Halakhah su Deuteronomio 25:17

As it is required for the house of Israel to read from the scrolls, and to teach in the Torah, and to conclude with the prophets, on each day according to its subject matter — laws of Pesaḥ on Pesaḥ, laws of Shavuot on Shavuot, laws of Sukkot on Sukkot, as it is written "And Moses spoke the appointed-times of haShem to the children of Israel" (Leviticus 23:44), and it is commanded to read every matter at its time and extrapolate on the subject of the day, as taught, "Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:¹In our manuscripts, it says "The Rabbis taught" here. Moses ordained for Israel that they would investigate and extrapolate on the matter of the day — laws of Pesaḥ on Pesaḥ, laws of Shavuot on Shavuot, laws of Sukkot on Sukkot" (Megillah 32a:17). On Ḥanukkah we read the princes (Numbers 7). On Purim we read "And Amalek came" (Exodus 17:8—16). When Rosh Ḥodesh Adar falls on Shabbat we read the portion of the sheqalim (Exodus 30:11—16). "And Rabbi Yitzḥaq Nappaḥa said: when Rosh Ḥodesh Adar falls on Shabbat, bring three Torah scrolls, and read one for the matter of the day, and one for the new moon, and one from Ki Tissa. And Rabbi Yitzḥaq Nappaḥa said: when Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet falls on Shabbat, bring three Torah scrolls, and read one for the matter of the day, and one for Rosh Ḥodesh, and one for Ḥanukkah" (Megillah 29b:22). On Ḥanukkah and on Purim three people read, on Rosh Ḥodesh and on Ḥol ha-Moed four people read — since there is Musaf, we add [mosifin] a person. When Rosh Ḥodesh Adar falls on Shabbat, we read the portion of the sheqalim (Exodus 30:11—16). When it falls on another day of the week, we advance the reading of the portion of the sheqalim, and interrupt the special readings. On the second² Shabbat of the month we read 'Remember' (Deuteronomy 25:17—17). On the third, the red heifer (Numbers 19:1—22). On the fourth, 'This month' (Exodus 12:1—20). If it falls on the sixth, then 'This month' is on the fifth. After that they return to the regular order. And everyone interrupts the order for Rosh Hodesh, Ḥanukah, Purim, fast days, festival days, and Yom Kippur (Mishnah Megillah 3:5). On Pesaḥ they read the portion of the festivals. And a mnemonic is: "during the bull, sanctify with money, cut in the desert, send the firstborn." On Shavuot, "On the third day" (Exodus 19:1–20:23), and on the second day, "Every firstborn" (Deuteronomy 15:19—16:37). On Rosh Hashanah, "And haShem remembered Sarah" (Genesis 21:1–34) and on the second day, "And God tested Abraham" (Genesis 22:1—24). On Yom Kippur, "after the death" (Leviticus 16:1—34). On Sukkot, the offerings for Sukkot (Numbers 29:12—34). On Ḥanukkah, the princes (Numbers 7). On Purim, "And Amalek came" (Exodus 17:8—16). On Rosh Hodesh, "And on your new months" (Numbers 28:1–15). On the watches, the matter of creation (Genesis 1:1—2:3). On fast days, "And Moses petitioned" (Exodus 32:11—14, Exodus 34:1–10). On Mondays and Thursdays and on Shabbat in the afternoon they read according to the order, but they are not counted in the order. As it is said, "And Moses spoke the appointed-times of haShem to the children of Israel" (Leviticus 23:44) — it's commanded that they read each and every one at its time.

A final illuminating example of a halachic evaluation of archaeological evidence is a teshuvah of Rav Moshe Shternbuch (Mo’adim Uzmanim 2:166 footnote 2) in which he discusses the celebrated dispute surrounding how to write the Hebrew letter tzadi in Torah scrolls. He reports that ancient tefillin that have been dated to the time of the Bar Kochba revolt support the non-Chassidic, Ashkenazic tradition regarding the shape of this letter. Although Rav Shternbuch expresses very serious reservations about relying on archaeological findings regarding halachic matters, he writes that the tefillin nonetheless demonstrate that many Jews used the non-Chassidic, Ashkenazic style in ancient times. Thus, the Vilna Gaon and the Chazon Ish (O.C. 9:6) are supported in their insistence that non-Chassidic Ashkenazim not deviate from their tradition of how to write the tzadi. Rav Shternbuch even urges them to be sure to hear parashat zachor³⁰This is the section from Devarim 25:17-19 that is read the Shabbat before Purim. The consensus amongst poskim is that this reading is biblically mandated (see Shulchan Aruch O.C. 685:7). As such, we are more stringent regarding the requirements for this reading (see, for example, Mishnah Berurah ibid. 18). read from a Torah scroll whose letters are written in accordance with this tradition. He does not suggest, though, that Sephardic or Chassidic Jews alter their practice based on the archaeological evidence; he merely uses the artifacts as support for those who follow the Ashkenazic practice in this matter. Indeed, it is entirely possible that in the future, tefillin will be found supporting the Sephardic and Chassidic tzadi. Moreover, the mid-twentieth-century work Tzidkat Hatzaddik, written expressly to defend the Chassidic and Sephardic form of the tzadi, includes (p. 40) a picture of a Torah scroll written by the Ran in which the tzadi is indeed written in the style of the Sephardim and Chassidim (also see Teshuvot Yabia Omer 2 Y.D.20).³¹Another example of a question that could be resolved by archaeology is the size of eggs and olives. The Teshuvot Noda Biy’huda (1 O.C. 38; see also Mishnah Berurah 486:1 and Bei’ur Halachah 271:13 s.v. Shel Revi’it) asserts that eggs today are half as large as those in the times of Chazal, thereby requiring us to use the equivalent of two modern day eggs in order to determine the shiurim of an egg (required for Halachot such as sitting in the sukkah; Shulchan Aruch O.C. 639:2) and an olive (one half of an egg, the shiur required for many mitzvot, including matzah; Shulchan Aruch O.C. 486:1). Other poskim, such as the Aruch Hashulchan (O.C. 168:13 and 472:12), question the Noda Biy’huda’s claim. Professor
Avraham Yehudah Greenfield (Techumin 16:433-442) marshals archaeological (and other) evidence that the size of eggs has not changed dramatically since the times of Chazal. Similarly, researchers at Bar-Ilan University announced in 2008 (reported by the Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2008) that they had discovered that the olives in the times of Chazal were in fact smaller than those available today, which would make the shiur of an olive smaller than is commonly assumed. However, the Chazon Ish (O.C. 39:6) rules that the shiurim given by Chazal are by definition imprecise and can be calculated based only on the olives and eggs of each time and place, a position that eliminates the halachic impact of these archaeological findings.

To remember what Amalek did to us: That we were commanded to remember what Amalek did to Israel - that he began to harass them when they left Egypt, before any other nation or kingdom raised their hand against them; and as the matter is stated, (Numbers 24:2) "Amalek is the first of nations." Its [Aramaic] translation (Onkelos Numbers 24:2) is "The first battle of Israel was Amalek" - because everyone was afraid of them when they heard of God's great hand that He used for them in Egypt. But the Amalekites, due to their evil hearts and evil disposition, did not turn their hearts to all of this, and harassed them [by waging war]. And as a result of this, Amalek was able to remove the great fear from the hearts of the other nations. And it is like the matter that our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, analogized it (Pesikta Rabbati 12, Midrash Tanchuma on Devarim 25:17) to the analogy to a large boiling pot that no person could enter and [then] one [individual] comes and jumps and enters it. Even though he is burnt, he cools it for others. And about the memory of their matter is it stated (Deuteronomy 25:17), "Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt."