Talmud zu Schemot 17:8

MISHNAH: On Ḥanukkah, about the princes¹²¹Num. 7:12–59 (-89), on each day of Ḥanukkah one reads the princes’ offerings for that day of the dedication of the Tabernacle.. On Purim, Amaleq came¹²²Ex. 17:8–16.. On New Moons, on the start of your months¹²³Num. 28:11–15.. For the bystanders, the Creation¹²⁴On each day of the week one reads the corresponding day of Creation; Gen. 1:1–2:3.. On fast days, blessings and curses¹²⁵Either Lev. 26:3–46 or Deut. Chapter 28.. One does not interrupt curses, but one person reads them entirely. On Monday, Thursday, and Sabbath afternoon one reads regularly but they may not count it in the series¹²⁶One reads the start of the portion to be read on the next Sabbath; this has no influence on the text to be read on the Sabbath., as it is said¹²⁷Lev. 23:44., Moses spoke to the Children of Israel about the holidays of the Eternal; the obligation is that each one be read in its time.

MISHNAH: On Ḥanukkah, about the princes¹²¹Num. 7:12–59 (-89), on each day of Ḥanukkah one reads the princes’ offerings for that day of the dedication of the Tabernacle.. On Purim, Amaleq came¹²²Ex. 17:8–16.. On New Moons, on the start of your months¹²³Num. 28:11–15.. For the bystanders, the Creation¹²⁴On each day of the week one reads the corresponding day of Creation; Gen. 1:1–2:3.. On fast days, blessings and curses¹²⁵Either Lev. 26:3–46 or Deut. Chapter 28.. One does not interrupt curses, but one person reads them entirely. On Monday, Thursday, and Sabbath afternoon one reads regularly but they may not count it in the series¹²⁶One reads the start of the portion to be read on the next Sabbath; this has no influence on the text to be read on the Sabbath., as it is said¹²⁷Lev. 23:44., Moses spoke to the Children of Israel about the holidays of the Eternal; the obligation is that each one be read in its time.

[42a] What¹³From here to Then came Amalek is the reading of GRA. is the procedure on Purim? If Purim falls on a Sabbath, seven read [the section] of the Sabbath while the eighth reads Then came Amalek.¹⁴Ex. 17, 8-16. The three fast days¹⁵In commemoration of the three days of fasting ordained by Mordecai and Esther (Esth. 4, 16). are not observed on consecutive days but are separated [and observed] on Monday, Thursday and Monday. Our Rabbis in the land of Israel had the custom of fasting after Purim¹⁶Not, as others, before it. on account of [the victory over] Nicanor and his associates,¹⁷This occurred on the thirteenth of Adar, the day before Purim [cf. 1 Macc. VII, 49; 2 Macc. XV, 36; Josephus, Antiq. XII, x, 5], on account of which fasting was prohibited. Nicanor was a Syrian commander who fell in the Maccabean war in the battle of Adasa in 161 b.c.e. and also because the commemoration of sad events is postponed rather than antedated.

On Ḥanukkah we read the section of [the dedication of the altar by] the princes;³⁶Num. 7. On the first day verses 1-17 are read; on the next six days the corresponding offerings; and on the eighth day VII, 54—VIII, 4. on Purim, Then came Amalek;³⁷Ex. 17, 8-16. on the New Moon, And in your new moons;³⁸Num. 28, 11-15. at the ma‘amadoth the account of the creation.³⁹Gen. 1, 1—II, 3, because it is on account of the Temple service that the heaven and earth were created. On the fast days of the Ninth of Ab and the last seven days in connection with droughts,⁴⁰lit. ‘the shutting up of the rains’. we read the section of the blessings and curses;⁴¹Lev. 26, 3-46. but on other fast days And Moses besought,⁴²Ex. 32, 11-14, XXXIV, 1-10. and we read as the hafṭarah Seek ye the Lord.⁴³Isa. 55, 6—LVI, 8. Some say that no hafṭarah is to be read, but the people have adopted the custom of reading the hafṭarah.⁴⁴So GRA. V, M and H omit ‘but’ and ‘of reading the hafṭarah’. There must be no break in the section of curses because it is not proper to end with curses and to begin with curses.⁴⁵Cf. above XII, 1.

We read²³On Purim in the morning service. from Then came Amalek;²⁴Ex. 17, 8-16. and although it consists of only nine verses,²⁵While the general rule is that a reading must consist of not less than ten verses (cf. Rule 7). we do not begin²⁶For the third person called to the Torah. Now Jethro … heard,²⁷Ex. 18, 1, etc., which follows the section beginning Then came Amalek. but the first [to be called up] reads three verses, viz. Then came Amalek … And Moses said … So Joshua did;²⁸ibid. XVII, 8-10. the second reads And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand … But Moses’ hands … And Joshua discomfited;²⁹ibid. 11-13. the third reads And the Lord said … And Moses built … And he said: The hand upon the throne of the Lord: the Lord will have war.³⁰ibid. 14-16. The scroll of the Torah is then put back in its place, and Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for ever³¹Ps. 113, 2. and ḳaddish are said;³²V inserts here in parentheses, as also M and H, ‘For there is no reading [of the Torah] which requires ḳaddish until after he restores [the scroll in the ark] except that of the Sabbath alone on account of the mafṭir and over the Prophet. After the scroll of the Torah is put in its place one says ṭaddish; and why ṭaddish? Only to teach’. GRA transposes this to the end of the Rule in an emended version. because neither on New Moons, nor fast days, nor Mondays and Thursdays, nor on the intermediate days of a Festival, nor the eight days of Ḥanukkah, nor Purim is ḳaddish said until after the Torah scroll had been restored to its place, while the people stand and respond ‘Amen, let His great name’, etc.,³³Cf. P.B., p. 75. with devotion and [still] standing. Furthermore, you have no reading that requires a ḳaddish before [the scroll] is put back except that of Sabbath and Festivals alone, [when it is said] before the hafṭarah is read in the Prophet.

R. Huna said: For three readings in the Torah³⁴i.e. when only three persons are called up to the reading of a section, viz. on a Monday or Thursday or at a Sabbath afternoon service. not less than ten verses must be allotted.³⁵Three verses for each of the first two and four for the third. Hezekiah³⁶A Rabbi of that name. explained [the reason:³⁷Why ten verses are required. The number] corresponds to the Ten Commandments. But have we not learned in a Mishnah:³⁸Ta‘an. IV, 3 (Sonc. ed., p. 137). ‘On Sunday [the men of the ma‘amad read] In the beginning³⁹Gen. 1, 1-4. and Let there be a firmament’⁴⁰ibid. 5-8. although they contain not more than eight verses?⁴¹How then could R. Huna rule that a minimum of ten verses was required? R. Iddi said: Kahana and Ashë differ [on the method of procedure],⁴²As how to make ten verses out of eight. one holding that [the reader] goes back, and the other maintaining that he cuts.⁴³This is explained in the continuation. According to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he repeats two verses;⁴⁴The second person repeats the last two of the three verses which the first had read. The two, together with the eight, make up the minimum of ten verses. and according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, And there was evening and there was morning⁴⁵The second part of each of verses 4 and 8 of Gen. 1. is a verse on its own.⁴⁶So that verses 4 and 8 represent two verses each, bringing the number to ten. But have we not learned in [the same] Mishnah: ‘On Monday [the reading of the ma‘amad was] Let there be a firmament⁴⁷Gen. 1, 6-8, three verses. and Let the waters … be gathered together’?⁴⁸ibid. 9-13, five verses. Now, according to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he goes back over two verses, but according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, even if he does so, there are not ten⁴⁹Added by GRA, omitted by V, M and H. verses!⁵⁰There would only be nine, since And there was evening, etc., forms the whole of verse 13 and cannot be reckoned as two verses as in the case of verses 5 and 8. R. Polippa b. R. Pariṭ raised an objection before R. Jonah,⁵¹To R. Huna’s ruling. ‘Behold the section of Amalek!’⁵²Ex. 17, 8-16, read on Purim, which consists only of nine verses. ‘This is different’, he replied, ‘since⁵³So GRA, M and H. V reads: ‘he said, No, it is taught, it’. it is the prescribed portion for the day’.⁵⁴This reply could also have been given to the preceding objection, since in Gen. 1, 6-13, if only verse 8 is divided into two, there would be nine verses, as in the section of Amalek. R. Eliezer b. R. Maḳom raised an objection:⁵⁵To R. Huna’s ruling. [It has been taught,] ‘He who reads the hafṭarah from the Prophet shall read not less than twenty-one verses’,⁵⁶Meg. 23a (Sonc. ed., p. 140). From ‘but [if R. Huna’s ruling … to the last one]’ is added by GRA. V omits it but inserts in brackets: ‘It is permitted to skip in a Prophet but not in the Torah, because if [a reader] skipped even one verse by not reading it, and restored the scroll [to the ark] and recited ḳaddish, he must unroll it again, say the benedictions, and read that verse and the two verses which follow it’. This is a repetition of XI, 2, 6. but [if R. Huna’s ruling] is valid, twenty-three verses should be required, ten for the first three,⁵⁷In accordance with R. Huna’s ruling above that ‘for three readings … no less than ten verses must be allotted’. ten for the second three, and three for the last one!⁵⁸Since a minimum of three verses must be read for each person who is called up. No reply is given to the objection, but it is possible to provide the following explanation: Only when no more than three persons are called up is it necessary to allot ten verses, but when the number of persons is more than three, as, e.g., on the Sabbath when not less than seven persons must be called to the Torah, three verses for each person or twenty-one in all are sufficient.