MEGILAH - 010b – מגילה נקראת – פרק ראשון – מגילה, י ע”ב

Now, [the beraisa itself] says [later] that “they do not need to be sanctified”!^[1]

הא אמרי - Later, in the closing clause of this same teaching, [it says] that they do not need sanctification — for it goes on to conclude: “and any [city] about which a tradition from your fathers comes into your hands.”

Rather, [read]: “They found these and counted them.”

“And not these alone; rather, any [city] about which a tradition comes into your hands from your fathers that it was surrounded by a wall from the days of Yehoshua bin Nun — all these mitzvos apply in it, because the first sanctification sanctified it for its time and sanctified it for the future.”^[2]

כל המצות הללו - Those that apply in walled cities: sending out the metzora, reading the Megillah on the fifteenth, and a house sold there becoming the buyer’s permanently at the end of a year.^[3]

Then R’ Yishmael contradicts R’ Yishmael!^[4]

Two Tannaim [differ] about the view of R’ Yishmael b’R’ Yose.

And if you wish, say: this one was said by R’ Elazar bar Yose.

As it was taught: “R’ Elazar b’R’ Yose said: (Vayikra 25:30) ‘which has a wall’ — even though it does not have one now, but had one before.”^[5]

אע"פ שאין כו' - Evidently he holds that the first sanctity was not cancelled by the Destruction. And these are the [two] Tannaim.

“And it came to pass [vayehi] in the days of Achashverosh.”^[6]

R’ Levi said, and some say it was R’ Yonasan: This matter is a tradition in our hands from the Men of the Great Assembly:^[7] wherever it says “vayehi,” it is nothing but an expression of distress.

(Esther 1:1) “And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh” — there was Haman.

(Ruth 1:1) “And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged” — there was a famine.

(Bereishis 6:1) “And it came to pass, when man began to multiply” — (ibid. 6:5) “And Hashem saw that the wickedness of man was great.”

(Bereishis 11:2) “And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east” — (ibid. 11:4) “Come, let us build ourselves a city.”

(Bereishis 14:1) “And it came to pass in the days of Amrafel” — “they made war.”^[8]

(Yehoshua 5:13) “And it came to pass, when Yehoshua was by Yericho” — “and his sword drawn in his hand.”

וחרבו שלופה וגו' - And he distressed him — for he rebuked him over the neglect of Torah study and of the afternoon tamid, as it says earlier in our perek (3a).^[9]

(Yehoshua 6:27) “And Hashem was with Yehoshua” — (Yehoshua 7:1) “And the children of Israel committed a trespass.”^[10]

(Shmuel I 1:1) “And there was a certain man from Ramasayim” — (ibid. 1:5) “for he loved Chanah, but Hashem had closed her womb.”

(Shmuel I 8:1) “And it came to pass, [when] Shmuel was old” — (ibid. 8:3) “and his sons did not walk in his ways.”

(Shmuel I 18:14) “And David was successful in all his ways, [and Hashem was with him]” —

ויהי דוד לכל דרכיו משכיל וה' עמו - And it is written there: “And Shaul eyed David [with suspicion],” because of his success.

(Shmuel I 18:9) “And Shaul eyed David.”

(Shmuel II 7:1) “And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house” — (Divrei Hayamim II 6:9) “Only you shall not build the House.”^[11]

But it is written: (Vayikra 9:1) “And it came to pass on the eighth day”?^[12]

And it was taught: “On that day there was joy before the Holy One, blessed is He, as on the day heaven and earth were created. It is written here: ‘And it came to pass on the eighth day,’ and it is written there: (Bereishis 1:5) ‘And there was [evening and there was morning,] one day’”?

There Nadav and Avihu died.^[13]

But it is written: (Melachim I 6:1) “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year”?^[14]

But it is written: (Bereishis 29:10) “And it came to pass, when Yaakov saw Rachel”?

But it is written: (Bereishis 1:5) “And there was evening and there was morning, one day”?

But there is the second [day]!

But there is the third!

But there are many!^[15]

Rav Ashi said: Every “vayehi” — some are this way and some are that way; “vayehi bimei” (“and it came to pass in the days of”) is nothing but an expression of distress.

There are five “vayehi bimei”:

“And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh.”

“And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged.”

“And it came to pass in the days of Amrafel.”

(Yeshayahu 7:1) “And it came to pass in the days of Achaz.”^[16]

(Yirmiyahu 1:3) “And it came to pass in the days of Yehoyakim.”^[17]

[And] R’ Levi said: This matter is a tradition in our hands from our fathers: Amotz and Amatzyah were brothers.^[18]

אמוץ ואמציה - Amotz, the father of Yeshayahu, and Amatzyah, king of Yehudah.

What does this teach us?

Like that which R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of R’ Yonasan: Every bride who is modest in her father-in-law’s house merits that kings and prophets come from her.

From where do we know this? From Tamar.

As it is written: (Bereishis 38:15) “And Yehudah saw her and thought her a harlot, for she had covered her face” — because she covered her face he thought her a harlot?!^[19]

Rather, because she covered her face in her father-in-law’s house and he did not know her, she merited that kings and prophets came from her.

מלמד שכיסתה פניה בבית חמיה - Therefore he did not recognize her now, for even in his own house he had not seen her face, that he should recognize her.

“Kings” — from David. “Prophets” — for R’ Levi said: It is a tradition in our hands from our fathers that Amotz and Amatzyah were brothers, and it is written: (Yeshayahu 1:1) “The vision of Yeshayahu son of Amotz.”^[20]

And R’ Levi said: This matter is a tradition in our hands from our fathers: the place of the aron is not part of the measurement.

אינו מן המדה - It takes up none of the floor measure on any of its sides, as it was taught: “it has ten cubits on every side.” It stood in the middle of the Kodesh Hakodashim, with a space of ten cubits between it and the walls on every side, while the whole room was only twenty by twenty; so it took up no space at all.

It was also taught so: “The aron that Moshe made had ten cubits on every side.”

And it is written: (Melachim I 6:20) “And before the Devir, twenty cubits in length.”

לפני הדביר - The inner space of the Kodesh Hakodashim, which lies within the Devir — that is, the partition dividing the Kodesh from the Kodesh Hakodashim.

And it is written: “The wing of the one keruv was ten cubits, and the wing of the other keruv was ten cubits.”^[21]

Where, then, did the aron itself stand? Rather, conclude from this: it stood by a miracle.

R’ Yonasan opened his introduction to this portion from here:^[22]

פתח לה פיתחא להאי פרשתא מהכא - When he wished to expound the subject of the Purim letter, he would begin by expounding this verse.

(Yeshayahu 14:22) “And I will rise up against them… and I will cut off from Bavel name and remnant, offspring and descendant, says Hashem.”

וקמתי עליהם - This is written about the punishment of Bavel.

“Name” — this is its script.

זה הכתב - They have no script except one taken from another nation.

“Remnant” — this is its language.

“Offspring” [nin] — this is its kingship.

נין - An expression of rule, as in “yinon shemo” (Tehillim 72) — “it shall rule and grow.”

“And descendant” — this is Vashti.^[23]

R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani opened his introduction to this portion from here:

(Yeshayahu 55:13) “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle.”

“Instead of the thorn” — instead of the wicked Haman, who made himself an idol, as it is written: (Yeshayahu 7:19) “and on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places.”^[24]

“Shall come up the cypress” [berosh] — this is Mordechai, who is called the head [rosh] of all spices, as it says: (Shemos 30:23) “And you, take for yourself the head spices, pure myrrh [mar deror],” and we translate it “mari dachi.”^[25]

“Instead of the nettle” [sirpad] — instead of the wicked Vashti, granddaughter of the wicked Nevuchadnetzar, who burned the covering [refidah] of the House of Hashem, as it is written: (Shir Hashirim 3:10) “its covering of gold.”^[26]

“Shall come up the myrtle” [hadas] — this is Esther the righteous, who is called Hadassah, as it says: (Esther 2:7) “And he raised Hadassah.”

“And it shall be for Hashem a name” — this is the reading of the Megillah.^[27]

“For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” — these are the days of Purim.

R’ Yehoshua ben Levi opened his introduction to this portion from here:

(Devarim 28:63) “And it shall be, as Hashem rejoiced over you to do you good, so He will cause rejoicing over you to destroy you.”

But does the Holy One, blessed is He, rejoice in the downfall of the wicked?!

But it is written (Divrei Hayamim II 20:21^[28]) “as they went out before the army, saying: Give thanks to Hashem, for His kindness endures forever.”

בצאת לפני החלוץ - This is written in Divrei Hayamim about Yehoshafat, when he went out to fight the Ammonites and the Giv’onim who had come against him.

And R’ Yochanan said: Why is “for He is good” not said in this thanksgiving?

הודו לה' כי טוב - That would imply it is good to praise Him for this.

Because the Holy One, blessed is He, does not rejoice in the downfall of the wicked.

And R’ Yochanan said: What is meant by (Shemos 14:20) “and the one did not come near the other all the night”?

The ministering angels wished to sing a song. The Holy One, blessed is He, said: “The work of My hands is drowning in the sea, and you sing a song?!”

R’ Elazar said: He Himself does not rejoice, but He makes others rejoice.

אחרים משיש - And when they were condemned to destruction in the days of Haman, their enemies rejoiced over them.

This is also precise, for it is written “so He will cause rejoicing” [yasis], and it is not written “He will rejoice” [yasus].^[29]

Conclude from this.

R’ Abba bar Kahana opened his introduction to this portion from here:

(Koheles 2:26^[30]) “To a man who is good before Him He gave wisdom, knowledge and joy” — this is Mordechai the righteous.

“And to the sinner He gave the task of gathering and amassing” — this is Haman.

“To give to one who is good before G‑d” — this is Mordechai and Esther.

As it is written: (Esther 8:2) “And Esther set Mordechai over the house of Haman.”

Rabbah bar Ofran opened his introduction to this portion from here:

(Yirmiyahu 49:38) “And I will set My throne in Eilam, and destroy from there king and princes.”

ושמתי כסאי בעילם - Shushan the capital was in Eilam, as it is written in the book of Daniel:^[31] “in Shushan the capital, which is in the province of Eilam.”

“King” — this is Vashti.

“And princes” — this is Haman and his ten sons.

Rav Dimi bar Yitzchak opened his introduction to this portion from here:^[32]

שאר זה לשון - This is difficult, for they still speak [in Bavel] in the Aramaic language. It seems that it means [the language of the kingdom], which the kings use and which the rest of [the people] do not understand.

רבה בר עופרן - We read [Ofran], and we do not read Efron, for “the name of the wicked shall rot,”^[33] and they would not call [anyone] by their names.

Notes

1. 1. On 10a the Gemara quoted a beraisa of R’ Yishmael b’R’ Yose: the Sages listed these walled cities because “when the exiles came up [from Bavel] they found these and sanctified them.” That implies the first sanctity had lapsed and had to be renewed. The Gemara objects that the end of that same beraisa says such cities need no sanctification at all. [Megillah 10a]
2. 2. “The first sanctification” is the sanctity the land and its walled cities received when Yehoshua conquered it. “Sanctified it for the future” means it was not cancelled by the Destruction and the exile, so the cities need no new sanctification when the exiles return.
3. 3. A city walled since the days of Yehoshua has its own laws: a metzora is sent outside it; the Megillah is read there on the fifteenth of Adar (Shushan Purim); and a house sold within it can be redeemed only within a year, after which it belongs to the buyer for good. [Vayikra 25:29–30]
4. 4. In the first beraisa (10a) R’ Yishmael b’R’ Yose said that the earlier cities lost their status “when the land lost its sanctity” — the first sanctification did not last. In this beraisa he says it was sanctified for the future.
5. 5. In the verse the word is written לא, “not,” but read לו, “it has.” R’ Elazar reads both: a city that has no wall now but had one before still counts as walled — so the old sanctity remains.
6. 6. From here the Gemara begins its long aggadic exposition of the Megillah, verse by verse, starting with its opening verse.
7. 7. The Men of the Great Assembly were the court of 120 elders at the start of the Second Temple era; among them were the last prophets, and Mordechai.
8. 8. Amrafel and three other kings made war on the king of Sedom and his allies, and took Lot captive (Bereishis 14).
9. 9. There the angel tells Yehoshua: “Last night you neglected the afternoon tamid, and now you have neglected Torah study.” [Megillah 3a]
10. 10. Achan took from the spoils of Yericho that had been declared cherem, and because of it Israel was defeated at Ai (Yehoshua 7).
11. 11. David wished to build the Beis Hamikdash and was told that not he but his son would build it — a disappointment.
12. 12. The eighth day was the day the Mishkan was inaugurated, after the seven days of installation (milu’im) of Aharon and his sons.
13. 13. On that very day Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu died when they brought a “strange fire” — so the day did hold distress. [Vayikra 10:1–2]
14. 14. This verse dates the start of Shlomo’s building of the Beis Hamikdash — a time of joy, not distress.
15. 15. Each day of creation closes with “and there was evening and there was morning,” and many other joyful passages also open with vayehi.
16. 16. In the days of Achaz, Retzin king of Aram and Pekach king of Israel came up to make war on Yerushalayim.
17. 17. In the days of Yehoyakim, Nevuchadnetzar came up against Yehudah, and its subjugation and exile began.
18. 18. Amotz was the father of the prophet Yeshayahu; Amatzyah was a king of Yehudah of the house of David. So Yeshayahu too was of David’s family.
19. 19. Tamar, Yehudah’s widowed daughter-in-law, sat veiled at the crossroads; Yehudah took her for a harlot, and from them Peretz and Zerach were born.
20. 20. David descended from Peretz son of Tamar; Amatzyah was of David’s line, and Yeshayahu was his brother’s son. So both kings and prophets came from Tamar.
21. 21. Shlomo’s two keruvim stood over the aron; their wings, ten cubits each, filled the whole twenty-cubit width of the room, leaving no space for the aron beneath them. [Melachim I 6:24–27]
22. 22. A pesichta is an opening homily: the darshan starts from a verse elsewhere in Tanach and leads it to the subject at hand — here, the Megillah.
23. 23. Vashti was the granddaughter of Nevuchadnetzar king of Bavel, as the Gemara says below.
24. 24. Na’atzutz is a thorn bush, and in Yeshayahu the word comes in a passage about places of idol worship. Haman made himself an object of worship, ordering all to bow down to him.
25. 25. Onkelos renders mar deror as mira dachya, which echoes the name Mordechai.
26. 26. Nevuchadnetzar destroyed and burned the First Beis Hamikdash; “its covering” is expounded as referring to the Beis Hamikdash.
27. 27. The verse (Yeshayahu 55:13) ends: “and it shall be for Hashem a name, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
28. 28. Divrei Hayamim II 20:21: “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to Hashem, who would praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, saying: Give thanks to Hashem, for His kindness endures forever.”
29. 29. Yasis is causative — “He will make [others] rejoice.” Had the verse meant that Hashem Himself rejoices, it would read yasus.
30. 30. Koheles 2:26: “For to a man who is good before Him He has given wisdom, knowledge and joy; and to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and amassing, to give to one who is good before G‑d. This too is vanity and striving after wind.”
31. 31. [Daniel 8:2] “And I saw in the vision, and it was when I saw, that I was in Shushan the capital, which is in the province of Eilam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.”
32. 32. The homily continues on 11a. [Megillah 11a]
33. 33. “The name of the wicked shall rot” is Mishlei 10:7. Efron the Chitti, who sold Avraham the Cave of Machpelah, is counted among the wicked, so a sage would not bear his name.