Gemara Clarity

Megillah 23b

מגילה כ״ג ע״ב

Learn Megillah 23b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Megillah 23b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The length of the הפטרה, the rituals that need a מנין of ten and their sources, and the minimum Torah reading

Overview

This amud first finishes the discussion of how long the הפטרה must be. The basic rule is 21 פסוקים, though רבא points out a shorter הפטרה that is still read. The גמרא allows fewer פסוקים when the topic ends, or when a תורגמן is translating. A new משנה then lists the public rituals that need ten men: ברכות before שמע, חזרת הש"ץ, ברכת כהנים, קריאת התורה, הפטרה, funeral and wedding blessings, and זימון with הקב"ה's name. The גמרא learns that every דבר שבקדושה needs ten from ״ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל״, through a chain of גזירות שוות ending with the ten מרגלים. Other items need ten only out of respect. Valuing consecrated land or a person takes nine ישראלים and one כהן. שמואל derives this from the ten mentions of כהן, and his derivation ends with an unanswered קשיא. The amud closes with a new משנה: each reader reads at least three פסוקים, and gives the מתורגמן only one פסוק at a time.

Opening lines

כְּנֶגְדּוֹ נָמֵי לָא בָּעֵי.

corresponding to him also is not necessary.

מַתְקֵיף לַהּ רָבָא:

Rava strongly objected to it:

וַהֲרֵי ״עוֹלוֹתֵיכֶם סְפוֹ״,

But there is "Add your burnt offerings,"

דְּלָא הָוְיִין עֶשְׂרִין וְחַד, וְקָרֵינַן!

which are not twenty-one, and we read it!

The steps (28)

  1. ResolutionNo extra הפטרה verses are needed for the מפטיר
  2. Challengeרבא points to a הפטרה shorter than 21 verses
  3. ResolutionA shorter הפטרה is fine when the topic ends
  4. Challengeרבי יוחנן stopped after ten verses
  5. ResolutionA place with a translator is different
  6. ProofA ברייתא confirms the תורגמן exception
  7. StatementNew משנה: rituals that need a minyan
  8. StatementMore rituals that need ten men
  9. StatementValuing consecrated land or a person needs nine plus a priest
  10. QuestionWhere do we learn the need for ten?
  11. Responseרבי יוחנן: anything holy needs ten
  12. QuestionHow does the verse show the number ten?
  13. ResponseFirst link: 'among' connects to קרח's group
  14. ResponseSecond link: 'congregation' connects to the ten spies
  15. StatementStanding and sitting at a funeral needs ten out of respect
  16. QuestionWhat is the mourners' blessing?
  17. ResponseIt is the blessing said in the square
  18. StatementMourners do not count toward the ten, but grooms do
  19. Statementזימון with God's name needs ten out of respect
  20. QuestionWhere do we learn that land is valued by nine and a כהן?
  21. Responseשמואל counts ten mentions of כהן to get nine ישראלים and one כהן
  22. ChallengeWhy not five כהנים and five ישראלים?
  23. ConclusionThe difficulty stays unanswered
  24. QuestionHow can a person be holy enough to need valuing?
  25. Responseרבי אבהו: it is someone who pledges his own value
  26. ProofA ברייתא: such a person is valued like a slave
  27. ProofA slave is compared to land, so ten valuers apply
  28. StatementNew משנה: at least three verses, and one verse at a time for the translator