Megillah 2b

מגילה ב׳ ע״ב

Learn Megillah 2b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Megillah 2b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

רב אשי's fix for רבי יהודה's contradiction, the sources for reading on the fifteenth in walled cities, and the dispute over which walls count

Overview

The amud opens by finishing רב אשי's fix. A ברייתא and a משנה seem to have רבי יהודה contradicting himself about villages reading the מגילה early, so רב אשי says the ברייתא belongs to רבי יוסי בר יהודה. The גמרא asks how he could change a name just because of a question. It answers that he had heard both versions and chose the precise one. Next, רבא finds a source for walled cities reading on the fifteenth. The גמרא then rules out the other options: no פורים at all, both days, a free choice, or the thirteenth. A הקש then ties the reading of the מגילה to the days of celebration. The גמרא compares our משנה, which counts walls from יהושע בן נון, with רבי יהושע בן קרחה, who counts them from אחשורוש. Along the way it explains why שושן is an exception and how each side reads 'מדינה ומדינה ועיר ועיר'. Finally, רבי יהושע בן לוי rules that places within a מיל of a walled city count as walled, and the amud begins a new topic about the final letters מנצפך, a challenge that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (39)

1. Resolutionרב אשי assigns the ברייתא to רבי יוסי בר יהודה
2. ChallengeThe contradiction between the ברייתא and the משנה
3. ChallengeThe inference: early reading is allowed even nowadays
4. ResolutionRestating רב אשי's fix
5. ChallengeSurprise at changing the name to escape a contradiction
6. Resolutionרב אשי had heard the ברייתא taught in two versions
7. QuestionWhere do we learn that walled cities read on the fifteenth?
8. Responseרבא: villagers read on the fourteenth, so walled cities read on the fifteenth
9. ChallengeMaybe walled cities do not celebrate at all
10. RejectionWalled cities are Jews too, and פורים spread through the whole kingdom
11. ChallengeMaybe walled cities celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth
12. RejectionThe extra word separates the two days
13. ChallengeMaybe walled cities may choose either day
14. ResolutionEach group has its own fixed time
15. ChallengeMaybe walled cities keep the thirteenth
16. ResolutionWalled cities follow שושן
17. QuestionWhat is the source for reading the מגילה on these days?
18. ResponseRemembering is linked to celebrating
19. StatementOur משנה disagrees with רבי יהושע בן קרחה
20. QuestionWhat is רבי יהושע בן קרחה's reason?
21. ResponseEvery walled city is compared to שושן
22. QuestionWhat is the reason of our משנה?
23. ResponseA word link from 'unwalled' to the time of יהושע
24. QuestionWhy doesn't our תנא compare to שושן?
25. ChallengePushing back: our תנא already has his own source
26. ChallengeThe real question: what kind of city is שושן for our תנא?
27. Resolutionשושן is special because the miracle happened there
28. StatementThe פסוק fits our תנא well
29. ChallengeWhat does 'עיר ועיר' teach for רבי יהושע בן קרחה?
30. ResolutionOur תנא has the same problem
31. ResolutionThe verse comes to teach a separate lesson
32. StatementPlaces near a walled city count as walled
33. QuestionHow close counts as near?
34. ResponseThe distance is one מיל
35. ChallengeWhy not just say a מיל?
36. ResolutionTeaching how long a מיל is
37. StatementThe prophets established the final letters
38. ChallengeA prophet cannot add anything new
39. ChallengeSecond challenge from the לוחות begins