Megillah 20

לעולם רבי יהודה ואפילו לכתחילה ולא קשיא הא דידיה הא דרביה

The Gemara answers: Actually, you can indeed say that the baraita about teruma was taught in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, and that Rabbi Yehuda permits a deaf person to read even ab initio, while Rabbi Yosei disqualifies a deaf person even after the fact. And the baraita that teaches that one should not recite the Grace after Meals in his heart, but if he did he has fulfilled his obligation, is not difficult, as that baraita was taught by Rabbi Yehuda as well. The explanation for this is that in this baraita, about teruma, he was teaching his own opinion, that it is permitted even ab initio, whereas in that baraita, concerning the Grace after Meals, he was teaching the opinion of his master, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, that one is required to hear what he is saying when he recites blessings.

דתניא רבי יהודה אומר משום רבי אלעזר בן עזריה הקורא את שמע צריך שישמיע לאזנו שנאמר שמע ישראל ה׳ אלהינו ה׳ אחד השמע לאזניך מה שאתה מוציא מפיך רבי מאיר אומר אשר אנכי מצוך היום על לבבך אחר כוונת הלב הן הן הדברים

As it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya: One who recites the Shema must make it audible to his ears, as it is stated: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God; the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4), the word “hear” indicating that you should allow your ears to hear the words you are expressing with your mouth. Rabbi Meir disagrees and says: This is not necessary, as it is also stated there: “And these words, which I command you this day shall be in your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6), indicating that “these words,” the words of the Shema, go after the intent of the heart, as it is unnecessary to pronounce them out loud. We see that according to Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, as cited by Rabbi Yehuda, the words must be audible to one’s ears ab initio.

השתא דאתית להכי אפילו תימא רבי יהודה כרביה סבירא ליה והא דתני יהודה בריה דרבי שמעון בן פזי רבי מאיר היא:

The Gemara proposes a second solution: Now that you have arrived at this point and cited this baraita, you can even say that Rabbi Yehuda holds in accordance with his teacher, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, that a deaf person is disqualified ab initio, and it is only after the fact that his reading is valid. And as for that baraita that Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, taught stating that a deaf person may set aside teruma even ab initio, this was taught in accordance with the other opinion cited in the baraita, i.e., that of Rabbi Meir, who maintains that everything depends on the intent of one’s heart, and that it is not necessary to pronounce words audibly, even ab initio.

רבי יהודה מכשיר בקטן: (דתניא) אמר רבי יהודה קטן הייתי וקריתיה למעלה מרבי טרפון וזקנים בלוד אמרו לו אין מביאין ראיה מן הקטן

§ It was taught in the mishna: Rabbi Yehuda says that a minor is fit to read the Megilla. It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yehuda said: I can offer proof to my opinion, as when I was a minor I myself read the Megilla before Rabbi Tarfon and the other Elders in Lod. They said to him in response: One cannot bring a proof from the testimony of a minor. Since at the time of the supposed incident you were a minor, you are not qualified now to testify about it.

תניא אמר רבי קטן הייתי וקריתיה למעלה מרבי יהודה אמרו לו אין מביאין ראיה מן המתיר

It is taught in a different baraita: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: When I was a minor I read the Megilla before Rabbi Yehuda. They said to him: One cannot bring a proof that an act is permitted from the behavior of the very one who permits it. We know that Rabbi Yehuda maintains that a minor is fit to read the Megilla, and the fact that he acted in accordance with his own opinion does not prove that this is the accepted halakha.

ולימרו ליה אין מביאין ראיה מן הקטן חדא ועוד קאמרו ליה חדא דקטן היית ועוד אפילו גדול היית אין מביאין ראיה מן המתיר:

The Gemara asks: And let them say to him, as the Sages said to Rabbi Yehuda in the previous baraita, that one cannot bring a proof from the testimony of a minor. The Gemara answers: They said one thing to him and then another; i.e., they rejected him with a twofold argument: One objection is that you were a minor at that time, and therefore your testimony is disqualified. And furthermore, even if you had been an adult at that time and you had testified that you saw some other minor read the Megilla before Rabbi Yehuda, one cannot bring a proof that an act is permitted from the behavior of the very one who permits it.

מתני׳ אין קורין את המגילה ולא מלין ולא טובלין ולא מזין וכן שומרת יום כנגד יום לא תטבול עד שתנץ החמה וכולן שעשו משעלה עמוד השחר כשר:

MISHNA: One may not read the Megilla, nor perform a circumcision, nor immerse himself in a ritual bath, nor sprinkle water of purification to purify people and objects that had contracted ritual impurity through contact with a corpse until after sunrise. And also a woman who observes a clean day for each day she experiences a discharge, i.e., a woman who experienced one or two days of non-menstrual bleeding, and must now wait until a day has passed without any discharge of blood before regaining ritual purity, she too may not immerse herself until the sun has risen. And with regard to all these activities that are supposed to be performed during the day, if one did them after daybreak, i.e., after the appearance of the first light of the sun, even before sunrise, they are valid, as at this point it is already considered daytime.

גמ׳ מנלן דאמר קרא והימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים ביום אין בלילה לא לימא תיהוי תיובתא דרבי יהושע בן לוי דאמר רבי יהושע בן לוי חייב אדם לקרות את המגילה בלילה ולשנותה ביום כי קתני אדיום:

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: From where do we derive the halakha taught in the mishna that the Megilla may be read only during the day? The Gemara answers: As the verse states: “And that these days should be remembered and kept” (Esther 9:28). The word “days” indicates during the day, yes, but at night, no. The Gemara asks: Let us say that this is a conclusive refutation of the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A person is obligated to read the Megilla at night and then repeat it during the day. The Gemara rejects this: There is no proof from here, as when the mishna teaches that the Megilla may be read only during the day, it was referring to the daytime reading, but the nighttime reading is not considered here at all.

ולא מלין וכו׳: דכתיב וביום השמיני ימול:

§ The mishna continues: And one may not perform a circumcision until after sunrise, as it is written: “And on the eighth day he shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). This indicates that the circumcision must be during the day, not at night.

ולא טובלין ולא מזין וכו׳: דכתיב והזה הטהור על הטמא [וגו׳] ביום השביעי ואיתקש טבילה להזיה:

§ It is further taught in the mishna: And one may not immerse himself in a ritual bath, or sprinkle waters of purification until after sunrise. This too is derived from a verse, as it is written: “And the pure person shall sprinkle upon the impure on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be pure at evening” (Numbers 19:19), which teaches that the sprinkling must take place during the day and not at night. And immersion is likened to sprinkling, as it too is mentioned in the verse, “and bathe himself in water,” so that whatever is invalid with respect to sprinkling is also invalid with respect to immersion.

וכן שומרת יום כנגד יום לא תטבול עד שתנץ החמה וכו׳: פשיטא מאי שנא שומרת יום כנגד יום מכל חייבי טבילות

§ The mishna states: And also a woman who observes a day for a day may not immerse herself until the sun has risen. The Gemara asks: This is obvious. What is different about a woman who observes a day for a day, who must immerse herself in a ritual bath, from all the others who are obligated to immerse themselves, as it was already taught that one may not immerse himself in a ritual bath until it is day?

איצטריך סלקא דעתך אמינא תיהוי כראיה ראשונה של זב וראיה ראשונה של זב איתקש לבעל קרי דכתיב זאת תורת הזב ואשר תצא ממנו שכבת זרע מה בעל קרי טובל ביום האי נמי ליטבול ביומיה

The Gemara answers: It is nevertheless necessary to mention separately the case of a woman who observes a day for a day. As, it might enter your mind to say that this woman’s bleeding should be treated like the first emission of a zav, a man who experiences a gonorrhea-like secretion, in that just as a man attains the status of a full-fledged zav once he has three such emissions, so too, a woman attains the status of a full-fledged zava once she experiences three days of bleeding. And the first emission of a zav is likened to one who experienced a seminal discharge, as it is written: “This is the halakha of him that has an issue and of him whose semen goes from him” (Leviticus 15:32). From this it is learned: Just as one who experienced a seminal discharge immerses on the same day that he had the discharge, so too, that one, the zav, may immerse himself on the same day that he had the emission.

והא ביממא לא מצי טבלה דכתיב כל ימי זובה כמשכב נדתה יהיה לה בליליא מיהת ליעביד מקצת שימור ותיטבול קא משמע לן כיון דבעיא ספירה

And although this one, i.e., a woman who observes a day for a day, cannot immerse on the same day that she experienced the bleeding, as it is written: “All the days of her issue shall be to her as the bed of her menstruation” (Leviticus 15:26), which teaches that she remains the entire day of her issue in her impure state and must wait until the day is over before she can immerse herself, nevertheless, one might have said that at least during the night following the day of her issue she should be able to perform a partial observation, i.e., she should verify that part of the night has gone by without bleeding, and then immerse herself at night, without waiting until morning. Therefore, the mishna teaches us that since she is required to count one day of purity after her day of impurity,

ספירה ביממא היא:

and counting can only be done during the day and not at night, as it says: “And she shall count for herself seven days” (Leviticus 15:28), she cannot immerse herself until after sunrise, although here she has to count only one day.

וכולן שעשו משעלה עמוד השחר כשר: מנהני מילי אמר רבא דאמר קרא ויקרא אלהים לאור יום למאיר ובא קראו יום

§ The mishna concludes: And with regard to all these things, if one did them after daybreak they are valid. The Gemara asks: From where is this matter derived, that from daybreak it is already considered daytime? Rava said: As the verse states: “And God called the light [or] day” (Genesis 1:5), meaning: To that which was becoming lighter and lighter he called day. The Hebrew word or is not to be understood in its usual sense of light, but as a verbal noun: that which is becoming lighter and lighter. It teaches that as soon as light begins to appear in the sky it is called daytime.

אלא מעתה ולחשך קרא לילה [למחשיך ובא קרא לילה] הא קיימא לן דעד צאת הכוכבים לאו לילה הוא

The Gemara raises a difficulty with this interpretation: However, if it is so that Rava’s interpretation of this phrase is correct, the following phrase: “And the darkness [ḥoshekh] He called night” (Genesis 1:5), should be interpreted in a similar fashion: That which was becoming darker and darker He called night, so that immediately after sunset it would be considered nighttime. But don’t we maintain that until the stars come out it is not nighttime? We are forced to say that ḥoshekh literally means darkness, and similarly, or in the first part of the verse literally means light.

אלא אמר רבי זירא מהכא ואנחנו עושים במלאכה וחצים מחזיקים ברמחים מעלות השחר עד צאת הכוכבים ואומר (והיה) לנו הלילה (למשמר)

Rather, Rabbi Zeira said: We derive this halakha from here, as it is stated: “So we labored in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared” (Nehemiah 4:15), where “rising of the morning” means daybreak, and the next verse states: “So that in the night they may be a guard to us; and labor in the day” (Nehemiah 4:16). This demonstrates that the day begins with the dawn.

מאי ואומר וכי תימא משעלה עמוד השחר לאו יממא ומכי ערבא שמשא ליליא ואינהו מקדמי ומחשכי תא שמע (והיה) לנו הלילה משמר והיום מלאכה:

The Gemara clarifies Rabbi Zeira’s statement: What need is there for the additional verse introduced by the words “and it states”? Why does the first proof-text not suffice? The Gemara explains: The second verse comes to deflect the following possible objection: You might say that even after “the rising of the morning” it is not yet considered day, and that from the time when the sun sets it is already considered night, and in this particular incident it happened that they began their work early, before the official beginning of daytime, and remained working late, after the official end of daytime. Therefore, Rabbi Zeira continued and said: Come and hear that which is stated in the next verse: “So that in the night they may be a guard to us; and labor in the day.” The entire time during which they worked is referred to as “day,” which proves that the day begins at daybreak.

מתני׳ כל היום כשר לקריאת המגילה ולקריאת ההלל ולתקיעת שופר ולנטילת לולב ולתפלת המוספין ולמוספין

MISHNA: Although it is preferable to fulfill a particular day’s mitzva at the earliest possible hour, the entire day is a valid time for reading the Megilla; for reciting hallel; for sounding the shofar on Rosh HaShana; for taking the lulav and the other species on Sukkot; for the additional prayer recited on Shabbat and other occasions; and for the additional offerings sacrificed in the Temple on these occasions.

ולוידוי הפרים ולוידוי מעשר ולוידוי יום הכפורים

And the entire day is also a valid time for the confession over the bulls brought by the Sanhedrin or by the High Priest to atone for mistakes they had made in their instruction to the people; for the declaration made on the last day of Passover in the fourth and seventh year of the Sabbatical cycle, stating that one’s obligations with regard to tithes have been properly fulfilled (see Deuteronomy 26:12–15); and for the confession of sins made by the High Priest on Yom Kippur over the special offerings brought on that day.

לסמיכה לשחיטה לתנופה להגשה לקמיצה ולהקטרה למליקה ולקבלה ולהזיה

The entire day is also a valid time for placing hands on the head of an offering; for slaughtering an offering; for waving those offerings that require waving in the Temple; for bringing meal-offerings near to the altar; for scooping out a fistful of flour from a meal-offering in order to burn it on the altar; and for burning the fistful of flour on the altar; for pinching the necks of the turtledoves and young pigeons sacrificed as offerings in the Temple; and for receiving the blood of an offering in a vessel; and for sprinkling blood on the altar and on the curtain separating between the Holy and the Holy of Holies.

ולהשקיית סוטה ולעריפת העגלה ולטהרת המצורע

And the entire day is also a valid time for giving a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [sota] to drink from the bitter waters (see Numbers 5:11–31); for breaking the neck of the heifer as part of the procedure followed when a corpse is found outside a town and it is not known who caused his death (see Deuteronomy 21:1–9); and for all the steps in the purification process of the leper (see Leviticus 14:1–20).

כל הלילה כשר לקצירת העומר ולהקטר חלבים ואברים זה הכלל דבר שמצותו ביום כשר כל היום דבר שמצותו בלילה כשר כל הלילה:

Correspondingly, all the mitzvot that must be performed at night may be performed anytime during the night: The entire night is a valid time for reaping the omer of barley on the night following the first day of Passover, for burning the fats of offerings that had been brought during the preceding day, and for burning the limbs of burnt-offerings. This is the principle: Something that it is a mitzva to perform during the day is valid if performed anytime during the entire day; something that it is a mitzva to perform at night is valid if performed anytime during the entire night.

גמ׳ מנלן דאמר קרא והימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים לקריאת ההלל דכתיב ממזרח שמש עד מבואו (רבי יוסי) אומר זה היום עשה ה׳

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that these mitzvot were commanded to be performed specifically during the day? With regard to reading the Megilla, the verse states: “That these days should be remembered and kept” (Esther 9:28). For reciting the hallel, the proof is from that which is written in hallel: “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Psalms 113:3). Rabbi Yosei said: The proof is from another verse in hallel: “This is the day that the Lord has made” (Psalms 118:24), implying that it is to be recited during the day and not at night.

ולנטילת לולב דכתיב ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון ולתקיעת שופר דכתיב יום תרועה יהיה לכם ולמוספין דכתיב דבר יום ביומו ולתפלת המוספין כמוספין שויוה רבנן

And daytime is the time for taking the lulav, as it is written: “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a beautiful tree, branches of a date palm, and boughs of a dense-leaved tree, and willows of the brook” (Leviticus 23:40). Daytime is also the time for sounding the shofar, as it is written: “It is a day of sounding the shofar to you” (Numbers 29:1). Likewise, the time for the additional offerings is day, as it is written with regard to these offerings: “To sacrifice an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt-offering, and a meal-offering, a sacrifice, and libations, each on its own day” (Leviticus 23:37). And this is also so for the additional prayer, because the Sages made it equivalent to those additional offerings.

ולוידוי פרים דיליף כפרה כפרה מיום הכפורים דתניא גבי יום הכפורים וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו בכפרת דברים הכתוב מדבר וכפרה ביממא הוא דכתיב ביום הזה יכפר עליכם:

And daytime is the time for the confession over the bulls, as this is derived by way of a verbal analogy between one instance of atonement in this context and another instance of atonement in the context of Yom Kippur. As it is taught in a baraita with regard to Yom Kippur, the verse states: “And Aaron shall present the bull of the sin-offering that is his, and atone for himself and for his household” (Leviticus 16:11). The verse speaks of atonement achieved through words, i.e., the atonement here is not referring to the sacrifice of offerings and the sprinkling of blood, but rather to atonement achieved through confession. And the atonement of Yom Kippur is only during the day, as it is written: “For on that day will He atone for you” (Leviticus 16:30). Just as the atonement on Yom Kippur must take place during the day, so must the other cases of atonement, over other bulls brought as sin-offerings, take place during the day.

ולוידוי מעשר וכו׳: דכתיב ואמרת לפני ה׳ אלהיך בערתי הקדש מן הבית וסמיך ליה היום הזה ה׳ אלהיך מצוך:

And daytime is the time for the declaration with regard to tithes, as it is written in the formula of this declaration: “And you shall say before the Lord your God, I have removed the sacred things out of my house” (Deuteronomy 26:13–15); and juxtaposed to that passage it is written: “This day the Lord your God has commanded you to do” (Deuteronomy 26:16), implying during the day and not at night.

לסמיכה ולשחיטה: דכתיב וסמך ושחט וכתיב בה בשחיטה ביום זבחכם ולתנופה דכתיב ביום הניפכם את העומר

For placing hands on the head of an offering and for slaughtering an offering, it is derived as it is written: “And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and slaughter it” (Leviticus 3:8), comparing the laying of hands to slaughtering. And it is written with regard to slaughtering: “On the day that you slaughter” (Leviticus 19:6), meaning during the day and not at night. And for waving the offerings that require waving, it is derived as it is written: “And on the day you wave the omer” (Leviticus 23:12).

ולהגשה דאיתקש לתנופה דכתיב ולקח הכהן מיד האשה את מנחת הקנאות והניף והקריב ולמליקה ולקמיצה ולהקטרה ולהזיה דכתיב ביום צוותו את בני ישראל

And with regard to bringing the meal-offerings near the altar, it is likened to waving, as it is written: “And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the Lord, and sacrifice it upon the altar” (Numbers 5:25). The words “sacrifice it” are referring to bringing the offering near the altar. And for scooping out a fistful of flour, and for pinching the necks of the bird-offerings, and for burning the fistful of flour on the altar, and for sprinkling the blood, these are derived as it is written: “This is the law of the burnt-offering, of the meal-offering, and of the sin-offering, and of the guilt-offering, and of the consecration-offering, and of the sacrifice of the peace-offering; which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai on the day that he commanded the children of Israel to present their offerings” (Leviticus 7:37–38).

ולהשקיית סוטה אתיא תורה תורה כתיב הכא ועשה לה הכהן את כל התורה הזאת וכתיב התם על פי התורה אשר יורוך ועל המשפט

And with regard to giving the sota to drink from the bitter waters, this is derived from a verbal analogy between one instance of the word “Torah” and another instance of the word “Torah.” It is written here with respect to a sota: “And the priest shall execute upon her all this Torah” (Numbers 5:30), and it is written there with regard to judgment: “According to the Torah, which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment, which they shall tell you” (Deuteronomy 17:11).