Daf Yomi - Megillah 18 - Highlights

The Gemora asks: If one hundred and twenty elders (the Men of the Great Assembly), and among them many prophets, have arranged the order of the Shemoneh Esrei, why was it necessary for Shimon of Pekuli to arrange them in their proper sequence? The Gemora answers: They had been forgotten, so he reintroduced the order. (18a)

The Gemora rules: It is forbidden to add to the brochos of the Shemoneh Esrei. Rabbi Elozar said: It is written [Tehillim 106:2]: "Who can utter the mighty acts of Hashem? Who can proclaim all his praise?" For whom is it fitting to utter? Only one who can publish all of His praises (and since this is impossible to accomplish, only the blessings that have been ordained should be recited).

Rabbah bar bar Chanah said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: He who praises Hashem too much will be uprooted from the world. Rabbi Yehudah of the village Geboriah said: Silence is the best medicine. When Rav Dimia came from Eretz Yisroel to Bavel, he said: in Eretz Yisroel, they would say: "A word is worth a sela, and silence is worth two." (18a)

The Mishna had stated: If one reads the Megillah by heart, he does not fulfill his obligation. Rava cites a Scriptural source for this.

The Gemora rules that one is obligated to remember Amalek verbally; mentally is not sufficient. (18a)

The Mishna had stated: One may read the Megillah in a foreign language for those who understand it. A braisa is cited which states the opposite: If one reads the Megillah in a foreign language, he does not fulfill his obligation. The Gemora explains that the braisa is referring to a case where the people do not understand the language and therefore do not fulfill their obligation. Rav and Shmuel rule: According to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, who maintains that the Torah is permitted to be written only in Greek (of the foreign languages); if one hears the Megillah being read in Greek, he will fulfill his obligation even if he doesn’t understand it. (This is because he equates Greek to Hebrew.) (18a)

The Mishna had stated: If a foreigner hears the Megillah read in Ashuris (Hebrew), he has fulfilled his obligation. The Gemora rules that this is true even if he doesn’t understand every word. Proof to this can be brought from the fact that nobody understands the precise meaning of the words הרמכים בני האחשתרנים, ha’achashtranim bnei haramachim (a species of swift camels), and nevertheless we fulfill the mitzvah. The Gemora provides the reason for this: The obligation of reading the Megillah is to publicize the miracle and that was accomplished. (18a)

The Mishna had stated: If he read the Megillah intermittently, he has fulfilled his obligation. The Chachamim did not know what the word serugin (intermittently) meant, until they heard the maidservant of Rebbe say to the Rabbis who were coming to Rebbe’s house at different intervals, “Until when will you be entering serugin serugin?” The Gemora offers other examples of words that the Chachamim did not know what they meant and they discovered the meaning after hearing the maidservant of Rebbe or from different travelers. (18a)

It was taught in a braisa: If he read the Megillah intermittently, he has fulfilled his obligation but if he read it out of sequence, he does not fulfill his obligation. Rabbi Muna said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah: If he read the Megillah intermittently, but he paused in the amount of time it would take him to read the entire Megillah, he would be required to start the Megillah again. (18a – 18b)

It was taught in a braisa: If the scribe had omitted letters or verses and the reader read them from memory, he has fulfilled his obligation. The Gemora challenges this ruling from a different braisa: If letters from the Megillah are partially effaced or torn, if they are still legible, the Megillah may be used, but otherwise it may not be used. The Gemora answers: It is only invalid if the entire Megillah is illegible, however if a Megillah is missing less than half of its letters, it is still valid. (18b)

The Mishna had ruled: If one read the Megillah while he was drowsy, he has fulfilled his obligation. Rav Ashi clarifies the case. He is asleep and not asleep, awake and not awake; if he is called he responds, but he cannot give a rational answer, though if he is reminded, he remembers. (18b)

The Mishna had stated: One who was writing it, interpreting it or correcting it, and during that time recited the entire Megillah; if he set his mind to it, he has fulfilled his obligation, but if he did not set his mind to it, he did not fulfill his obligation. The Gemora explains the case: There was another Megillah before him and he reads one verse at a time (from the complete Megillah) and then writes it down. The Gemora asks: Shall we say that this supports Rabbah bar bar Chanah, for Rabbah bar bar Chanah said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: It is forbidden for a scribe to write one letter of any Scripture unless it is copied from a text? The Gemora answers: It is not a proof because the Mishna can be referring to a case where a Megillah was opened in front of the scribe, but in truth, it would not have been necessary.

The Gemora discusses whether one who knows the Torah by heart would be permitted to write a Scripture scroll without copying from a text.

Abaye allowed the members of the house of Bar Chavu to write tefillin and mezuzos without copying from a text. The Gemora states that this follows the opinion of Rabbi Yirmiyah cited in a braisa who states in the name of Rabbeinu that tefillin and mezuzos may be written without copying from a text and they do not require etched lines (sirtut – the letters are written using these lines) on the parchment. The Gemora concludes that while it’s true that tefillin does not require etched lines; mezuzos do. They both may be written without copying from a text because their content is fluent to all. (18b)