The repentance of the Jewish people when Achashverosh took off his ring to sign the edict to kill the Jews was greater than all the repentance generated by the 48 male and 7 female prophets. All those prophets didn’t add or detract from anything written in the Torah, except for instituting the reading of the Megillah. They instituted it as a form of song of praise of God. If so, why not Hallel? Three reasons are given. Aren’t there more than 55 prophets? Elkana was from Ramatayim – isn’t that a reference to 200 prophets? Two other ways of explaining the word Ramatayim are brought. Why were the seven female prophets? How do we know that each of them was a prophet? For some, there is a direct reference in the verse as they are called “the prophet.” For others, it is derived from something she said that she predicted an event that would happen in the future. Why did they turn to Chulda in the time of Yoshiyahu and not to Yirmiyahu, the main prophet of the time? Devorah and Chulda both exhibited arrogance and therefore, their names are the names of creatures that are abhorred. Chulda was from Joshua’s descendants. But wasn’t she descended from Rachav, the prostitute? Rachav converted and married Joshua and Chulda was born from their descendants.
This month’s learning is sponsored by Beth Balkany in honor of their granddaughter, Devorah Chana Serach Eichel. “May she grow up to be a lifelong learner.”
Megillah
Masechet Megilah is sponsored by Jordana and Kalman Schoor on behalf of their daughter Daria Esther who is completing Masechet Megilla in honor of her Bat Mitzva. Mazal tov!
Want to dedicate learning? Get started here:
This month’s learning is sponsored by Beth Balkany in honor of their granddaughter, Devorah Chana Serach Eichel. “May she grow up to be a lifelong learner.”
Megillah
Masechet Megilah is sponsored by Jordana and Kalman Schoor on behalf of their daughter Daria Esther who is completing Masechet Megilla in honor of her Bat Mitzva. Mazal tov!
Megillah 14
מָשָׁל דַּאֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ וְהָמָן לָמָּה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה? לִשְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם, לְאֶחָד הָיָה לוֹ תֵּל בְּתוֹךְ שָׂדֵהוּ וּלְאֶחָד הָיָה לוֹ חָרִיץ בְּתוֹךְ שָׂדֵהוּ. בַּעַל חָרִיץ אָמַר: מִי יִתֵּן לִי תֵּל זֶה בְּדָמִים! בַּעַל הַתֵּל אָמַר: מִי יִתֵּן לִי חָרִיץ זֶה בְּדָמִים!
The actions of Ahasuerus and Haman can be understood with a parable; to what may they be compared? To two individuals, one of whom had a mound in the middle of his field and the other of whom had a ditch in the middle of his field, each one suffering from his own predicament. The owner of the ditch, noticing the other’s mound of dirt, said to himself: Who will give me this mound of dirt suitable for filling in my ditch; I would even be willing to pay for it with money, and the owner of the mound, noticing the other’s ditch, said to himself: Who will give me this ditch for money, so that I may use it to remove the mound of earth from my property?
לְיָמִים נִזְדַּוְּוגוּ זֶה אֵצֶל זֶה. אָמַר לוֹ בַּעַל חָרִיץ לְבַעַל הַתֵּל: מְכוֹר לִי תִּילְּךָ! אָמַר לוֹ: טוֹל אוֹתוֹ בְּחִנָּם, וְהַלְוַאי!
At a later point, one day, they happened to have met one another. The owner of the ditch said to the owner of the mound: Sell me your mound so I can fill in my ditch. The mound’s owner, anxious to rid himself of the excess dirt on his property, said to him: Take it for free; if only you had done so sooner. Similarly, Ahasuerus himself wanted to destroy the Jews. As he was delighted that Haman had similar aspirations and was willing to do the job for him, he demanded no money from him.
״וַיָּסַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת טַבַּעְתּוֹ״, אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כָּהֲנָא: גְּדוֹלָה הֲסָרַת טַבַּעַת יוֹתֵר מֵאַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה נְבִיאִים וְשֶׁבַע נְבִיאוֹת שֶׁנִּתְנַבְּאוּ לָהֶן לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁכּוּלָּן לֹא הֶחֱזִירוּם לְמוּטָב, וְאִילּוּ הֲסָרַת טַבַּעַת הֶחְזִירָתַן לְמוּטָב.
§ The verse states: “And the king removed his ring from his hand” (Esther 3:10). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: The removal of Ahasuerus’s ring for the sealing of Haman’s decree was more effective than the forty-eight prophets and the seven prophetesses who prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. As, they were all unable to return the Jewish people to the right way, but the removal of Ahasuerus’s ring returned them to the right way, since it brought them to repentance.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה נְבִיאִים וְשֶׁבַע נְבִיאוֹת נִתְנַבְּאוּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְלֹא פִּחֲתוּ וְלֹא הוֹתִירוּ עַל מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה, חוּץ מִמִּקְרָא מְגִילָּה.
The Sages taught in a baraita: Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people, and they neither subtracted from nor added onto what is written in the Torah, introducing no changes or additions to the mitzvot except for the reading of the Megilla, which they added as an obligation for all future generations.
מַאי דְּרוּשׁ? אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אָבִין אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קׇרְחָה: וּמָה מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵירוּת אָמְרִינַן שִׁירָה — מִמִּיתָה לְחַיִּים לֹא כׇּל שֶׁכֵּן.
The Gemara asks: What exposition led them to determine that this was a proper mode of action? On what basis did they add this mitzva? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said that they reasoned as follows: If, when recalling the exodus from Egypt, in which the Jews were delivered from slavery to freedom, we recite songs of praise, the Song of the Sea and the hymns of hallel, then, in order to properly recall the miracle of Purim and commemorate God’s delivering us from death to life, is it not all the more so the case that we must sing God’s praise by reading the story in the Megilla?
אִי הָכִי, הַלֵּל נָמֵי נֵימָא! לְפִי שֶׁאֵין אוֹמְרִים הַלֵּל עַל נֵס שֶׁבַּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ. יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, דְּנֵס שֶׁבְּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ, הֵיכִי אָמְרִינַן שִׁירָה?
The Gemara asks: If so, our obligation should be at least as great as when we recall the exodus from Egypt, and let us also recite hallel on Purim. The Gemara answers: Hallel is not said on Purim, because hallel is not recited on a miracle that occurred outside Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara asks: If so, with regard to the exodus from Egypt as well, which was a miracle that occurred outside Eretz Yisrael, how are we able to recite songs of praise?
כִּדְתַנְיָא: עַד שֶׁלֹּא נִכְנְסוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָאָרֶץ — הוּכְשְׁרוּ כׇּל אֲרָצוֹת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה. מִשֶּׁנִּכְנְסוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָאָרֶץ — לֹא הוּכְשְׁרוּ כׇּל הָאֲרָצוֹת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה.
The Gemara answers: As it is taught in a baraita: Prior to the time when the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, all lands were deemed fit for songs of praise to be recited for miracles performed within their borders, as all lands were treated equally. But after the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, that land became endowed with greater sanctity, and all the other lands were no longer deemed fit for songs of praise to be recited for miracles performed within them.
רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר: קְרִיָּיתָהּ זוֹ הַלֵּילָהּ. רָבָא אָמַר, בִּשְׁלָמָא הָתָם: ״הַלְלוּ עַבְדֵי ה׳״ — וְלֹא עַבְדֵי פַרְעֹה, אֶלָּא הָכָא: ״הַלְלוּ עַבְדֵי ה׳״ — וְלֹא עַבְדֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ? אַכַּתִּי עַבְדֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ אֲנַן.
Rav Naḥman said an alternative answer as to why hallel is not recited on Purim: The reading of the Megilla itself is an act of reciting hallel. Rava said a third reason why hallel is not recited on Purim: Granted that hallel is said there, when recalling the exodus from Egypt, as after the salvation there, they could recite the phrase in hallel: “Give praise, O servants of the Lord” (Psalms 113:1); after their servitude to Pharaoh ended with their salvation, they were truly servants of the Lord and not servants of Pharaoh. But can it be said here, after the limited salvation commemorated on Purim: “Give praise, O servants of the Lord,” which would indicate that after the salvation the Jewish people were only servants of the Lord and not servants of Ahasuerus? No, even after the miracle of Purim, we were still the servants of Ahasuerus, as the Jews remained in exile under Persian rule, and consequently the salvation, which was incomplete, did not merit an obligation to say hallel.
בֵּין לְרָבָא בֵּין לְרַב נַחְמָן קַשְׁיָא, וְהָא תַּנְיָא: מִשֶּׁנִּכְנְסוּ לָאָרֶץ — לֹא הוּכְשְׁרוּ כׇּל הָאֲרָצוֹת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה! כֵּיוָן שֶׁגָּלוּ, חָזְרוּ לְהֶכְשֵׁירָן הָרִאשׁוֹן.
The Gemara asks: Both according to the opinion of Rava and according to the opinion of Rav Naḥman, this is difficult. Isn’t it taught in the baraita cited earlier: After the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, that land became endowed with greater sanctity, and all the other lands were no longer deemed fit for songs of praise to be recited for miracles performed within them. Therefore, there should be no hallel obligation on Purim for the miracle performed outside of the land of Israel, and Rav Naḥman’s and Rava’s alternative explanations are incorrect. The Gemara answers: They understood differently, as it can be argued that when the people were exiled from Eretz Yisrael, the other lands returned to their initial suitability, and were once again deemed fit for reciting hallel on miracles performed within them.
וְתוּ לֵיכָּא? וְהָכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִן הָרָמָתַיִם צוֹפִים״, אֶחָד מִמָּאתַיִם צוֹפִים שֶׁנִּתְנַבְּאוּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל.
With regard to the statement that forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people, the Gemara asks: Is there no one else? Isn’t it written with regard to Samuel’s father, Elkanah: “And there was a certain [eḥad] man from Ramathaim-zophim” (I Samuel 1:1), which is expounded as follows to indicate that Elkanah was a prophet: He was one [eḥad] of two hundred [mata’im] prophets [tzofim] who prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. If so, why was it stated here that there were only forty-eight prophets?
מִיהְוֵה טוּבָא הֲווֹ, כִּדְתַנְיָא: הַרְבֵּה נְבִיאִים עָמְדוּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, כִּפְלַיִם כְּיוֹצְאֵי מִצְרַיִם. אֶלָּא נְבוּאָה שֶׁהוּצְרְכָה לְדוֹרוֹת — נִכְתְּבָה, וְשֶׁלֹּא הוּצְרְכָה — לֹא נִכְתְּבָה.
The Gemara answers: In fact, there were more prophets, as it is taught in a baraita: Many prophets arose for the Jewish people, numbering double the number of Israelites who left Egypt. However, only a portion of the prophecies were recorded, because only prophecy that was needed for future generations was written down in the Bible for posterity, but that which was not needed, as it was not pertinent to later generations, was not written. Therefore, the fifty-five prophets recorded in the Bible, although not the only prophets of the Jewish people, were the only ones recorded, due to their eternal messages.
רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר: אָדָם הַבָּא מִשְׁתֵּי רָמוֹת שֶׁצּוֹפוֹת זוֹ אֶת זוֹ. רַבִּי חָנִין אָמַר: אָדָם הַבָּא מִבְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁעוֹמְדִין בְּרוּמוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם. וּמַאן נִינְהוּ? בְּנֵי קֹרַח, דִּכְתִיב: ״וּבְנֵי קֹרַח לֹא מֵתוּ״, תָּנָא מִשּׁוּם רַבֵּינוּ: מָקוֹם נִתְבַּצֵּר לָהֶם בְּגֵיהִנָּם, וְעָמְדוּ עָלָיו.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said another explanation of the verse “And there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim”: A man who comes from two heights [ramot] that face [tzofot] one another. Rabbi Ḥanin said an additional interpretation: A man who descends from people who stood at the height of [rumo] the world. The Gemara asks: And who are these people? The Gemara answers: These are the sons of Korah, as it is written: “But the sons of Korah did not die” (Numbers 26:11), and with regard to them it is taught in the name of our teacher, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: A high place was set aside for them in Gehenna, as the sons of Korah repented in their hearts, and were consequently not propelled very far down in Gehenna when the earth opened to swallow Korah and his followers; and they stood on this high place and sung to the Lord. They alone stood at the height of the lower world.
שֶׁבַע נְבִיאוֹת מַאן נִינְהוּ? שָׂרָה, מִרְיָם, דְּבוֹרָה, חַנָּה, אֲבִיגַיִל, חוּלְדָּה וְאֶסְתֵּר. שָׂרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״אֲבִי מִלְכָּה וַאֲבִי יִסְכָּה״, וְאָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: ״יִסְכָּה״ זוֹ שָׂרָה, וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמָהּ יִסְכָּה — שֶׁסָּכְתָה בְּרוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כֹּל אֲשֶׁר תֹּאמַר אֵלֶיךָ שָׂרָה שְׁמַע בְּקוֹלָהּ״. דָּבָר אַחֵר: ״יִסְכָּה״ — שֶׁהַכֹּל סוֹכִין בְּיוֹפְיָהּ.
§ The Gemara asks with regard to the prophetesses recorded in the baraita: Who were the seven prophetesses? The Gemara answers: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. The Gemara offers textual support: Sarah, as it is written: “Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah” (Genesis 11:29). And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Iscah is in fact Sarah. And why was she called Iscah? For she saw [sakhta] by means of divine inspiration, as it is stated: “In all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice” (Genesis 21:12). Alternatively, Sarah was also called Iscah, for all gazed [sokhin] upon her beauty.
מִרְיָם — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן״, וְלֹא אֲחוֹת מֹשֶׁה, אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר רַב: שֶׁהָיְתָה מִתְנַבְּאָה כְּשֶׁהִיא אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, וְאוֹמֶרֶת: עֲתִידָה אִמִּי שֶׁתֵּלֵד בֵּן שֶׁיּוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁנּוֹלַד נִתְמַלֵּא כָּל הַבַּיִת כּוּלּוֹ אוֹרָה, עָמַד אָבִיהָ וּנְשָׁקָהּ עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, אָמַר לָהּ: בִּתִּי נִתְקַיְּימָה נְבוּאָתִיךְ.
Miriam was a prophetess, as it is written explicitly: “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand” (Exodus 15:20). The Gemara asks: Was she the sister only of Aaron, and not the sister of Moses? Why does the verse mention only one of her brothers? Rav Naḥman said that Rav said: For she prophesied when she was the sister of Aaron, i.e., she prophesied since her youth, even before Moses was born, and she would say: My mother is destined to bear a son who will deliver the Jewish people to salvation. And at the time when Moses was born the entire house was filled with light, and her father stood and kissed her on the head, and said to her: My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled.
וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהִשְׁלִיכוּהוּ לַיְאוֹר, עָמַד אָבִיהָ וּטְפָחָהּ עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, וְאָמַר לָהּ: בִּתִּי הֵיכָן נְבוּאָתִיךְ? הַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתֵּתַצַּב אֲחוֹתוֹ מֵרָחוֹק לְדֵעָה״. לָדַעַת מָה יְהֵא בְּסוֹף נְבוּאָתָהּ.
But once Moses was cast into the river, her father arose and rapped her on the head, saying to her: My daughter, where is your prophecy now, as it looked as though the young Moses would soon meet his end. This is the meaning of that which is written with regard to Miriam’s watching Moses in the river: “And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4), i.e., to know what would be with the end of her prophecy, as she had prophesied that her brother was destined to be the savior of the Jewish people.
דְּבוֹרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״וּדְבוֹרָה אִשָּׁה נְבִיאָה אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת״, מַאי ״אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת״? שֶׁהָיְתָה עוֹשָׂה פְּתִילוֹת לַמִּקְדָּשׁ.
Deborah was a prophetess, as it is written explicitly: “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth” (Judges 4:4). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of “the wife of Lappidoth”? The Gemara answers: For she used to make wicks for the Sanctuary, and due to the flames [lappidot] on these wicks she was called the wife of Lappidoth, literally, a woman of flames.
״וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁבֶת תַּחַת תּוֹמֶר״. מַאי שְׁנָא תַּחַת תּוֹמֶר? אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אַבְשָׁלוֹם: מִשּׁוּם יִחוּד. דָּבָר אַחֵר: מָה תָּמָר זֶה אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא לֵב אֶחָד — אַף יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁבְּאוֹתוֹ הַדּוֹר לֹא הָיָה לָהֶם אֶלָּא לֵב אֶחָד לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם.
With regard to Deborah, it says: “And she sat under a palm tree” (Judges 4:5). The Gemara asks: What is different and unique with regard to her sitting “under a palm tree” that there is a need for it to be written? Rabbi Shimon ben Avshalom said: It is due to the prohibition against being alone together with a man. Since men would come before her for judgment, she established for herself a place out in the open and visible to all, in order to avoid a situation in which she would be secluded with a man behind closed doors. Alternatively, the verse means: Just as a palm tree has only one heart, as a palm tree does not send out separate branches, but rather has only one main trunk, so too, the Jewish people in that generation had only one heart, directed to their Father in Heaven.
חַנָּה — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל חַנָּה וַתֹּאמַר עָלַץ לִבִּי בַּה׳ רָמָה קַרְנִי בַּה׳״. ״רָמָה קַרְנִי״, וְלֹא רָמָה פַּכִּי. דָּוִד וּשְׁלֹמֹה שֶׁנִּמְשְׁחוּ בְּקֶרֶן — נִמְשְׁכָה מַלְכוּתָן, שָׁאוּל וְיֵהוּא שֶׁנִּמְשְׁחוּ בְּפַךְ — לֹא נִמְשְׁכָה מַלְכוּתָן.
Hannah was a prophetess, as it is written: “And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord” (I Samuel 2:1), and her words were prophecy, in that she said: “My horn is exalted,” and not: My pitcher is exalted. As, with regard to David and Solomon, who were anointed with oil from a horn, their kingship continued, whereas with regard to Saul and Jehu, who were anointed with oil from a pitcher, their kingship did not continue. This demonstrates that Hannah was a prophetess, as she prophesied that only those anointed with oil from a horn will merit that their kingships continue.
״אֵין קָדוֹשׁ כַּה׳ כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ״, אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה בַּר מְנַשְּׁיָא: אַל תִּקְרֵי ״בִּלְתֶּךָ״, אֶלָּא ״לְבַלּוֹתֶךָ״. שֶׁלֹּא כְּמִדַּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וְדָם. מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וְדָם — מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו מְבַלִּין אוֹתוֹ, אֲבָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא — מְבַלֶּה מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו.
Apropos the song of Hannah, the Gemara further explains her words: “There is none sacred as the Lord; for there is none beside You [biltekha]” (I Samuel 2:2). Rav Yehuda bar Menashya said: Do not read it as biltekha, “beside You,” but rather read it as levalotekha, to outlast You. As the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is unlike the attribute of flesh and blood. It is an attribute of man that his handiwork outlasts him and continues to exist even after he dies, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, outlasts His handiwork, as He exists eternally.
״וְאֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ״, אֵין צַיָּיר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ. אָדָם צָר צוּרָה עַל גַּבֵּי הַכּוֹתֶל וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַטִּיל בָּהּ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה, קְרָבַיִם וּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם. אֲבָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא צָר צוּרָה בְּתוֹךְ צוּרָה, וּמֵטִיל בָּהּ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה, קְרָבַיִם וּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם.
Hannah further said: “Neither is there any rock [tzur] like our God” (I Samuel 2:1). This can be understood as saying that there is no artist [tzayyar] like our God. How is He better than all other artists? Man fashions a form upon a wall, but is unable to endow it with breath and a soul, or fill it with innards and intestines, whereas the Holy One, Blessed be He, fashions a form of a fetus inside the form of its mother, rather than on a flat surface, and endows it with breath and a soul and fills it with innards and intestines.
אֲבִיגַיִל, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהָיָה הִיא רוֹכֶבֶת עַל הַחֲמוֹר וְיוֹרֶדֶת בְּסֵתֶר הָהָר״. ״בְּסֵתֶר הָהָר״? ״מִן הָהָר״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ!
Abigail was a prophetess, as it is written: “And it was so, as she rode on the donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain” (I Samuel 25:20). The Gemara asks: Why does it say: “By the covert [beseter] of the mountain”? It should have said: From the mountain.
אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר שְׁמוּאֵל: עַל עִסְקֵי דָם הַבָּא מִן הַסְּתָרִים. נָטְלָה דָּם וְהֶרְאֲתָה לוֹ. אָמַר לָהּ: וְכִי מַרְאִין דָּם בַּלַּיְלָה? אָמְרָה לוֹ: וְכִי דָּנִין דִּינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת בַּלַּיְלָה? אָמַר לָהּ:
The Gemara answers that in fact this must be understood as an allusion to something else. Rabba bar Shmuel said: Abigail, in her attempt to prevent David from killing her husband Nabal, came to David and questioned him on account of menstrual blood that comes from the hidden parts [setarim] of a body. How so? She took a blood-stained cloth and showed it to him, asking him to rule on her status, whether or not she was ritually impure as a menstruating woman. He said to her: Is blood shown at night? One does not examine blood-stained cloths at night, as it is difficult to distinguish between the different shades by candlelight. She said to him: If so, you should also remember another halakha: Are cases of capital law tried at night? Since one does not try capital cases at night, you cannot condemn Nabal to death at night. David said to her:
מוֹרֵד בַּמַּלְכוּת הוּא, וְלָא צְרִיךְ לְמֵידַּיְינֵיהּ. אָמְרָה לוֹ: עֲדַיִין שָׁאוּל קַיָּים וְלֹא יָצָא טִבְעֲךָ בָּעוֹלָם. אָמַר לָהּ: ״בָּרוּךְ טַעְמֵךְ וּבְרוּכָה אָתְּ אֲשֶׁר כְּלִיתִנִי [הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה] מִבֹּא בְדָמִים״.
Nabal, your husband, is a rebel against the throne, as David had already been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel, and Nabal refused his orders. And therefore there is no need to try him, as a rebel is not accorded the ordinary prescriptions governing judicial proceedings. Abigail said to him: You lack the authority to act in this manner, as Saul is still alive. He is the king in actual practice, and your seal [tivakha] has not yet spread across the world, i.e., your kingship is not yet known to all. Therefore, you are not authorized to try someone for rebelling against the monarchy. David accepted her words and said to her: “And blessed be your discretion and blessed be you who have kept me this day from coming to bloodguiltiness [damim]” (I Samuel 25:33).
״דָּמִים״ — תַּרְתֵּי מַשְׁמַע! אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁגִּילְּתָה אֶת שׁוֹקָהּ וְהָלַךְ לְאוֹרָהּ שָׁלֹשׁ פַּרְסָאוֹת, אָמַר לַהּ: הִשָּׁמְעִי לִי! אָמְרָה לוֹ: ״לֹא תִהְיֶה זֹאת לְךָ לְפוּקָה״. ״זֹאת״ — מִכְּלָל דְּאִיכָּא אַחֲרִיתִי, וּמַאי נִיהוּ? מַעֲשֶׂה דְּבַת שֶׁבַע. וּמַסְּקָנָא הָכִי הֲוַאי.
The Gemara asks: The plural term damim, literally, bloods, indicates two. Why did David not use the singular term dam? Rather, this teaches that Abigail revealed her thigh, and he lusted after her, and he went three parasangs by the fire of his desire for her, and said to her: Listen to me, i.e., listen to me and allow me to be intimate with you. Abigail then said to him: “Let this not be a stumbling block for you” (I Samuel 25:31). By inference, from the word “this,” it can be understood that there is someone else who will in fact be a stumbling block for him, and what is this referring to? The incident involving Bathsheba. And in the end this is what was, as indeed he stumbled with Bathsheba. This demonstrates that Abigail was a prophetess, as she knew that this would occur. This also explains why David blessed Abigail for keeping him from being responsible for two incidents involving blood that day: Abigail’s menstrual blood and the shedding of Nabal’s blood.
״וְהָיְתָה נֶפֶשׁ אֲדוֹנִי צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים״, כִּי הֲווֹת מִיפַּטְרָא מִינֵּיהּ אָמְרָה לֵיהּ: ״וְהֵטִיב ה׳ לַאדוֹנִי וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת אֲמָתֶךָ״.
Apropos Abigail, the Gemara explains additional details in the story. Abigail said to David: “Yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bond of life with the Lord your God” (I Samuel 25:29), and when she parted from him she said to him: “And when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, and you shall remember your handmaid” (I Samuel 25:31).
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן, הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי: אִיתְּתָא בַּהֲדֵי שׁוּתָא פִּילְכָּא. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי: שָׁפֵיל וְאָזֵיל בַּר אֲווֹזָא וְעֵינוֹהִי מִיטַּיְיפִי.
Rav Naḥman said that this explains the folk saying that people say: While a woman is engaged in conversation she also holds the spindle, i.e., while a woman is engaged in one activity she is already taking steps with regard to another. Abigail came to David in order to save her husband Nabal, but at the same time she indicates that if her husband dies, David should remember her and marry her. And indeed, after Nabal’s death David took Abigail for his wife. Some say that Rav Naḥman referred to a different saying: The goose stoops its head as it goes along, but its eyes look on from afar to find what it is looking for. So too, Abigail acted in similar fashion.
חוּלְדָּה, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיֵּלֶךְ חִלְקִיָּהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וַאֲחִיקָם וְעַכְבּוֹר וְגוֹ׳״. וּבְמָקוֹם דְּקָאֵי יִרְמְיָה הֵיכִי מִתְנַבְּיָא אִיהִי? אָמְרִי בֵּי רַב מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב: חוּלְדָּה קְרוֹבַת יִרְמְיָה הָיְתָה, וְלֹא הֲוָה מַקְפִּיד עָלֶיהָ.
Huldah was a prophetess, as it is written: “So Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess” (II Kings 22:14) as emissaries of King Josiah. The Gemara asks: But if Jeremiah was found there, how could she prophesy? Out of respect for Jeremiah, who was her superior, it would have been fitting that she not prophesy in his presence. The Sages of the school of Rav say in the name of Rav: Huldah was a close relative of Jeremiah, and he did not object to her prophesying in his presence.
וְיֹאשִׁיָּה גּוּפֵיהּ הֵיכִי שָׁבֵיק יִרְמְיָה וּמְשַׁדַּר לְגַבַּהּ? אָמְרִי דְּבֵי רַבִּי שֵׁילָא: מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהַנָּשִׁים רַחֲמָנִיּוֹת הֵן.
The Gemara asks: But how could Josiah himself ignore Jeremiah and send emissaries to Huldah? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Sheila say: Because women are more compassionate, and he hoped that what she would tell them would not be overly harsh.
רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר: יִרְמְיָה לָא הֲוָה הָתָם, שֶׁהָלַךְ לְהַחֲזִיר עֲשֶׂרֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים. וּמְנָלַן דְּאִהֲדוּר? דִּכְתִיב: ״כִּי הַמּוֹכֵר אֶל הַמִּמְכָּר לֹא יָשׁוּב״, אֶפְשָׁר יוֹבֵל בָּטֵל, וְנָבִיא מִתְנַבֵּא עָלָיו שֶׁיִּבָּטֵל? אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁיִּרְמְיָה הֶחְזִירָן,
Rabbi Yoḥanan said a different answer: Jeremiah was not there at the time, because he went to bring back the ten tribes from their exile. And from where do we derive that he brought them back? As it is written: “For the seller shall not return to that which he has sold” (Ezekiel 7:13), i.e., Ezekiel prophesied that in the future the Jubilee Year would no longer be in effect. Now is it possible that the Jubilee had already been annulled? The halakhot of the Jubilee Year apply only when all of the tribes of Israel are settled in their respective places, which could not have happened since the exile of the ten tribes more than a century earlier, but the prophet is prophesying that it will cease only in the future. Rather, this teaches that Jeremiah brought back the ten tribes from their exile.
וְיֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בֶּן אָמוֹן מָלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶן, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיֹּאמֶר מָה הַצִּיּוּן הַלָּז אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי רוֹאֶה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר הַקֶּבֶר אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר בָּא מִיהוּדָה וַיִּקְרָא אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ עַל הַמִּזְבַּח בְּבֵית אֵל״, וְכִי מָה טִיבוֹ שֶׁל יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ בְּבֵית אֵל? אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁיֹּאשִׁיָּהוּ מָלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶן. רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר, מֵהָכָא: ״גַּם יְהוּדָה שָׁת קָצִיר לָךְ בְּשׁוּבִי שְׁבוּת עַמִּי״.
And Josiah the son of Amon ruled over the ten tribes, as it is written: “Then he said: What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel” (II Kings 23:17). Now what connection did Josiah, king of Judea, have with the altar at Bethel, a city in the kingdom of Israel? Rather, this teaches that Josiah ruled over the ten tribes of Israel. Rav Naḥman said: Proof that the tribes returned may be adduced from the verse here: “Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, when I would return the captivity of My people” (Hosea 6:11), which indicates that they returned to their places.
אֶסְתֵּר — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וַתִּלְבַּשׁ אֶסְתֵּר מַלְכוּת״, בִּגְדֵי מַלְכוּת מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ! אֶלָּא שֶׁלְּבָשַׁתָּה רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״וַתִּלְבַּשׁ״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״וְרוּחַ לָבְשָׁה אֶת עֲמָשַׂי וְגוֹ׳״.
Esther was also a prophetess, as it is written: “And it came to pass on the third day that Esther clothed herself in royalty” (Esther 5:1). It should have said: Esther clothed herself in royal garments. Rather, this alludes to the fact that she clothed herself with a divine spirit of inspiration. It is written here: “And she clothed herself,” and it is written elsewhere: “And the spirit clothed Amasai” (I Chronicles 12:19). Just as there the reference is to being enclothed by a spirit, so too Esther was enclothed by a spirit of divine inspiration.
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: לָא יָאָה יְהִירוּתָא לִנְשֵׁי. תַּרְתֵּי נְשֵׁי יְהִירָן הָוְיָין, וְסַנְיִין שְׁמַיְיהוּ: חֲדָא שְׁמַהּ זִיבּוּרְתָּא, וַחֲדָא שְׁמָהּ כַּרְכּוּשְׁתָּא. זִיבּוּרְתָּא כְּתִיב בַּהּ: ״וַתִּשְׁלַח וַתִּקְרָא לְבָרָק״, וְאִילּוּ אִיהִי לָא אֲזַלָה לְגַבֵּיהּ. כַּרְכּוּשְׁתָּא כְּתִיב בַּהּ: ״אִמְרוּ לָאִישׁ״, וְלָא אָמְרָה ״אִמְרוּ לַמֶּלֶךְ״.
An additional point is mentioned with regard to the prophetesses. Rav Naḥman said: Haughtiness is not befitting a woman. And a proof to this is that there were two haughty women, whose names were identical to the names of loathsome creatures. One, Deborah, was called a hornet, as her Hebrew name, Devorah, means hornet; and one, Huldah, was called a marten, as her name is the Hebrew term for that creature. From where is it known that they were haughty? With regard to Deborah, the hornet, it is written: “And she sent and called Barak” (Judges 4:6), but she herself did not go to him. And with regard to Huldah, the marten, it is written: “Say to the man that sent you to me” (II Kings 22:15), but she did not say: Say to the king.
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: חוּלְדָּה מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ הָיְתָה — כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״בֶּן חַרְחַס״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״בְּתִמְנַת חֶרֶס״.
Furthermore, Rav Naḥman said: Huldah was a descendant of Joshua. An allusion to this is written here: “Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas [ḥarḥas]” (II Kings 22:14), and it says elsewhere with regard to Joshua: “And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres [ḥeres]” (Judges 2:9), therefore intimating that there is a certain connection between them.
אֵיתִיבֵיהּ רַב עֵינָא סָבָא לְרַב נַחְמָן: שְׁמוֹנָה נְבִיאִים וְהֵם כֹּהֲנִים יָצְאוּ מֵרָחָב הַזּוֹנָה, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: נֵרִיָּה, בָּרוּךְ, וּשְׂרָיָה, מַחְסֵיָה, יִרְמְיָה, חִלְקִיָּה, חֲנַמְאֵל, וְשַׁלּוּם. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אַף חוּלְדָּה הַנְּבִיאָה מִבְּנֵי בָנֶיהָ שֶׁל רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה הָיְתָה. כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״בֶּן תִּקְוָה״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״אֶת תִּקְוַת חוּט הַשָּׁנִי״.
Rav Eina the Elder raised an objection from a baraita to Rav Naḥman’s teaching. The baraita indicates that Huldah was in fact a descendant of Rahab, and seemingly not of Joshua: Eight prophets, who were also priests, descended from Rahab the prostitute, and they are: Neriah; his son Baruch; Seraiah; Mahseiah; Jeremiah; his father, Hilkiah; Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel; and Hanamel’s father, Shallum. Rabbi Yehuda said: So too, Huldah the prophetess was a descendant of Rahab the prostitute, as it is written here with regard to Huldah: “The son of Tikvah,” and it is written elsewhere in reference to Rahab’s escape from the destruction of Jericho: “This cord of [tikvat] scarlet thread” (Joshua 2:18).
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: עֵינָא סָבָא, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ: פַּתְיָא אוּכָּמָא, מִינִּי וּמִינָּךְ תִּסְתַּיֵּים שְׁמַעְתָּא: דְּאִיגַּיַּירָא וְנַסְבַהּ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. וּמִי הֲווֹ לֵיהּ זַרְעָא לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ? וְהָכְתִיב: ״נוֹן בְּנוֹ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּנוֹ״! בְּנֵי לָא הֲווֹ לֵיהּ, בְּנָתָא הֲווֹ לֵיהּ.
Rav Naḥman responded to Eina the Elder and said to him: Eina the Elder, and some say that he said to him: Blackened pot, i.e., my colleague in Torah, who has toiled and blackened his face in Torah study, from me and from you the matter may be concluded, i.e., the explanation lies in a combination of our two statements. For Rahab converted and married Joshua, and therefore Huldah descended from both Joshua and Rahab. The Gemara raises a difficulty: But did Joshua have any descendants? But isn’t it written in the genealogical list of the tribe of Ephraim: “Nun his son, Joshua his son” (I Chronicles 7:27)? The listing does not continue any further, implying that Joshua had no sons. The Gemara answers: Indeed, he did not have sons, but he did have daughters.
Delve Deeper
Broaden your understanding of the topics on this daf with classes and podcasts from top women Talmud scholars.
A Daf Of Their Own –Schita By a Woman
נשים שוחטות- דף משלהן
Zevachim Daf 15-21 – Daf Yomi: One Week at a Time
ערל: בין הגדרה פיזיולוגית להגדרה מהותית- גפ”ת
A Daf Of Their Own –Defining Your Identity
ערל לב- דף משלהן
Din & Daf: The Kohen Gadol’s New Clothes: Yom Kippur as Renewal
Zevachim Daf 8-14 – Daf Yomi: One Week at a Time
A Daf Of Their Own –The Kohen’s Garments
בגדי כהונה- דף משלהן
Zevachim Daf 2-7 – Daf Yomi: One Week at a Time
New to Talmud?
Check out our resources designed to help you navigate a page of Talmud – and study at the pace, level and style that fits you.
The Hadran Women’s Tapestry
Meet the diverse women learning Gemara at Hadran and hear their stories.
I heard about the syium in January 2020 & I was excited to start learning then the pandemic started. Learning Daf became something to focus on but also something stressful. As the world changed around me & my family I had to adjust my expectations for myself & the world. Daf Yomi & the Hadran podcast has been something I look forward to every day. It gives me a moment of centering & Judaism daily.
Denver, United States
Ontario, Canada
I started learning daf in January, 2020, being inspired by watching the Siyyum Hashas in Binyanei Haumah. I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep up with the task. When I went to school, Gemara was not an option. Fast forward to March, 2022, and each day starts with the daf. The challenge is now learning the intricacies of delving into the actual learning. Hadran community, thank you!
Riverdale, NY, United States
I had dreamed of doing daf yomi since I had my first serious Talmud class 18 years ago at Pardes with Rahel Berkovitz, and then a couple of summers with Leah Rosenthal. There is no way I would be able to do it without another wonderful teacher, Michelle, and the Hadran organization. I wake up and am excited to start each day with the next daf.
Irvine, United States
I started learning Gemara at the Yeshivah of Flatbush. And I resumed ‘ברוך ה decades later with Rabbanit Michele at Hadran. I started from Brachot and have had an exciting, rewarding experience throughout seder Moed!
Maale Adumim, Israel
Margo
I started my Talmud journey in 7th grade at Akiba Jewish Day School in Chicago. I started my Daf Yomi journey after hearing Erica Brown speak at the Hadran Siyum about marking the passage of time through Daf Yomi.
Carolyn
I started my Talmud journey post-college in NY with a few classes. I started my Daf Yomi journey after the Hadran Siyum, which inspired both my son and myself.
Merion Station, USA
Beit Shemesh, Israel
I learned Mishnayot more than twenty years ago and started with Gemara much later in life. Although I never managed to learn Daf Yomi consistently, I am learning since some years Gemara in depth and with much joy. Since last year I am studying at the International Halakha Scholars Program at the WIHL. I often listen to Rabbanit Farbers Gemara shiurim to understand better a specific sugyiah. I am grateful for the help and inspiration!
Berlin, Germany
I started learning Daf Yomi in January 2020 after watching my grandfather, Mayer Penstein z”l, finish shas with the previous cycle. My grandfather made learning so much fun was so proud that his grandchildren wanted to join him. I was also inspired by Ilana Kurshan’s book, If All the Seas Were Ink. Two years in, I can say that it has enriched my life in so many ways.
New York, United States
Since I started in January of 2020, Daf Yomi has changed my life. It connects me to Jews all over the world, especially learned women. It makes cooking, gardening, and folding laundry into acts of Torah study. Daf Yomi enables me to participate in a conversation with and about our heritage that has been going on for more than 2000 years.
Skokie, IL, United States
3 years ago, I joined Rabbanit Michelle to organize the unprecedented Siyum HaShas event in Jerusalem for thousands of women. The whole experience was so inspiring that I decided then to start learning the daf and see how I would go…. and I’m still at it. I often listen to the Daf on my bike in mornings, surrounded by both the external & the internal beauty of Eretz Yisrael & Am Yisrael!
Raanana, Israel
After enthusing to my friend Ruth Kahan about how much I had enjoyed remote Jewish learning during the earlier part of the pandemic, she challenged me to join her in learning the daf yomi cycle. I had always wanted to do daf yomi but now had no excuse. The beginning was particularly hard as I had never studied Talmud but has become easier, as I have gained some familiarity with it.
Brookline, United States
I learned daf more off than on 40 years ago. At the beginning of the current cycle, I decided to commit to learning daf regularly. Having Rabanit Michelle available as a learning partner has been amazing. Sometimes I learn with Hadran, sometimes with my husband, and sometimes on my own. It’s been fun to be part of an extended learning community.
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Since I started in January of 2020, Daf Yomi has changed my life. It connects me to Jews all over the world, especially learned women. It makes cooking, gardening, and folding laundry into acts of Torah study. Daf Yomi enables me to participate in a conversation with and about our heritage that has been going on for more than 2000 years.
Skokie, IL, United States
See video
Raanana, Israel
I decided to give daf yomi a try when I heard about the siyum hashas in 2020. Once the pandemic hit, the daily commitment gave my days some much-needed structure. There have been times when I’ve felt like quitting- especially when encountering very technical details in the text. But then I tell myself, “Look how much you’ve done. You can’t stop now!” So I keep going & my Koren bookshelf grows…
Huntington, United States
When the new cycle began, I thought, If not now, when? I’d just turned 72. I feel like a tourist on a tour bus passing astonishing scenery each day. Rabbanit Michelle is my beloved tour guide. When the cycle ends, I’ll be 80. I pray that I’ll have strength and mind to continue the journey to glimpse a little more. My grandchildren think having a daf-learning savta is cool!
Jerusalem, Israel
Minnesota, United States
Berlin, Germany
It has been a pleasure keeping pace with this wonderful and scholarly group of women.
Beit Shemesh, Israel
I tried Daf Yomi in the middle of the last cycle after realizing I could listen to Michelle’s shiurim online. It lasted all of 2 days! Then the new cycle started just days before my father’s first yahrzeit and my youngest daughter’s bat mitzvah. It seemed the right time for a new beginning. My family, friends, colleagues are immensely supportive!
Zichron Yaakov, Israel
Megillah 14
מָשָׁל דַּאֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ וְהָמָן לָמָּה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה? לִשְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם, לְאֶחָד הָיָה לוֹ תֵּל בְּתוֹךְ שָׂדֵהוּ וּלְאֶחָד הָיָה לוֹ חָרִיץ בְּתוֹךְ שָׂדֵהוּ. בַּעַל חָרִיץ אָמַר: מִי יִתֵּן לִי תֵּל זֶה בְּדָמִים! בַּעַל הַתֵּל אָמַר: מִי יִתֵּן לִי חָרִיץ זֶה בְּדָמִים!
The actions of Ahasuerus and Haman can be understood with a parable; to what may they be compared? To two individuals, one of whom had a mound in the middle of his field and the other of whom had a ditch in the middle of his field, each one suffering from his own predicament. The owner of the ditch, noticing the other’s mound of dirt, said to himself: Who will give me this mound of dirt suitable for filling in my ditch; I would even be willing to pay for it with money, and the owner of the mound, noticing the other’s ditch, said to himself: Who will give me this ditch for money, so that I may use it to remove the mound of earth from my property?
לְיָמִים נִזְדַּוְּוגוּ זֶה אֵצֶל זֶה. אָמַר לוֹ בַּעַל חָרִיץ לְבַעַל הַתֵּל: מְכוֹר לִי תִּילְּךָ! אָמַר לוֹ: טוֹל אוֹתוֹ בְּחִנָּם, וְהַלְוַאי!
At a later point, one day, they happened to have met one another. The owner of the ditch said to the owner of the mound: Sell me your mound so I can fill in my ditch. The mound’s owner, anxious to rid himself of the excess dirt on his property, said to him: Take it for free; if only you had done so sooner. Similarly, Ahasuerus himself wanted to destroy the Jews. As he was delighted that Haman had similar aspirations and was willing to do the job for him, he demanded no money from him.
״וַיָּסַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת טַבַּעְתּוֹ״, אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כָּהֲנָא: גְּדוֹלָה הֲסָרַת טַבַּעַת יוֹתֵר מֵאַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה נְבִיאִים וְשֶׁבַע נְבִיאוֹת שֶׁנִּתְנַבְּאוּ לָהֶן לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁכּוּלָּן לֹא הֶחֱזִירוּם לְמוּטָב, וְאִילּוּ הֲסָרַת טַבַּעַת הֶחְזִירָתַן לְמוּטָב.
§ The verse states: “And the king removed his ring from his hand” (Esther 3:10). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: The removal of Ahasuerus’s ring for the sealing of Haman’s decree was more effective than the forty-eight prophets and the seven prophetesses who prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. As, they were all unable to return the Jewish people to the right way, but the removal of Ahasuerus’s ring returned them to the right way, since it brought them to repentance.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה נְבִיאִים וְשֶׁבַע נְבִיאוֹת נִתְנַבְּאוּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְלֹא פִּחֲתוּ וְלֹא הוֹתִירוּ עַל מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה, חוּץ מִמִּקְרָא מְגִילָּה.
The Sages taught in a baraita: Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people, and they neither subtracted from nor added onto what is written in the Torah, introducing no changes or additions to the mitzvot except for the reading of the Megilla, which they added as an obligation for all future generations.
מַאי דְּרוּשׁ? אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אָבִין אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קׇרְחָה: וּמָה מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵירוּת אָמְרִינַן שִׁירָה — מִמִּיתָה לְחַיִּים לֹא כׇּל שֶׁכֵּן.
The Gemara asks: What exposition led them to determine that this was a proper mode of action? On what basis did they add this mitzva? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said that they reasoned as follows: If, when recalling the exodus from Egypt, in which the Jews were delivered from slavery to freedom, we recite songs of praise, the Song of the Sea and the hymns of hallel, then, in order to properly recall the miracle of Purim and commemorate God’s delivering us from death to life, is it not all the more so the case that we must sing God’s praise by reading the story in the Megilla?
אִי הָכִי, הַלֵּל נָמֵי נֵימָא! לְפִי שֶׁאֵין אוֹמְרִים הַלֵּל עַל נֵס שֶׁבַּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ. יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, דְּנֵס שֶׁבְּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ, הֵיכִי אָמְרִינַן שִׁירָה?
The Gemara asks: If so, our obligation should be at least as great as when we recall the exodus from Egypt, and let us also recite hallel on Purim. The Gemara answers: Hallel is not said on Purim, because hallel is not recited on a miracle that occurred outside Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara asks: If so, with regard to the exodus from Egypt as well, which was a miracle that occurred outside Eretz Yisrael, how are we able to recite songs of praise?
כִּדְתַנְיָא: עַד שֶׁלֹּא נִכְנְסוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָאָרֶץ — הוּכְשְׁרוּ כׇּל אֲרָצוֹת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה. מִשֶּׁנִּכְנְסוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָאָרֶץ — לֹא הוּכְשְׁרוּ כׇּל הָאֲרָצוֹת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה.
The Gemara answers: As it is taught in a baraita: Prior to the time when the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, all lands were deemed fit for songs of praise to be recited for miracles performed within their borders, as all lands were treated equally. But after the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, that land became endowed with greater sanctity, and all the other lands were no longer deemed fit for songs of praise to be recited for miracles performed within them.
רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר: קְרִיָּיתָהּ זוֹ הַלֵּילָהּ. רָבָא אָמַר, בִּשְׁלָמָא הָתָם: ״הַלְלוּ עַבְדֵי ה׳״ — וְלֹא עַבְדֵי פַרְעֹה, אֶלָּא הָכָא: ״הַלְלוּ עַבְדֵי ה׳״ — וְלֹא עַבְדֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ? אַכַּתִּי עַבְדֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ אֲנַן.
Rav Naḥman said an alternative answer as to why hallel is not recited on Purim: The reading of the Megilla itself is an act of reciting hallel. Rava said a third reason why hallel is not recited on Purim: Granted that hallel is said there, when recalling the exodus from Egypt, as after the salvation there, they could recite the phrase in hallel: “Give praise, O servants of the Lord” (Psalms 113:1); after their servitude to Pharaoh ended with their salvation, they were truly servants of the Lord and not servants of Pharaoh. But can it be said here, after the limited salvation commemorated on Purim: “Give praise, O servants of the Lord,” which would indicate that after the salvation the Jewish people were only servants of the Lord and not servants of Ahasuerus? No, even after the miracle of Purim, we were still the servants of Ahasuerus, as the Jews remained in exile under Persian rule, and consequently the salvation, which was incomplete, did not merit an obligation to say hallel.
בֵּין לְרָבָא בֵּין לְרַב נַחְמָן קַשְׁיָא, וְהָא תַּנְיָא: מִשֶּׁנִּכְנְסוּ לָאָרֶץ — לֹא הוּכְשְׁרוּ כׇּל הָאֲרָצוֹת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה! כֵּיוָן שֶׁגָּלוּ, חָזְרוּ לְהֶכְשֵׁירָן הָרִאשׁוֹן.
The Gemara asks: Both according to the opinion of Rava and according to the opinion of Rav Naḥman, this is difficult. Isn’t it taught in the baraita cited earlier: After the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, that land became endowed with greater sanctity, and all the other lands were no longer deemed fit for songs of praise to be recited for miracles performed within them. Therefore, there should be no hallel obligation on Purim for the miracle performed outside of the land of Israel, and Rav Naḥman’s and Rava’s alternative explanations are incorrect. The Gemara answers: They understood differently, as it can be argued that when the people were exiled from Eretz Yisrael, the other lands returned to their initial suitability, and were once again deemed fit for reciting hallel on miracles performed within them.
וְתוּ לֵיכָּא? וְהָכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִן הָרָמָתַיִם צוֹפִים״, אֶחָד מִמָּאתַיִם צוֹפִים שֶׁנִּתְנַבְּאוּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל.
With regard to the statement that forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people, the Gemara asks: Is there no one else? Isn’t it written with regard to Samuel’s father, Elkanah: “And there was a certain [eḥad] man from Ramathaim-zophim” (I Samuel 1:1), which is expounded as follows to indicate that Elkanah was a prophet: He was one [eḥad] of two hundred [mata’im] prophets [tzofim] who prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. If so, why was it stated here that there were only forty-eight prophets?
מִיהְוֵה טוּבָא הֲווֹ, כִּדְתַנְיָא: הַרְבֵּה נְבִיאִים עָמְדוּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, כִּפְלַיִם כְּיוֹצְאֵי מִצְרַיִם. אֶלָּא נְבוּאָה שֶׁהוּצְרְכָה לְדוֹרוֹת — נִכְתְּבָה, וְשֶׁלֹּא הוּצְרְכָה — לֹא נִכְתְּבָה.
The Gemara answers: In fact, there were more prophets, as it is taught in a baraita: Many prophets arose for the Jewish people, numbering double the number of Israelites who left Egypt. However, only a portion of the prophecies were recorded, because only prophecy that was needed for future generations was written down in the Bible for posterity, but that which was not needed, as it was not pertinent to later generations, was not written. Therefore, the fifty-five prophets recorded in the Bible, although not the only prophets of the Jewish people, were the only ones recorded, due to their eternal messages.
רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר: אָדָם הַבָּא מִשְׁתֵּי רָמוֹת שֶׁצּוֹפוֹת זוֹ אֶת זוֹ. רַבִּי חָנִין אָמַר: אָדָם הַבָּא מִבְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁעוֹמְדִין בְּרוּמוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם. וּמַאן נִינְהוּ? בְּנֵי קֹרַח, דִּכְתִיב: ״וּבְנֵי קֹרַח לֹא מֵתוּ״, תָּנָא מִשּׁוּם רַבֵּינוּ: מָקוֹם נִתְבַּצֵּר לָהֶם בְּגֵיהִנָּם, וְעָמְדוּ עָלָיו.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said another explanation of the verse “And there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim”: A man who comes from two heights [ramot] that face [tzofot] one another. Rabbi Ḥanin said an additional interpretation: A man who descends from people who stood at the height of [rumo] the world. The Gemara asks: And who are these people? The Gemara answers: These are the sons of Korah, as it is written: “But the sons of Korah did not die” (Numbers 26:11), and with regard to them it is taught in the name of our teacher, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: A high place was set aside for them in Gehenna, as the sons of Korah repented in their hearts, and were consequently not propelled very far down in Gehenna when the earth opened to swallow Korah and his followers; and they stood on this high place and sung to the Lord. They alone stood at the height of the lower world.
שֶׁבַע נְבִיאוֹת מַאן נִינְהוּ? שָׂרָה, מִרְיָם, דְּבוֹרָה, חַנָּה, אֲבִיגַיִל, חוּלְדָּה וְאֶסְתֵּר. שָׂרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״אֲבִי מִלְכָּה וַאֲבִי יִסְכָּה״, וְאָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: ״יִסְכָּה״ זוֹ שָׂרָה, וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמָהּ יִסְכָּה — שֶׁסָּכְתָה בְּרוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כֹּל אֲשֶׁר תֹּאמַר אֵלֶיךָ שָׂרָה שְׁמַע בְּקוֹלָהּ״. דָּבָר אַחֵר: ״יִסְכָּה״ — שֶׁהַכֹּל סוֹכִין בְּיוֹפְיָהּ.
§ The Gemara asks with regard to the prophetesses recorded in the baraita: Who were the seven prophetesses? The Gemara answers: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. The Gemara offers textual support: Sarah, as it is written: “Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah” (Genesis 11:29). And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Iscah is in fact Sarah. And why was she called Iscah? For she saw [sakhta] by means of divine inspiration, as it is stated: “In all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice” (Genesis 21:12). Alternatively, Sarah was also called Iscah, for all gazed [sokhin] upon her beauty.
מִרְיָם — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן״, וְלֹא אֲחוֹת מֹשֶׁה, אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר רַב: שֶׁהָיְתָה מִתְנַבְּאָה כְּשֶׁהִיא אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, וְאוֹמֶרֶת: עֲתִידָה אִמִּי שֶׁתֵּלֵד בֵּן שֶׁיּוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁנּוֹלַד נִתְמַלֵּא כָּל הַבַּיִת כּוּלּוֹ אוֹרָה, עָמַד אָבִיהָ וּנְשָׁקָהּ עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, אָמַר לָהּ: בִּתִּי נִתְקַיְּימָה נְבוּאָתִיךְ.
Miriam was a prophetess, as it is written explicitly: “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand” (Exodus 15:20). The Gemara asks: Was she the sister only of Aaron, and not the sister of Moses? Why does the verse mention only one of her brothers? Rav Naḥman said that Rav said: For she prophesied when she was the sister of Aaron, i.e., she prophesied since her youth, even before Moses was born, and she would say: My mother is destined to bear a son who will deliver the Jewish people to salvation. And at the time when Moses was born the entire house was filled with light, and her father stood and kissed her on the head, and said to her: My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled.
וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהִשְׁלִיכוּהוּ לַיְאוֹר, עָמַד אָבִיהָ וּטְפָחָהּ עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, וְאָמַר לָהּ: בִּתִּי הֵיכָן נְבוּאָתִיךְ? הַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתֵּתַצַּב אֲחוֹתוֹ מֵרָחוֹק לְדֵעָה״. לָדַעַת מָה יְהֵא בְּסוֹף נְבוּאָתָהּ.
But once Moses was cast into the river, her father arose and rapped her on the head, saying to her: My daughter, where is your prophecy now, as it looked as though the young Moses would soon meet his end. This is the meaning of that which is written with regard to Miriam’s watching Moses in the river: “And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4), i.e., to know what would be with the end of her prophecy, as she had prophesied that her brother was destined to be the savior of the Jewish people.
דְּבוֹרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״וּדְבוֹרָה אִשָּׁה נְבִיאָה אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת״, מַאי ״אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת״? שֶׁהָיְתָה עוֹשָׂה פְּתִילוֹת לַמִּקְדָּשׁ.
Deborah was a prophetess, as it is written explicitly: “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth” (Judges 4:4). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of “the wife of Lappidoth”? The Gemara answers: For she used to make wicks for the Sanctuary, and due to the flames [lappidot] on these wicks she was called the wife of Lappidoth, literally, a woman of flames.
״וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁבֶת תַּחַת תּוֹמֶר״. מַאי שְׁנָא תַּחַת תּוֹמֶר? אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אַבְשָׁלוֹם: מִשּׁוּם יִחוּד. דָּבָר אַחֵר: מָה תָּמָר זֶה אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא לֵב אֶחָד — אַף יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁבְּאוֹתוֹ הַדּוֹר לֹא הָיָה לָהֶם אֶלָּא לֵב אֶחָד לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם.
With regard to Deborah, it says: “And she sat under a palm tree” (Judges 4:5). The Gemara asks: What is different and unique with regard to her sitting “under a palm tree” that there is a need for it to be written? Rabbi Shimon ben Avshalom said: It is due to the prohibition against being alone together with a man. Since men would come before her for judgment, she established for herself a place out in the open and visible to all, in order to avoid a situation in which she would be secluded with a man behind closed doors. Alternatively, the verse means: Just as a palm tree has only one heart, as a palm tree does not send out separate branches, but rather has only one main trunk, so too, the Jewish people in that generation had only one heart, directed to their Father in Heaven.
חַנָּה — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל חַנָּה וַתֹּאמַר עָלַץ לִבִּי בַּה׳ רָמָה קַרְנִי בַּה׳״. ״רָמָה קַרְנִי״, וְלֹא רָמָה פַּכִּי. דָּוִד וּשְׁלֹמֹה שֶׁנִּמְשְׁחוּ בְּקֶרֶן — נִמְשְׁכָה מַלְכוּתָן, שָׁאוּל וְיֵהוּא שֶׁנִּמְשְׁחוּ בְּפַךְ — לֹא נִמְשְׁכָה מַלְכוּתָן.
Hannah was a prophetess, as it is written: “And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord” (I Samuel 2:1), and her words were prophecy, in that she said: “My horn is exalted,” and not: My pitcher is exalted. As, with regard to David and Solomon, who were anointed with oil from a horn, their kingship continued, whereas with regard to Saul and Jehu, who were anointed with oil from a pitcher, their kingship did not continue. This demonstrates that Hannah was a prophetess, as she prophesied that only those anointed with oil from a horn will merit that their kingships continue.
״אֵין קָדוֹשׁ כַּה׳ כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ״, אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה בַּר מְנַשְּׁיָא: אַל תִּקְרֵי ״בִּלְתֶּךָ״, אֶלָּא ״לְבַלּוֹתֶךָ״. שֶׁלֹּא כְּמִדַּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וְדָם. מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וְדָם — מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו מְבַלִּין אוֹתוֹ, אֲבָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא — מְבַלֶּה מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו.
Apropos the song of Hannah, the Gemara further explains her words: “There is none sacred as the Lord; for there is none beside You [biltekha]” (I Samuel 2:2). Rav Yehuda bar Menashya said: Do not read it as biltekha, “beside You,” but rather read it as levalotekha, to outlast You. As the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is unlike the attribute of flesh and blood. It is an attribute of man that his handiwork outlasts him and continues to exist even after he dies, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, outlasts His handiwork, as He exists eternally.
״וְאֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ״, אֵין צַיָּיר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ. אָדָם צָר צוּרָה עַל גַּבֵּי הַכּוֹתֶל וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַטִּיל בָּהּ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה, קְרָבַיִם וּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם. אֲבָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא צָר צוּרָה בְּתוֹךְ צוּרָה, וּמֵטִיל בָּהּ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה, קְרָבַיִם וּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם.
Hannah further said: “Neither is there any rock [tzur] like our God” (I Samuel 2:1). This can be understood as saying that there is no artist [tzayyar] like our God. How is He better than all other artists? Man fashions a form upon a wall, but is unable to endow it with breath and a soul, or fill it with innards and intestines, whereas the Holy One, Blessed be He, fashions a form of a fetus inside the form of its mother, rather than on a flat surface, and endows it with breath and a soul and fills it with innards and intestines.
אֲבִיגַיִל, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהָיָה הִיא רוֹכֶבֶת עַל הַחֲמוֹר וְיוֹרֶדֶת בְּסֵתֶר הָהָר״. ״בְּסֵתֶר הָהָר״? ״מִן הָהָר״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ!
Abigail was a prophetess, as it is written: “And it was so, as she rode on the donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain” (I Samuel 25:20). The Gemara asks: Why does it say: “By the covert [beseter] of the mountain”? It should have said: From the mountain.
אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר שְׁמוּאֵל: עַל עִסְקֵי דָם הַבָּא מִן הַסְּתָרִים. נָטְלָה דָּם וְהֶרְאֲתָה לוֹ. אָמַר לָהּ: וְכִי מַרְאִין דָּם בַּלַּיְלָה? אָמְרָה לוֹ: וְכִי דָּנִין דִּינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת בַּלַּיְלָה? אָמַר לָהּ:
The Gemara answers that in fact this must be understood as an allusion to something else. Rabba bar Shmuel said: Abigail, in her attempt to prevent David from killing her husband Nabal, came to David and questioned him on account of menstrual blood that comes from the hidden parts [setarim] of a body. How so? She took a blood-stained cloth and showed it to him, asking him to rule on her status, whether or not she was ritually impure as a menstruating woman. He said to her: Is blood shown at night? One does not examine blood-stained cloths at night, as it is difficult to distinguish between the different shades by candlelight. She said to him: If so, you should also remember another halakha: Are cases of capital law tried at night? Since one does not try capital cases at night, you cannot condemn Nabal to death at night. David said to her:
מוֹרֵד בַּמַּלְכוּת הוּא, וְלָא צְרִיךְ לְמֵידַּיְינֵיהּ. אָמְרָה לוֹ: עֲדַיִין שָׁאוּל קַיָּים וְלֹא יָצָא טִבְעֲךָ בָּעוֹלָם. אָמַר לָהּ: ״בָּרוּךְ טַעְמֵךְ וּבְרוּכָה אָתְּ אֲשֶׁר כְּלִיתִנִי [הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה] מִבֹּא בְדָמִים״.
Nabal, your husband, is a rebel against the throne, as David had already been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel, and Nabal refused his orders. And therefore there is no need to try him, as a rebel is not accorded the ordinary prescriptions governing judicial proceedings. Abigail said to him: You lack the authority to act in this manner, as Saul is still alive. He is the king in actual practice, and your seal [tivakha] has not yet spread across the world, i.e., your kingship is not yet known to all. Therefore, you are not authorized to try someone for rebelling against the monarchy. David accepted her words and said to her: “And blessed be your discretion and blessed be you who have kept me this day from coming to bloodguiltiness [damim]” (I Samuel 25:33).
״דָּמִים״ — תַּרְתֵּי מַשְׁמַע! אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁגִּילְּתָה אֶת שׁוֹקָהּ וְהָלַךְ לְאוֹרָהּ שָׁלֹשׁ פַּרְסָאוֹת, אָמַר לַהּ: הִשָּׁמְעִי לִי! אָמְרָה לוֹ: ״לֹא תִהְיֶה זֹאת לְךָ לְפוּקָה״. ״זֹאת״ — מִכְּלָל דְּאִיכָּא אַחֲרִיתִי, וּמַאי נִיהוּ? מַעֲשֶׂה דְּבַת שֶׁבַע. וּמַסְּקָנָא הָכִי הֲוַאי.
The Gemara asks: The plural term damim, literally, bloods, indicates two. Why did David not use the singular term dam? Rather, this teaches that Abigail revealed her thigh, and he lusted after her, and he went three parasangs by the fire of his desire for her, and said to her: Listen to me, i.e., listen to me and allow me to be intimate with you. Abigail then said to him: “Let this not be a stumbling block for you” (I Samuel 25:31). By inference, from the word “this,” it can be understood that there is someone else who will in fact be a stumbling block for him, and what is this referring to? The incident involving Bathsheba. And in the end this is what was, as indeed he stumbled with Bathsheba. This demonstrates that Abigail was a prophetess, as she knew that this would occur. This also explains why David blessed Abigail for keeping him from being responsible for two incidents involving blood that day: Abigail’s menstrual blood and the shedding of Nabal’s blood.
״וְהָיְתָה נֶפֶשׁ אֲדוֹנִי צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים״, כִּי הֲווֹת מִיפַּטְרָא מִינֵּיהּ אָמְרָה לֵיהּ: ״וְהֵטִיב ה׳ לַאדוֹנִי וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת אֲמָתֶךָ״.
Apropos Abigail, the Gemara explains additional details in the story. Abigail said to David: “Yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bond of life with the Lord your God” (I Samuel 25:29), and when she parted from him she said to him: “And when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, and you shall remember your handmaid” (I Samuel 25:31).
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן, הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי: אִיתְּתָא בַּהֲדֵי שׁוּתָא פִּילְכָּא. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי: שָׁפֵיל וְאָזֵיל בַּר אֲווֹזָא וְעֵינוֹהִי מִיטַּיְיפִי.
Rav Naḥman said that this explains the folk saying that people say: While a woman is engaged in conversation she also holds the spindle, i.e., while a woman is engaged in one activity she is already taking steps with regard to another. Abigail came to David in order to save her husband Nabal, but at the same time she indicates that if her husband dies, David should remember her and marry her. And indeed, after Nabal’s death David took Abigail for his wife. Some say that Rav Naḥman referred to a different saying: The goose stoops its head as it goes along, but its eyes look on from afar to find what it is looking for. So too, Abigail acted in similar fashion.
חוּלְדָּה, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיֵּלֶךְ חִלְקִיָּהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וַאֲחִיקָם וְעַכְבּוֹר וְגוֹ׳״. וּבְמָקוֹם דְּקָאֵי יִרְמְיָה הֵיכִי מִתְנַבְּיָא אִיהִי? אָמְרִי בֵּי רַב מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב: חוּלְדָּה קְרוֹבַת יִרְמְיָה הָיְתָה, וְלֹא הֲוָה מַקְפִּיד עָלֶיהָ.
Huldah was a prophetess, as it is written: “So Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess” (II Kings 22:14) as emissaries of King Josiah. The Gemara asks: But if Jeremiah was found there, how could she prophesy? Out of respect for Jeremiah, who was her superior, it would have been fitting that she not prophesy in his presence. The Sages of the school of Rav say in the name of Rav: Huldah was a close relative of Jeremiah, and he did not object to her prophesying in his presence.
וְיֹאשִׁיָּה גּוּפֵיהּ הֵיכִי שָׁבֵיק יִרְמְיָה וּמְשַׁדַּר לְגַבַּהּ? אָמְרִי דְּבֵי רַבִּי שֵׁילָא: מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהַנָּשִׁים רַחֲמָנִיּוֹת הֵן.
The Gemara asks: But how could Josiah himself ignore Jeremiah and send emissaries to Huldah? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Sheila say: Because women are more compassionate, and he hoped that what she would tell them would not be overly harsh.
רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר: יִרְמְיָה לָא הֲוָה הָתָם, שֶׁהָלַךְ לְהַחֲזִיר עֲשֶׂרֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים. וּמְנָלַן דְּאִהֲדוּר? דִּכְתִיב: ״כִּי הַמּוֹכֵר אֶל הַמִּמְכָּר לֹא יָשׁוּב״, אֶפְשָׁר יוֹבֵל בָּטֵל, וְנָבִיא מִתְנַבֵּא עָלָיו שֶׁיִּבָּטֵל? אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁיִּרְמְיָה הֶחְזִירָן,
Rabbi Yoḥanan said a different answer: Jeremiah was not there at the time, because he went to bring back the ten tribes from their exile. And from where do we derive that he brought them back? As it is written: “For the seller shall not return to that which he has sold” (Ezekiel 7:13), i.e., Ezekiel prophesied that in the future the Jubilee Year would no longer be in effect. Now is it possible that the Jubilee had already been annulled? The halakhot of the Jubilee Year apply only when all of the tribes of Israel are settled in their respective places, which could not have happened since the exile of the ten tribes more than a century earlier, but the prophet is prophesying that it will cease only in the future. Rather, this teaches that Jeremiah brought back the ten tribes from their exile.
וְיֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בֶּן אָמוֹן מָלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶן, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיֹּאמֶר מָה הַצִּיּוּן הַלָּז אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי רוֹאֶה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר הַקֶּבֶר אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר בָּא מִיהוּדָה וַיִּקְרָא אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ עַל הַמִּזְבַּח בְּבֵית אֵל״, וְכִי מָה טִיבוֹ שֶׁל יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ בְּבֵית אֵל? אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁיֹּאשִׁיָּהוּ מָלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶן. רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר, מֵהָכָא: ״גַּם יְהוּדָה שָׁת קָצִיר לָךְ בְּשׁוּבִי שְׁבוּת עַמִּי״.
And Josiah the son of Amon ruled over the ten tribes, as it is written: “Then he said: What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel” (II Kings 23:17). Now what connection did Josiah, king of Judea, have with the altar at Bethel, a city in the kingdom of Israel? Rather, this teaches that Josiah ruled over the ten tribes of Israel. Rav Naḥman said: Proof that the tribes returned may be adduced from the verse here: “Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, when I would return the captivity of My people” (Hosea 6:11), which indicates that they returned to their places.
אֶסְתֵּר — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וַתִּלְבַּשׁ אֶסְתֵּר מַלְכוּת״, בִּגְדֵי מַלְכוּת מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ! אֶלָּא שֶׁלְּבָשַׁתָּה רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״וַתִּלְבַּשׁ״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״וְרוּחַ לָבְשָׁה אֶת עֲמָשַׂי וְגוֹ׳״.
Esther was also a prophetess, as it is written: “And it came to pass on the third day that Esther clothed herself in royalty” (Esther 5:1). It should have said: Esther clothed herself in royal garments. Rather, this alludes to the fact that she clothed herself with a divine spirit of inspiration. It is written here: “And she clothed herself,” and it is written elsewhere: “And the spirit clothed Amasai” (I Chronicles 12:19). Just as there the reference is to being enclothed by a spirit, so too Esther was enclothed by a spirit of divine inspiration.
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: לָא יָאָה יְהִירוּתָא לִנְשֵׁי. תַּרְתֵּי נְשֵׁי יְהִירָן הָוְיָין, וְסַנְיִין שְׁמַיְיהוּ: חֲדָא שְׁמַהּ זִיבּוּרְתָּא, וַחֲדָא שְׁמָהּ כַּרְכּוּשְׁתָּא. זִיבּוּרְתָּא כְּתִיב בַּהּ: ״וַתִּשְׁלַח וַתִּקְרָא לְבָרָק״, וְאִילּוּ אִיהִי לָא אֲזַלָה לְגַבֵּיהּ. כַּרְכּוּשְׁתָּא כְּתִיב בַּהּ: ״אִמְרוּ לָאִישׁ״, וְלָא אָמְרָה ״אִמְרוּ לַמֶּלֶךְ״.
An additional point is mentioned with regard to the prophetesses. Rav Naḥman said: Haughtiness is not befitting a woman. And a proof to this is that there were two haughty women, whose names were identical to the names of loathsome creatures. One, Deborah, was called a hornet, as her Hebrew name, Devorah, means hornet; and one, Huldah, was called a marten, as her name is the Hebrew term for that creature. From where is it known that they were haughty? With regard to Deborah, the hornet, it is written: “And she sent and called Barak” (Judges 4:6), but she herself did not go to him. And with regard to Huldah, the marten, it is written: “Say to the man that sent you to me” (II Kings 22:15), but she did not say: Say to the king.
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: חוּלְדָּה מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ הָיְתָה — כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״בֶּן חַרְחַס״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״בְּתִמְנַת חֶרֶס״.
Furthermore, Rav Naḥman said: Huldah was a descendant of Joshua. An allusion to this is written here: “Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas [ḥarḥas]” (II Kings 22:14), and it says elsewhere with regard to Joshua: “And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres [ḥeres]” (Judges 2:9), therefore intimating that there is a certain connection between them.
אֵיתִיבֵיהּ רַב עֵינָא סָבָא לְרַב נַחְמָן: שְׁמוֹנָה נְבִיאִים וְהֵם כֹּהֲנִים יָצְאוּ מֵרָחָב הַזּוֹנָה, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: נֵרִיָּה, בָּרוּךְ, וּשְׂרָיָה, מַחְסֵיָה, יִרְמְיָה, חִלְקִיָּה, חֲנַמְאֵל, וְשַׁלּוּם. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אַף חוּלְדָּה הַנְּבִיאָה מִבְּנֵי בָנֶיהָ שֶׁל רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה הָיְתָה. כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״בֶּן תִּקְוָה״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״אֶת תִּקְוַת חוּט הַשָּׁנִי״.
Rav Eina the Elder raised an objection from a baraita to Rav Naḥman’s teaching. The baraita indicates that Huldah was in fact a descendant of Rahab, and seemingly not of Joshua: Eight prophets, who were also priests, descended from Rahab the prostitute, and they are: Neriah; his son Baruch; Seraiah; Mahseiah; Jeremiah; his father, Hilkiah; Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel; and Hanamel’s father, Shallum. Rabbi Yehuda said: So too, Huldah the prophetess was a descendant of Rahab the prostitute, as it is written here with regard to Huldah: “The son of Tikvah,” and it is written elsewhere in reference to Rahab’s escape from the destruction of Jericho: “This cord of [tikvat] scarlet thread” (Joshua 2:18).
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: עֵינָא סָבָא, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ: פַּתְיָא אוּכָּמָא, מִינִּי וּמִינָּךְ תִּסְתַּיֵּים שְׁמַעְתָּא: דְּאִיגַּיַּירָא וְנַסְבַהּ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. וּמִי הֲווֹ לֵיהּ זַרְעָא לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ? וְהָכְתִיב: ״נוֹן בְּנוֹ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּנוֹ״! בְּנֵי לָא הֲווֹ לֵיהּ, בְּנָתָא הֲווֹ לֵיהּ.
Rav Naḥman responded to Eina the Elder and said to him: Eina the Elder, and some say that he said to him: Blackened pot, i.e., my colleague in Torah, who has toiled and blackened his face in Torah study, from me and from you the matter may be concluded, i.e., the explanation lies in a combination of our two statements. For Rahab converted and married Joshua, and therefore Huldah descended from both Joshua and Rahab. The Gemara raises a difficulty: But did Joshua have any descendants? But isn’t it written in the genealogical list of the tribe of Ephraim: “Nun his son, Joshua his son” (I Chronicles 7:27)? The listing does not continue any further, implying that Joshua had no sons. The Gemara answers: Indeed, he did not have sons, but he did have daughters.
