’s position that we don’t interrupt the regular Torah reading, we could read the regular Torah reading at Shacharit on fast days and then the special Torah reading at Minhah, for we do read Torah on Minhah of fast days. So why interrupt if it’s not necessary?
The answer is that on fast days people gather in the morning to examine their deeds, to try to understand why the troubles have occurred. Thus there will be no time to read in the Torah. [Remember, the fast days referred to here are those called because it has not rained, or because of other national crises. These are not the fast days we usually still observe today.]
Today we read Torah on mornings and afternoons of fast days. But this was not customary during the Talmudic period.
היכי עבדינן? אמר אביי: מצפרא לפלגיה דיומא מעיינינן במילי דמתא, מפלגיה דיומא לפניא – ריבעא דיומא קרא ומפטרי, וריבעא דיומא בעו רחמי, שנאמר +נחמיה ט’+ ויקראו בספר תורת ה’ אלהיהם רביעית היום ורביעית (היום) מתודים ומשתחוים,
What do we do? Abaye said: From the morning to midday we examine the affairs of the town; from midday to evening, for a quarter of the day we read the Torah portion and the haftarah, and for a quarter we ask for mercy as it says, "And they read in the scroll of the Torah of their Lord a fourth part of the day, and another part they confessed and prostrated themselves before the Lord their God" (Nehemiah 9:3).
Abaye explains how they would act on the day of a public fast, in line with what was stated above, where we learned that they would not read Torah in the morning. This practice is loosely based on a verse from Nehemiah, describing the confessions and prayers of the Jews who returned to Israel after the Babylonian exile. During the second half of the day the Jews would first read the Sefer Torah and then confess and bow down to God.
ואיפוך אנא! לא סלקא דעתך, דכתיב +עזרא ט’+ ואלי יאספו כל חרד בדברי אלהי ישראל על מעל הגולה ואני ישב משומם עד למנחת הערב, וכתיב ובמנחת הערב קמתי מתעניתי.
But could I not reverse this?
Do not think this, since it is written, "Around me gathered all who were concerned over the words of the God of Israel because of the returning exiles’ trespass, while I sat desolate until the evening offering." And it is written, "At the time of the evening offering I ended my self-affliction" (Ezra 9:4-5).
The Talmud asks how we can be so sure that Ezra 9:3 is referring to the second half of the day. Perhaps they read Torah, prayed and confessed on the first half of the day?
This is ruled out by the following two verses. In v. 4 the exiles gather around Ezra to discuss the sins of the returning exiles. This, according to the Talmud, occurred during the first half of the day. During the second half of the day Ezra prays and asks God for mercy.