## Megillah Daf 18b

###### Megillah 18b:1
[Megillah 18b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:1)

סֵירוּסִין — לֹא יָצָא. רַבִּי מוּנָא אוֹמֵר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יְהוּדָה: אַף בְּסֵירוּגִין, אִם שָׁהָה כְּדֵי לִגְמוֹר אֶת כּוּלָּהּ — חוֹזֵר לָרֹאשׁ. אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא שֶׁאָמַר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יְהוּדָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
But if he reads it **out of order,** i.e., if he changes the order of the words or verses of the Megilla, **he has not fulfilled** his obligation. **Rabbi Mona said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: Even** when he reads it **at intervals, if he pauses** and interrupts his reading long **enough** for one **to finish** reading **the whole** Megilla during that time, **he must go back to the beginning** and start again. **Rav Yosef said: The *halakha* is in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona,** who **stated** his opinion **in the name of Rabbi Yehuda.**


###### Megillah 18b:2
[Megillah 18b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:2)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי לְרַב יוֹסֵף: כְּדֵי לִגְמוֹר אֶת כּוּלָּהּ — מֵהֵיכָא דְּקָאֵי לְסֵיפָא, אוֹ דִלְמָא: מֵרֵישָׁא לְסֵיפָא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מֵרֵישָׁא לְסֵיפָא, דְּאִם כֵּן, נָתַתָּ דְּבָרֶיךָ לְשִׁיעוּרִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abaye said to Rav Yosef:** When Rabbi Mona said: Long **enough** for one **to finish** reading **the whole** Megilla, did he mean **from** the verse **where he is** now **until the end? Or perhaps** he meant long enough to read the entire Megilla **from the beginning until the end. He said to him:** Rabbi Mona meant **from the beginning until the end,** as **if** it were **so** that he meant from where he paused until the end of the Megilla, **you would be subjecting your statement to the** varying **circumstances** of each case. There would be no standard principle to determine the length of a permitted pause; in each case, depending on where one stopped, it would take a different amount of time to finish the Megilla until the end. And the Sages did not institute measures that are not standardized.


###### Megillah 18b:3
[Megillah 18b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:3)

אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַב: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא. וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר: אֵין הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא. בְּסוּרָא מַתְנוּ הָכִי. בְּפוּמְבְּדִיתָא מַתְנוּ הָכִי: אָמַר רַב כָּהֲנָא אָמַר רַב: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא. וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר: אֵין הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא. רַב בִּיבִי מַתְנִי אִיפְּכָא, רַב אָמַר: אֵין הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא, וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי מוּנָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Abba said** that **Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said: Rav said** that **the *halakha* is in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona, but Shmuel said** that **the *halakha* is not in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona.** The Gemara elaborates: **This is how they taught** the opinions of the Sages **in Sura.** However, **in Pumbedita they taught** it slightly differently, **like this: Rav Kahana said** that **Rav said** that **the *halakha* is in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona, but Shmuel said** that **the *halakha* is not in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona. Rav Beivai taught the opposite: Rav said** that **the *halakha* is not in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona, but Shmuel said** that **the *halakha* is in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Mona.**


###### Megillah 18b:4
[Megillah 18b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:4)

אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: נְקוֹט דְּרַב בִּיבִי בִּידָךְ, דִּשְׁמוּאֵל הוּא דְּחָיֵישׁ לִיחִידָאָה. דִּתְנַן: שׁוֹמֶרֶת יָבָם שֶׁקִּידֵּשׁ אָחִיו אֶת אֲחוֹתָהּ, מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן בְּתִירָה אָמְרוּ, אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: הַמְתֵּן עַד שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה אָחִיךָ הַגָּדוֹל מַעֲשֶׂה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yosef said: Grasp** the version of **Rav Beivai in your hand,** i.e., accept it as the most authoritative one. It appears to be correct, as we know that **Shmuel takes into consideration** even an **individual** dissenting opinion when it is more stringent than the majority opinion. The Gemara proves its assertion about Shmuel: **As we learned** in a mishna (*Yevamot* 41a) with regard to a different matter, the case of a widow whose husband died childless and who was waiting for one of his surviving brothers to perform the required levirate marriage with her or, alternatively, to release her with the *ḥalitza* ceremony: In a case where **a woman** was **waiting for her brother-in-law and** in the meantime one of her deceased husband’s **brothers betrothed** this woman’s **sister, they said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira: We say to** this brother: **Wait** before marrying your betrothed **until your older brother acts,** performing the levirate marriage or *ḥalitza*. The reason for this is that before levirate marriage or *ḥalitza* is performed, all the brothers are considered, by rabbinic decree, to have a quasi-marital connection with the widow. Consequently, just as one may not marry his wife’s sister, he may not marry the sister of a woman who is waiting for him to perform levirate marriage. The Sages, however, disagree with Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira and maintain that only the oldest of the brothers is considered bound to the widow, as he is the primary candidate to perform these acts. Consequently, the widow has no connection at all with the other brothers.


###### Megillah 18b:5
[Megillah 18b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:5)

אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן בְּתִירָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
And **Shmuel said: The *halakha* is in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira.** This demonstrates that Shmuel takes into consideration the opinion of a single Sage against the majority when that minority opinion is more stringent than the majority opinion.


###### Megillah 18b:6
[Megillah 18b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:6)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: הִשְׁמִיט בָּהּ סוֹפֵר אוֹתִיּוֹת אוֹ פְּסוּקִין וּקְרָאָן הַקּוֹרֵא כִּמְתוּרְגְּמָן הַמְתַרְגֵּם — יָצָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: **If the scribe** who wrote the Megilla **omitted letters or** even complete **verses** when he wrote it, **and the reader read** these missing items **as a translator** would do **when translating,** i.e., he recited the missing parts by heart, **he has fulfilled** his obligation. Missing material in a Megilla and reading words or verses by heart do not invalidate the reading.


###### Megillah 18b:7
[Megillah 18b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:7)

מֵיתִיבִי: הָיוּ בָּהּ אוֹתִיּוֹת מְטוּשְׁטָשׁוֹת אוֹ מְקוֹרָעוֹת, אִם רִשּׁוּמָן נִיכָּר — כְּשֵׁרָה, וְאִם לָאו — פְּסוּלָה! לָא קַשְׁיָא: הָא בְּכוּלַּהּ, הָא בְּמִקְצָתַהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara **raises an objection** from another *baraita*: **If** a Megilla **contains letters that are blurred or torn,** the following distinction applies: **If their imprint is** still **visible,** the Megilla **is fit** for reading, **but if not, it is unfit.** This *baraita* indicates that even the omission of several letters invalidates the Megilla. The Gemara resolves the contradiction between the two *baraitot*: **This** is **not difficult. This** second *baraita*, which says that a Megilla with blurred or torn letters is unfit, is referring to a case where this is so throughout **the whole of** the Megilla; whereas **this** first *baraita*, which says that a Megilla is fit even if whole verses are missing, is referring to a case where the missing material is **in** only **part of it.**


###### Megillah 18b:8
[Megillah 18b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:8)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: הִשְׁמִיט בָּהּ הַקּוֹרֵא פָּסוּק אֶחָד, לֹא יֹאמַר: אֶקְרָא אֶת כּוּלָּהּ וְאַחַר כָּךְ אֶקְרָא אוֹתוֹ פָּסוּק, אֶלָּא קוֹרֵא מֵאוֹתוֹ פָּסוּק וְאֵילָךְ. נִכְנַס לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת וּמָצָא צִבּוּר שֶׁקָּרְאוּ חֶצְיָהּ, לֹא יֹאמַר: אֶקְרָא חֶצְיָהּ עִם הַצִּבּוּר וְאַחַר כָּךְ אֶקְרָא חֶצְיָהּ, אֶלָּא קוֹרֵא אוֹתָהּ מִתְּחִילָּתָהּ וְעַד סוֹפָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: **If the reader** of the Megilla **omitted one verse, he may not say: I will** continue to **read the whole of** the Megilla in order, **and afterward I will** go back and **read that verse** that I omitted. **Rather, he must** go back and **read from that verse** that he omitted and continue from there to the end of the Megilla. Similarly, **if one enters a synagogue and encounters a congregation that has** already **read half** of the Megilla, **he may not say: I will read** the second **half of** the Megilla with **the congregation,** and **afterward I will** go back and **read** the first **half. Rather, he must** go back and **read it** in its proper order **from the beginning until the end.**


###### Megillah 18b:9
[Megillah 18b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:9)

מִתְנַמְנֵם יָצָא וְכוּ׳. הֵיכִי דָּמֵי מִתְנַמְנֵם? אָמַר רַב אָשֵׁי: נִים וְלָא נִים, תִּיר וְלָא תִּיר, דְּקָרוּ לֵיהּ וְעָנֵי וְלָא יָדַע לְאַהְדּוֹרֵי סְבָרָא, וְכִי מַדְכְּרוּ לֵיהּ מִידְּכַר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ It is taught in the mishna: If one read the Megilla **while he is dozing off, he has fulfilled his** obligation. The Gemara asks: **What are the circumstances of** the case of **dozing off? Rav Ashi said:** It is referring to a situation in which one is **asleep yet not** fully **asleep, awake yet not** fully **awake. If someone calls him he answers. And he is** in a mental state in which **he does not know** how **to provide** an answer that requires logical **reasoning, but when people remind him** about something that has happened, **he remembers** it.


###### Megillah 18b:10
[Megillah 18b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:10)

הָיָה כּוֹתְבָהּ דּוֹרְשָׁהּ וּמַגִּיהָהּ אִם כִּוֵּון לִבּוֹ יָצָא וְכוּ׳. הֵיכִי דָמֵי? אִי דְּקָא מְסַדַּר פְּסוּקָא פְּסוּקָא וְכָתֵב לַהּ, כִּי כִּוֵּון לִבּוֹ מַאי הָוֵי? עַל פֶּה הוּא! אֶלָּא דְּכָתֵב פְּסוּקָא פְּסוּקָא וְקָרֵי לֵיהּ,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna continues: **If one was writing** a Megilla, **or expounding upon it, or correcting** it, and he read all its words as he was doing so, **if he had intent** to fulfill his obligation with that reading **he has fulfilled** his obligation. The Gemara asks: **What are the circumstances** of this case? **If he was articulating each verse** of the Megilla and then **writing it down, what of it** that **he intended** to fulfill his obligation with that reading, since he recited those words **by heart? Rather,** it must be that **he** first **wrote each verse** in the Megilla **and** then **read it out.**


###### Megillah 18b:11
[Megillah 18b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:11)

וּמִי יָצָא? וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי חֶלְבּוֹ אָמַר רַב חָמָא בַּר גּוּרְיָא אָמַר רַב: הֲלָכָה כְּדִבְרֵי הָאוֹמֵר כּוּלָּהּ. וַאֲפִילּוּ לְמַאן דְּאָמַר ״מֵאִישׁ יְהוּדִי״ — צְרִיכָה שֶׁתְּהֵא כְּתוּבָה כּוּלָּהּ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **But does one** really **fulfill** his obligation in this way? **Didn’t Rabbi Ḥelbo say** that **Rav Ḥama bar Gurya said** that **Rav said: The *halakha* is in accordance with the statement of the one who says** that the Megilla must be read **in its entirety** in order to fulfill one’s obligation. **And** moreover, he said that **even according to the one who said** that one need not read the entire Megilla, but only from **“There was a certain Jew”** (Esther 2:5) and onward, the Megilla itself **must** nevertheless **be written in its entirety.** How, then, can it be suggested that one who is reading each verse as he writes it can fulfill his obligation by reading from a Megilla that is not yet written to the end?


###### Megillah 18b:12
[Megillah 18b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:12)

אֶלָּא: דְּמַנְּחָה מְגִילָּה קַמֵּיהּ וְקָרֵי (לַהּ) מִינַּהּ פְּסוּקָא פְּסוּקָא וְכָתַב לָהּ. לֵימָא מְסַיַּיע לֵיהּ לְרַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה, דְּאָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: אָסוּר לִכְתּוֹב אוֹת אַחַת שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב. דִּלְמָא דְּאִתְרְמִי לֵיהּ אִתְרְמוֹיֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: **Rather,** this is a case in **which a** complete **Megilla is lying before him** and he is copying from it, **and he was reading from** that complete Megilla **verse by verse and** then **writing** each verse **in** his new copy. The Gemara proposes: **Let us say that** this **supports** the opinion of **Rabba bar bar Ḥana, as Rabba bar bar Ḥana said** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is prohibited to write** even **a single letter** of the Bible when **not** copying **from a written text.** Since it was necessary to explain the mishna as addressing a case in which one was copying a Megilla out of a written text lying before him, this supports Rabbi Yoḥanan’s ruling. The Gemara rejects this: This is not a proof, **as perhaps** the mishna is merely dealing with a case **where this is what happened to be** what occurred, that one happened to be copying the text from an existing Megilla, but it is not a requirement to do this.


###### Megillah 18b:13
[Megillah 18b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:13)

גּוּפָא, אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: אָסוּר לִכְתּוֹב אוֹת אַחַת שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב. מֵיתִיבִי, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר שֶׁהָלַךְ לְעַבֵּר שָׁנָה בְּעַסְיָא, וְלֹא הָיָה שָׁם מְגִילָּה וּכְתָבָהּ מִלִּבּוֹ — וּקְרָאָהּ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara examines Rabba bar bar Ḥana’s statement. With regard to **the** matter **itself, Rabba bar bar Ḥana said** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is prohibited to write** even **a single letter** of the Bible when **not** copying **from a written text.** The Gemara **raises an objection** from a *baraita*: **Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said:** One Adar there was **an incident involving Rabbi Meir, who went to intercalate the year in Asia** Minor, as, owing to persecutory decrees, he could not do this in Eretz Yisrael. **And there was no** Megilla **there** when Purim arrived, **so he wrote** a Megilla **by heart and read** from **it.**


###### Megillah 18b:14
[Megillah 18b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:14)

אָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: שָׁאנֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר דְּמִיקַּיַּים בֵּיהּ ״וְעַפְעַפֶּיךָ יַיְשִׁירוּ נֶגְדְּךָ״. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רָמֵי בַּר חָמָא לְרַבִּי יִרְמְיָה מִדִּפְתִּי: מַאי ״וְעַפְעַפֶּיךָ יַיְשִׁירוּ נֶגְדְּךָ״? אָמַר לוֹ: אֵלּוּ דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, דִּכְתִיב בְּהוּ: ״הֲתָעִיף עֵינֶיךָ בּוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ״, וַאֲפִילּוּ הָכִי מְיוּשָּׁרִין הֵן אֵצֶל רַבִּי מֵאִיר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Abbahu said: Rabbi Meir is different, as in him is fulfilled** the verse: **“And let your eyelids look straight before you”** (Proverbs 4:25), and with regard to this verse, **Rami bar Ḥama said to Rabbi Yirmeya of Difti: What is** the meaning of the phrase **“and let your eyelids** [***afapekha*],”** from the root *a-p-p*, **“look straight** [***yaishiru***] **before you”? He said to him: This is referring to the words of the Torah,** which are difficult to remember exactly, **and with regard to which it is written: “Will you glance upon it fleetingly** [***hata’if* ],** from the root *a-p-p*, **with your eyes? It is already gone”** (Proverbs 23:5), **but nevertheless they remain exact** [***meyusharin***] in the memory of **Rabbi Meir,** since he knows them all by heart.


###### Megillah 18b:15
[Megillah 18b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:15)

רַב חִסְדָּא אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ לְרַב חֲנַנְאֵל דַּהֲוָה כָּתֵב סְפָרִים שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: רְאוּיָה כׇּל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ לִיכָּתֵב עַל פִּיךְ, אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים: אָסוּר לִכְתּוֹב אוֹת אַחַת שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב. מִדְּקָאָמַר: כׇּל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ רְאוּיָה שֶׁתִּיכָּתֵב עַל פִּיךְ, מִכְּלָל דִּמְיוּשָּׁרִין הֵן אֶצְלוֹ, וְהָא רַבִּי מֵאִיר כָּתַב? שְׁעַת הַדְּחָק שָׁאנֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
It was related that **Rav Ḥisda** once **found Rav Ḥananel writing** Torah **scrolls,** but he was **not** copying them **from a written text,** as he knew it all by heart. **He said to him: It is fitting** for **the entire Torah to be written by your mouth,** i.e., relying on your memory, **but this is what the Sages said: It is prohibited to write** even **a single letter** of the Bible when **not** copying **from a written text.** The Gemara asks: **Since** Rav Ḥisda **said** to him: **The entire Torah is fitting to be written by your mouth,** it may be concluded **by inference that** the words of the Torah **were exact in his memory,** i.e., that Rav Ḥananel enjoyed total mastery of the text. **But didn’t** we say that **Rabbi Meir wrote** a Megilla without copying from a text due to similar proficiency? The Gemara answers: **A time of exigent circumstances is different;** since there was no other option available, he was permitted to rely on his expertise, but otherwise this must not be done.


###### Megillah 18b:16
[Megillah 18b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:16)

אַבָּיֵי שְׁרָא לִדְבֵי בַּר חָבוּ לְמִיכְתַּב תְּפִלִּין וּמְזוּזוֹת שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב. כְּמַאן? כִּי הַאי תַּנָּא, דְּתַנְיָא: רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה אוֹמֵר מִשּׁוּם רַבֵּינוּ: תְּפִלִּין וּמְזוּזוֹת נִכְתָּבוֹת שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב, וְאֵין צְרִיכוֹת שִׂרְטוּט.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
It was further related that **Abaye permitted** the scribes of **the house of ben Ḥavu to write phylacteries and *mezuzot*** when they were **not** copying **from a** pre-existing **text.** The Gemara asks: **In accordance with whose** opinion did he issue this allowance? The Gemara explains: **In accordance with** the opinion of **the following *tanna*, as it is taught** in a *baraita*: **Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of our master,** Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: **Phylacteries and *mezuzot* may be written** when they are **not** copied **from a written text, and they do not require scoring,** i.e., the parchment is not required to have lines etched in it.


###### Megillah 18b:17
[Megillah 18b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:17)

וְהִלְכְתָא: תְּפִלִּין אֵין צְרִיכִין שִׂרְטוּט, מְזוּזוֹת צְרִיכִין שִׂרְטוּט. אִידֵּי וְאִידֵּי נִכְתָּבוֹת שֶׁלֹּא מִן הַכְּתָב. מַאי טַעְמָא — מִיגְרָס גְּרִיסִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara concludes: **And the *halakha* is** as follows: **Phylacteries do not require scoring,** whereas ***mezuzot* require scoring.** And unlike biblical books, **both these and those,** phylacteries and *mezuzot*, may be **written** when the scribe is **not** copying **from a written text. What is the reason** for this exception? **These** short texts **are well known** to all scribes, and therefore it is permitted to write them by heart.


###### Megillah 18b:18
[Megillah 18b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Megillah/r/18b:18)

הָיְתָה כְּתוּבָה בְּסַם כּוּ׳. סַם — סַמָּא. סִקְרָא, אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה: סְקַרְתָּא שְׁמַהּ. קוֹמוֹס — קוֹמָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna teaches: If one reads from a Megilla that **was written with *sam*** or with *sikra* or with *komos* or with *kankantom*, he has not fulfilled his obligation. The Gemara identifies these writing materials: ***Sam*** is what is called in Aramaic ***samma*.** With regard to ***sikra*, Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: Its name** in Aramaic is ***sikreta*,** a type of red paint. ***Komos*** is what is called ***koma*,** a tree resin.