The Eddie and B. Sit Edition, an audio series of the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud). Masechet Megillah (Tractate Megillah) has been dedicated by our good friend Mr. Steven and his wife, Gila Israel, a charter member of our good friend Mr. Steven and his wife, Gila Israel, a charter member of our daf yomi (daily page) shiur (class), for the hatzlachah of both sets of parents and, of course, their dear children. Hashem yishmerem veyachayem (May Hashem protect and preserve them). Be'ezrat Hashem, they should have continued success, hatzlachah veharvachah bekhol ma'aseh yedeihem (success and prosperity in all their undertakings). This massekhet (tractate) has also been dedicated by Steven and his wife le'ilui nishmat (for the elevation of the soul) Adel bat Rozah and le'ilui nishmat Sarah bat Adel. Ruach Hashem tenichem began Eden hen vekhol benot Yisrael hashokhvot imahen bikhlal harachamim vehaselichot venomar amen (May Hashem grant them rest in Eden, with all the daughters of Israel resting with them, in mercy and forgiveness, and let us say amen). Daf kaf-bet (Page 22). Today's daf is being studied le'ilui nishmat Avraham ben Ester. Ruach Hashem tenichenu began Eden amen (May Hashem grant him rest in Eden, amen).
We begin today's daf on kaf-alef amud sheni (page 21, second column), six lines down—in fact, we start four lines from the bottom. Berashei chodashim uvecholo shel mo'ed korin arba'ah (On the new moons and intermediate festival days, four are called). So we said that on Rosh Chodesh (new moon), we send up four olim to the sefer Torah. The Gemara asks: ba'a minei Ulla bar Rav meRava (Ulla bar Rav asked Rava), parashat Rosh Chodesh keitzad korin otah (How is the portion for the new moon read?). The parashah (portion) of Rosh Chodesh—how do you divide it among the four olim?
Tzav et benei Yisrael ve'amarta aleihem et korbani lachmi (Command the children of Israel and say to them: My offering, My food). That's the first paragraph that we read: Tzav et benei Yisrael (Command the children of Israel). Dehavyan temanya pesukei, that first paragraph has eight pesukim (verses). Heikhi na'avid? How are you going to split up eight pesukim? Nikrei terei telata telata pesukei (Let us read three verses each). If the first two olim read three pesukim each, pashei lehu terei, you're going to end up with two pesukim left over in that paragraph. And we have a rule: ve'ein meshayeirin biprashah pachot misheloshah pesukim, which means we're not allowed to leave two pesukim at the end of the parashah. The reason is that if somebody leaves after that—let's say after the second aliyah (Torah-reading portion), when there are two pesukim left in the parashah—people will think the next oleh is going to read only two pesukim and finish the paragraph. That's already going to lead to a mistake.
So if you have eight pesukim in the parashah of Tzav et benei Yisrael, how do you divide it? If you give the first guy three pesukim and the second guy three pesukim, you're not allowed, because then you leave two pesukim at the end of the paragraph, the parashah. So the Gemara says, fine: nikre arba'ah arba'ah (Let us read four each). Let the first two people who go up to the sefer Torah read four pesukim each, so you've finished that parashah. Pashei lehu shiv'ah (Seven remain for them). Now that leaves you seven more pesukim to read, because the next paragraph is uveyom hashabbat (And on the day of Shabbat), which has two pesukim, and then uverashei chodsheikhem (And on your new moons), which has five pesukim. So now you have two and five. How are you going to divide the two and five among two more olim?
So the Gemara says: uveyom hashabbat havyan terei (And on the day of Shabbat, there are two), right? The paragraph of uveyom hashabbat has two more pesukim; uverashei chodsheikhem havyan chamishah (And on your new moons, there are five)—that's an additional five. Heikhi na'avid? Nikrei terei meha vechad mehanakh (Let us read two from this and one from that). So maybe the shelishi (third) who goes up reads the two pesukim of uverashei chodsheikhem, and then one pasuk of uverashei chodsheikhem. The Gemara says you can't do that: Ein matchilin biprashah pachot misheloshah pesukim. Once you begin a parashah, you're not allowed to begin it unless you read at least three pesukim in. So you can't read two and one, with one from the next parashah. Again, the logic is that a person who comes in late will say, “Oh, the guy before read only one pasuk.” So when you start a new parashah, a new paragraph, you have to go three pesukim in.
So the Gemara says: nikrei terei meha utlata mehakh (Let us read two from this and three from that). Let the Yisrael (Israelite) read two pesukim from uveyom hashabbat and then three pesukim from uverashei chodsheikhem. No, that doesn't work either: pashei lehu terei. You're going to end up leaving two pesukim at the end of the parashah. That's not allowed either, because the person who walks out will say the next guy is reading only two pesukim. So we're back to the question: how do you divide up the reading of Rosh Chodesh?
So this was the question that was asked. Ulla asked this question to Rava. He says like this: amar lo (He said to him), zo lo shamati; I did not hear the law of Rosh Chodesh. However, kayotzei bah shamati, a similar case I heard. If you remember, we learned in Masechet Ta'anit (Tractate Ta'anit) the story of the ma'amadot. What were the ma'amadot? During the days of the week, there were special minyanim (prayer quorums) that were set up. They were called the minyan of the ma'amadot. What did they do? They would fast. Besides that, they would read sefer Torah and pray that their brothers' korbanot (offerings) would be accepted in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). The sefer Torah reading was Parashat Bereishit (the portion of Genesis). Every day they'd read another chapter from Parashat Bereishit. So the Gemara says: detnan (as we learned), beyom harishon (On the first day). Rashi says be'echad beshabbat—that's on Sunday—Bereishit (Genesis), viyhi raki'a (Let there be a firmament). They would read Parashat Bereishit, bara Elohim (God created), and so on, and the paragraph of viyhi raki'a, the first paragraph in Parashat Bereishit. Vetani alah, they had to send up three olim.
So the Gemara says: Bereishit bishnayim (Bereishit is read by two). They would split the paragraph of Bereishit, which is five pesukim, between two olim. Yehi raki'a be'echad (Let there be a firmament is read by one), and yehi raki'a (Let there be a firmament), which had three pesukim, they would give that to one oleh. So we don't have a problem with yehi raki'a. We have a problem with how to divide up Bereishit, which has five pesukim, between two people. The Gemara says: v'avina bah (And I considered it), bishlama (granted that), yehi raki'a be'echad, detlata pesukei havu—there are three pesukim. I understand how you can send up one oleh for yehi raki'a, since there are three pesukim. Ela, Bereishit bishnayim, chamisha pesukei havu (For they were five verses). So what are you talking about? The paragraph of Bereishit has five pesukim; how can you split it between two people? Vetanya (And it was taught), we have a rule: hakorei baTorah lo yifchot mishlosha pesukim, which means that when you send somebody up to the Torah, he has to read at least three pesukim.
And on this we have a statement of the Amora'im (Talmudic sages): Rav says doleg, and Shmuel says posek—a famous machloket between Rav and Shmuel. Rav says, what do you do in that case of the ma'amadot? You doleg, which means you repeat. The first oleh reads one, two, three, and the second reads three, four, five. So you doleg. Shmuel says, no, you posek: you read one, two, and split the third pasuk in half. So you make two pesukim out of the third pasuk. You read one, two, half; you make that a new pasuk, and then the next oleh reads the other half, four, five. So we have a great machloket about how the ma'amadot are read. Do you employ the method of doleg, like Rav, or the method of posek, like Shmuel?
So the Gemara says: Rav amar doleg. Rav says you doleg. Mai ta'ama lo amar posek? Why doesn't he subscribe to Shmuel's opinion of posek? Kasavar (He holds), kol pesuka d'lo paskei Moshe, anan lo paskinana leh. Listen, you can't just start making up new pesukim. Any pasuk that Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) did not establish, did not make, you cannot make. So now you're taking one pasuk that Moshe Rabbeinu put the sof pasuk (end of the verse) in a certain spot, and now you're splitting it into two pesukim? Can't do that, he says.
UShmuel amar paskinana leh. So the Gemara says, can that be? Veha'amar Rabbi Chanina Kara (But did Rabbi Chanina the reader not say)—Rabbi Chanina Kara was the reading teacher. They called him Rabbi Chanina Kara, the one who used to teach Mikra; he used to teach reading. Tza'ar gadol haya li etzel Rabbi Chanina HaGadol; he said, “I had a lot of pain in trying to get a heter (permission) from Rav Chanina HaGadol.” What was he trying to get a heter for? He was teaching children, and he couldn't read an entire pasuk for them; it was too long. So what did he do? He would split the pasuk in half, and then they would repeat. He wanted a heter: “Please, can I split the pesukim?” Rav Chanina HaGadol was very hesitant to give him a heter. Velo hitir li lifsok, and in the end he only allowed me to split up the pesukim, ela letinokot shel beit rabban, only for children, ho'il ulehitlamed asuyin, only because we're teaching them.
So what does that mean? Really, to be posek, you're not allowed. Even for the children, he had to get a heter to do it. So how could Shmuel be posek by the ma'amadot? Read one, two, half, half, four, five. How can you do that? The Gemara is telling you here that Rabbi Chanina HaGadol only allowed it because you're teaching children. So the Gemara says, “Wait. Hatam ta'ama mai? Mishum delo efshar (There, what is the reason? Because it is impossible).” What was the reason Rabbi Chanina Gadol was matir (permits) the children to split the pesukim in half? Because they have no choice. They had no option. Hacha nami lo efshar (Here too, it is impossible). So Shmuel will tell you that when you're reading the ma'amadot, they have no choice. That's the only option.
So you'll ask me, why is that the only option? You can be doleg, right? Why didn't you just read one, two, three, three, four, five? So the Gemara says: uShmuel amar posek, mai ta'ama lo amar doleg? Gezerah (decree) mishum hanichnasim (those entering) umishum hayotzim (those leaving). He says you can't read one, two, three, and then have the next oleh read three, four, five. Why? You have two problems. The guy who's going to come in late will see the second oleh read three, four, five and say, “What? The guy before only read two pesukim.” That's already a gezerah mishum hanichnasim: the guy's going to come in late. And then you have a problem of gezerah mishum hayotzim, because if they read one, two, three, the guy who leaves early is going to say, “Oh, the next guy's only going to read two pesukim.” So he says that's a gezerah. And we never saw anybody matir this. That means that at least in the case of posek, we have a precedent that when you're in a situation where you have no choice, posek is the option. But to start breaking the gezerah of nichnasim and yotzim, we never saw anybody break that gezerah. So Shmuel opted for posek because there, lo efshar. But Rav held, “No. Kol pesuka delo paskei Moshe, anan lo paskinan, and you can't make new pesukim.” Therefore, he waived the gezerah of nichnasim and yotzim for this situation.