| 14a. משל דאחשורוש והמן למה הדבר דומה לשני בני אדם לאחד היה לו תל בתוך שדהו ולאחד היה לו חריץ בתוך שדהו בעל חריץ אמר מי יתן לי תל זה בדמים בעל התל אמר מי יתן לי חריץ זה בדמים,לימים נזדווגו זה אצל זה אמר לו בעל חריץ לבעל התל מכור לי תילך אמר לו טול אותה בחנם והלואי,ויסר המלך את טבעתו אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא גדולה הסרת טבעת יותר מארבעים ושמונה נביאים ושבע נביאות שנתנבאו להן לישראל שכולן לא החזירום למוטב ואילו הסרת טבעת החזירתן למוטב,ת"ר ארבעים ושמונה נביאים ושבע נביאות נתנבאו להם לישראל ולא פחתו ולא הותירו על מה שכתוב בתורה חוץ ממקרא מגילה,מאי דרוש אמר רבי חייא בר אבין אמר רבי יהושע בן קרחה ומה מעבדות לחירות אמרי' שירה ממיתה לחיים לא כל שכן,אי הכי הלל נמי נימא לפי שאין אומרים הלל על נס שבחוצה לארץ יציאת מצרים דנס שבחוצה לארץ היכי אמרינן שירה,כדתניא עד שלא נכנסו ישראל לארץ הוכשרו כל ארצות לומר שירה משנכנסו ישראל לארץ לא הוכשרו כל הארצות לומר שירה,רב נחמן אמר קרייתא זו הלילא רבא אמר בשלמא התם (תהלים קיג, א) הללו עבדי ה' ולא עבדי פרעה אלא הכא הללו עבדי ה' ולא עבדי אחשורוש אכתי עבדי אחשורוש אנן,בין לרבא בין לר"נ קשיא והא תניא משנכנסו לארץ לא הוכשרו כל הארצות לומר שירה כיון שגלו חזרו להכשירן הראשון,ותו ליכא והכתיב (שמואל א א, א) ויהי איש אחד מן הרמתים צופים אחד ממאתים צופים שנתנבאו להם לישראל,מיהוה טובא הוו כדתניא הרבה נביאים עמדו להם לישראל כפלים כיוצאי מצרים אלא נבואה שהוצרכה לדורות נכתבה ושלא הוצרכה לא נכתבה,רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר אדם הבא משתי רמות שצופות זו את זו רבי חנין אמר אדם הבא מבני אדם שעומדין ברומו של עולם ומאן נינהו בני קרח דכתיב (במדבר כו, יא) ובני קרח לא מתו תנא משום רבינו מקום נתבצר להם בגיהנם ועמדו עליו,שבע נביאות מאן נינהו שרה מרים דבורה חנה אביגיל חולדה ואסתר שרה דכתיב (בראשית יא, כט) אבי מלכה ואבי יסכה ואמר ר' יצחק יסכה זו שרה ולמה נקרא שמה יסכה שסכתה ברוח הקדש שנאמר (בראשית כא, יב) כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה שמע בקולה ד"א יסכה שהכל סוכין ביופיה,מרים דכתיב (שמות טו, כ) ותקח מרים הנביאה אחות אהרן ולא אחות משה אמר ר"נ אמר רב שהיתה מתנבאה כשהיא אחות אהרן ואומרת עתידה אמי שתלד בן שיושיע את ישראל ובשעה שנולד נתמלא כל הבית כולו אורה עמד אביה ונשקה על ראשה אמר לה בתי נתקיימה נבואתיך,וכיון שהשליכוהו ליאור עמד אביה וטפחה על ראשה ואמר לה בתי היכן נבואתיך היינו דכתיב (שמות ב, ד) ותתצב אחותו מרחוק לדעה לדעת מה יהא בסוף נבואתה,דבורה דכתיב (שופטים ד, ד) ודבורה אשה נביאה אשת לפידות מאי אשת לפידות שהיתה עושה פתילות למקדש,(שופטים ד, ה) והיא יושבת תחת תומר מאי שנא תחת תומר אמר ר' שמעון בן אבשלום משום יחוד דבר אחר מה תמר זה אין לו אלא לב אחד אף ישראל שבאותו הדור לא היה להם אלא לב אחד לאביהן שבשמים,חנה דכתיב (שמואל א ב, א) ותתפלל חנה ותאמר עלץ לבי בה' רמה קרני בה' רמה קרני ולא רמה פכי דוד ושלמה שנמשחו בקרן נמשכה מלכותן שאול ויהוא שנמשחו בפך לא נמשכה מלכותן,(שמואל א ב, ב) אין קדוש כה' כי אין בלתך אמר רב יהודה בר מנשיא אל תקרי בלתך אלא לבלותך שלא כמדת הקב"ה מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם מעשה ידיו מבלין אותו אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא מבלה מעשה ידיו,(שמואל א ב, ב) ואין צור כאלהינו אין צייר כאלהינו אדם צר צורה על גבי הכותל ואינו יכול להטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים אבל הקב"ה צר צורה בתוך צורה ומטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים,אביגיל דכתיב (שמואל א כה, כ) והיה היא רוכבת על החמור ויורדת בסתר ההר בסתר ההר מן ההר מיבעי ליה,אמר רבה בר שמואל על עסקי דם הבא מן הסתרים נטלה דם והראתה לו אמר לה וכי מראין דם בלילה אמרה לו וכי דנין דיני נפשות בלילה אמר לה | 14a. The actions of b Ahasuerus and Haman /b can be understood with b a parable; to what may they be compared? To two individuals, one /b of whom b had a mound in the middle of his field and the other /b of whom b had a ditch in the middle of his field, /b each one suffering from his own predicament. b The owner of the ditch, /b noticing the other’s mound of dirt, b said /b to himself: b Who will give me this mound /b of dirt suitable for filling in my ditch; I would even be willing to pay b for /b it with b money, /b and b the owner of the mound, /b noticing the other’s ditch, b said /b to himself: b Who will give me this ditch for money, /b so that I may use it to remove the mound of earth from my property?,At a later point, b one day, they /b happened to have b met one another. The owner of the ditch said to the owner of the mound: Sell me your mound /b so I can fill in my ditch. The mound’s owner, anxious to rid himself of the excess dirt on his property, b said to him: Take it for free; if only /b you had done so sooner. Similarly, Ahasuerus himself wanted to destroy the Jews. As he was delighted that Haman had similar aspirations and was willing to do the job for him, he demanded no money from him.,§ The verse states: b “And the king removed his ring /b from his hand” (Esther 3:10). b Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: The removal of /b Ahasuerus’s b ring /b for the sealing of Haman’s decree b was more effective than the forty-eight prophets and the seven prophetesses who prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. As, they were all unable to return /b the Jewish people b to the right way, but the removal of /b Ahasuerus’s b ring returned them to the right way, /b since it brought them to repentance., b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : b Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people, and they neither subtracted from nor added onto what is written in the Torah, /b introducing no changes or additions to the mitzvot b except for the reading of the Megilla, /b which they added as an obligation for all future generations.,The Gemara asks: b What exposition /b led them to determine that this was a proper mode of action? On what basis did they add this mitzva? b Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin said /b that b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said /b that they reasoned as follows: b If, /b when recalling the exodus from Egypt, in which the Jews were delivered b from slavery to freedom, we recite songs /b of praise, the Song of the Sea and the hymns of i hallel /i , then, in order to properly recall the miracle of Purim and commemorate God’s delivering us b from death to life, /b is it b not all the more so /b the case that we must sing God’s praise by reading the story in the Megilla?,The Gemara asks: b If so, /b our obligation should be at least as great as when we recall the exodus from Egypt, and b let us also recite i hallel /i /b on Purim. The Gemara answers: i Hallel /i is not said on Purim, b because i hallel /i is not recited on a miracle /b that occurred b outside Eretz /b Yisrael. The Gemara asks: If so, with regard to b the exodus from Egypt /b as well, b which was a miracle /b that occurred b outside Eretz /b Yisrael, b how are we able to recite songs /b of praise?,The Gemara answers: b As it is taught /b in a i baraita /i : b Prior to /b the time when b the Jewish people entered Eretz /b Yisrael, b all lands were /b deemed b fit /b for b songs /b of praise b to be recited /b for miracles performed within their borders, as all lands were treated equally. But b after the Jewish people entered Eretz /b Yisrael, that land became endowed with greater sanctity, b and all the /b other b lands were no longer /b deemed b fit /b for b songs /b of praise b to be recited /b for miracles performed within them., b Rav Naḥman said /b an alternative answer as to why i hallel /i is not recited on Purim: b The reading of /b the Megilla itself b is /b an act of reciting b i hallel /i . Rava said /b a third reason why i hallel /i is not recited on Purim: b Granted /b that i hallel /i is said b there, /b when recalling the exodus from Egypt, as after the salvation there, they could recite the phrase in i hallel /i : b “Give praise, O servants of the Lord” /b (Psalms 113:1); after their servitude to Pharaoh ended with their salvation, they were truly servants of the Lord b and not servants of Pharaoh. But /b can it be said b here, /b after the limited salvation commemorated on Purim: b “Give praise, O servants of the Lord,” /b which would indicate that after the salvation the Jewish people were only servants of the Lord b and not servants of Ahasuerus? /b No, even after the miracle of Purim, b we were still the servants of Ahasuerus, /b as the Jews remained in exile under Persian rule, and consequently the salvation, which was incomplete, did not merit an obligation to say i hallel /i .,The Gemara asks: b Both according to /b the opinion of b Rava and according to /b the opinion of b Rav Naḥman, /b this is b difficult. Isn’t it taught /b in the i baraita /i cited earlier: b After the Jewish people entered Eretz /b Yisrael, that land became endowed with greater sanctity, b and all the /b other b lands were no longer /b deemed b fit /b for b songs /b of praise b to be recited /b for miracles performed within them. Therefore, there should be no i hallel /i obligation on Purim for the miracle performed outside of the land of Israel, and Rav Naḥman’s and Rava’s alternative explanations are incorrect. The Gemara answers: They understood differently, as it can be argued that b when /b the people b were exiled /b from Eretz Yisrael, the other lands b returned to their initial suitability, /b and were once again deemed fit for reciting i hallel /i on miracles performed within them.,With regard to the statement that forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people, the Gemara asks: b Is there no one else? Isn’t it written /b with regard to Samuel’s father, Elkanah: b “And there was a certain [ i eḥad /i ] man from Ramathaim-zophim” /b (I Samuel 1:1), which is expounded as follows to indicate that Elkanah was a prophet: He was b one [ i eḥad /i ] of two hundred [ i mata’im /i ] prophets [ i tzofim /i ] who prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people. /b If so, why was it stated here that there were only forty-eight prophets?,The Gemara answers: In fact, b there were more /b prophets, b as it is taught /b in a i baraita /i : b Many prophets arose for the Jewish people, /b numbering b double the /b number of Israelites b who left Egypt. However, /b only a portion of the prophecies were recorded, because only b prophecy that was needed for /b future b generations was written /b down in the Bible for posterity, b but that which was not needed, /b as it was not pertinent to later generations, b was not written. /b Therefore, the fifty-five prophets recorded in the Bible, although not the only prophets of the Jewish people, were the only ones recorded, due to their eternal messages., b Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said /b another explanation of the verse “And there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim”: b A man who comes from two heights [ i ramot /i ] that face [ i tzofot /i ] one another. Rabbi Ḥanin said /b an additional interpretation: b A man who descends from people who stood at the height of [ i rumo /i ] the world. /b The Gemara asks: b And who are these /b people? The Gemara answers: These are the b sons of Korah, as it is written: “But the sons of Korah did not die” /b (Numbers 26:11), and with regard to them b it is taught in the name of our teacher, /b Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: A high b place was set aside for them in Gehenna, /b as the sons of Korah repented in their hearts, and were consequently not propelled very far down in Gehenna when the earth opened to swallow Korah and his followers; b and they stood on /b this high place and sung to the Lord. They alone stood at the height of the lower world.,§ The Gemara asks with regard to the prophetesses recorded in the i baraita /i : b Who were the seven prophetesses? /b The Gemara answers: b Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. /b The Gemara offers textual support: b Sarah, as it is written: /b “Haran, b the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah” /b (Genesis 11:29). b And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Iscah is /b in fact b Sarah. And why was she called Iscah? For she saw [ i sakhta /i ] by means of divine inspiration, as it is stated: “In all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice” /b (Genesis 21:12). b Alternatively, /b Sarah was also called b Iscah, for all gazed [ i sokhin /i ] upon her beauty. /b , b Miriam /b was a prophetess, b as it is written /b explicitly: b “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took /b a timbrel in her hand” (Exodus 15:20). The Gemara asks: Was she the sister only of Aaron, b and not the sister of Moses? /b Why does the verse mention only one of her brothers? b Rav Naḥman said /b that b Rav said: For she prophesied when she was the sister of Aaron, /b i.e., she prophesied since her youth, even before Moses was born, b and she would say: My mother is destined to bear a son who will deliver the Jewish people /b to salvation. b And at the time when /b Moses b was born the entire house was filled with light, /b and b her father stood and kissed her on the head, /b and b said to her: My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled. /b , b But once /b Moses b was cast into the river, her father arose and rapped her on the head, saying to her: My daughter, where is your prophecy /b now, as it looked as though the young Moses would soon meet his end. b This is /b the meaning of b that /b which b is written /b with regard to Miriam’s watching Moses in the river: b “And his sister stood at a distance to know /b what would be done to him” b ( /b Exodus 2:4), i.e., b to know what would be with the end of her prophecy, /b as she had prophesied that her brother was destined to be the savior of the Jewish people., b Deborah /b was a prophetess, b as it is written /b explicitly: b “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth” /b (Judges 4:4). The Gemara asks: b What is /b the meaning of b “the wife of Lappidoth”? /b The Gemara answers: b For she used to make wicks for the Sanctuary, /b and due to the flames [ i lappidot /i ] on these wicks she was called the wife of Lappidoth, literally, a woman of flames.,With regard to Deborah, it says: b “And she sat under a palm tree” /b (Judges 4:5). The Gemara asks: b What is different /b and unique with regard to her sitting b “under a palm tree” /b that there is a need for it to be written? b Rabbi Shimon ben Avshalom said: /b It is b due to /b the prohibition against b being alone together /b with a man. Since men would come before her for judgment, she established for herself a place out in the open and visible to all, in order to avoid a situation in which she would be secluded with a man behind closed doors. b Alternatively, /b the verse means: b Just as a palm tree has only one heart, /b as a palm tree does not send out separate branches, but rather has only one main trunk, b so too, the Jewish people in that generation had only one heart, /b directed b to their Father in Heaven. /b , b Hannah /b was a prophetess, b as it is written: “And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord” /b (I Samuel 2:1), and her words were prophecy, in that she said: b “My horn is exalted,” and not: My pitcher is exalted. /b As, with regard to b David and Solomon, who were anointed /b with oil b from a horn, their kingship continued, /b whereas with regard to b Saul and Jehu, who were anointed /b with oil b from a pitcher, their kingship did not continue. /b This demonstrates that Hannah was a prophetess, as she prophesied that only those anointed with oil from a horn will merit that their kingships continue.,Apropos the song of Hannah, the Gemara further explains her words: b “There is none sacred as the Lord; for there is none beside You [ i biltekha /i ]” /b (I Samuel 2:2). b Rav Yehuda bar Menashya said: Do not read /b it as b i biltekha /i , /b “beside You,” b but rather /b read it as b i levalotekha /i , /b to outlast You. b As the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is unlike the attribute of flesh and blood. /b It is an attribute of man that b his handiwork outlasts him /b and continues to exist even after he dies, b but the Holy One, Blessed be He, outlasts His handiwork, /b as He exists eternally.,Hannah further said: b “Neither is there any rock [ i tzur /i ] like our God” /b (I Samuel 2:1). This can be understood as saying that b there is no artist [ i tzayyar /i ] like our God. /b How is He better than all other artists? b Man fashions a form upon a wall, but is unable to endow it with breath and a soul, /b or fill it with b innards and intestines, whereas the Holy One, Blessed be He, fashions a form /b of a fetus b inside the form /b of its mother, rather than on a flat surface, b and endows it with breath and a soul /b and fills it with b innards and intestines. /b , b Abigail /b was a prophetess, b as it is written: “And it was so, as she rode on the donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain” /b (I Samuel 25:20). The Gemara asks: Why does it say: b “By the covert [ i beseter /i ] of the mountain”? It should have said: From the mountain. /b ,The Gemara answers that in fact this must be understood as an allusion to something else. b Rabba bar Shmuel said: Abigail, /b in her attempt to prevent David from killing her husband Nabal, came to David and questioned him b on account of /b menstrual b blood that comes from the hidden parts [ i setarim /i ] /b of a body. How so? b She took /b a blood-stained cloth b and showed it to him, /b asking him to rule on her status, whether or not she was ritually impure as a menstruating woman. b He said to her: Is blood shown at night? /b One does not examine blood-stained cloths at night, as it is difficult to distinguish between the different shades by candlelight. b She said to him: /b If so, you should also remember another i halakha /i : b Are /b cases of b capital law tried at night? /b Since one does not try capital cases at night, you cannot condemn Nabal to death at night. David b said to her: /b |
