## Taanit Daf 27b

###### Taanit 27b:1
[Taanit 27b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:1)

וְחִלְּקוּם וְהֶעֱמִידוּם עַל עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה, בְּלָלוּם וּנְתָנוּם בְּקַלְפִּי. בָּא יְדַעְיָה וְנָטַל חֶלְקוֹ וְחֵלֶק חֲבֵרָיו שֵׁשׁ, בָּא חָרִים וְנָטַל חֶלְקוֹ וְחֵלֶק חֲבֵרָיו שֵׁשׁ, וְכֵן פַּשְׁחוּר, וְכֵן אִימֵּר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**and divided them and established them as twenty-four** watches. They achieved this by writing the names of these new twenty-four watches on pieces of paper, **mixing them up, and putting them in a receptacle [*kalfei*]** from which lots were drawn. A representative from the family of **Jedaiah came and drew his portion and the lot of** five **other** watches, for a total of **six. Harim came and** also **drew his portion and the lot of** five **other** watches, a total of **six. And likewise Pashhur, and likewise Immer.**


###### Taanit 27b:2
[Taanit 27b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:2)

וְכֵן הִתְנוּ נְבִיאִים שֶׁבֵּינֵיהֶם: שֶׁאֲפִילּוּ יְהוֹיָרִיב רֹאשׁ מִשְׁמֶרֶת עוֹלֶה — לֹא יִדָּחֶה יְדַעְיָה מִמְּקוֹמוֹ. אֶלָּא יְדַעְיָה עִיקָּר, וִיהוֹיָרִיב טָפֵל לוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And likewise the prophets among them stipulated that even** if the descendants of **Jehoiarib, who** originally **headed the priestly watches, ascended** to Eretz Yisrael, **Jedaiah would not be demoted from its place** as the first of the watches. Rather, the watch of **Jedaiah** would retain **precedence, and Jehoiarib** would be **subordinate to it.**


###### Taanit 27b:3
[Taanit 27b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:3)

וְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁבְּאוֹתוֹ מִשְׁמָר מִתְכַּנְּסִין בְּעָרֵיהֶן וְקוֹרִין בְּמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית. מְנָהָנֵי מִילֵּי? אָמַר רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר אַחָא אָמַר רַב אַסִּי: אִלְמָלֵא מַעֲמָדוֹת לֹא נִתְקַיְּימוּ שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֱלֹהִים בַּמָּה אֵדַע כִּי אִירָשֶׁנָּה״,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna taught: **And the Israelites of that priestly watch assembled in their towns and read the act of Creation.** The Gemara asks: **From where is this matter,** that they must read this specific portion, derived? **Rabbi Ya’akov bar Aḥa said** that **Rav Asi said: Were it not for** the **non-priestly watches** and the Temple service, **heaven and earth would not continue to exist, as it is stated: “And he said: Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?”** (Genesis 15:8).


###### Taanit 27b:4
[Taanit 27b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:4)

אָמַר אַבְרָהָם: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! שֶׁמָּא יִשְׂרָאֵל חוֹטְאִין לְפָנֶיךָ, אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה לָהֶם כְּדוֹר הַמַּבּוּל וּכְדוֹר הַפְּלַגָּה? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָאו. אָמַר לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! הוֹדִיעֵנִי בַּמֶּה אִירָשֶׁנָּה? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: ״קְחָה לִי עֶגְלָה מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת וְעֵז מְשֻׁלֶּשֶׁת וְגוֹ׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara explains this verse. **Abraham said: Master of the Universe, perhaps the Jews** will **sin before You.** Will **You treat them as** You did **the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion,** and destroy them? God **said to him: No.** Abraham **said before** God: **Master of the Universe, tell me, with what shall I inherit it?** How can my descendants ensure that You will maintain the world? God **said to** Abraham: **“Take for Me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old goat,** and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (Genesis 15:9). God was alluding to the offerings, in whose merit the Jewish people, and through them the entire world, will be spared divine punishment.


###### Taanit 27b:5
[Taanit 27b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:5)

אָמַר לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! תִּינַח בִּזְמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּים. בִּזְמַן שֶׁאֵין בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּים מָה תְּהֵא עֲלֵיהֶם? אָמַר לוֹ: כְּבָר תִּקַּנְתִּי לָהֶם סֵדֶר קׇרְבָּנוֹת, בִּזְמַן שֶׁקּוֹרְאִין בָּהֶן לְפָנַי — מַעֲלֶה אֲנִי עֲלֵיהֶם כְּאִילּוּ הִקְרִיבוּם לְפָנַי וַאֲנִי מוֹחֵל לָהֶם עַל כׇּל עֲוֹנוֹתֵיהֶם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Abraham **said before** God: **Master of the Universe,** this **works out well when the Temple is standing,** but **when the Temple is not standing, what will become of them?** God **said to him: I have already enacted for them the order of offerings. When they read them before Me, I will ascribe them** credit **as though they had sacrificed them before Me and I will pardon them for all their transgressions.** Since the offerings ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people and the rest of the world, the act of Creation is read in their honor.


###### Taanit 27b:6
[Taanit 27b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:6)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: אַנְשֵׁי מִשְׁמָר הָיוּ מִתְפַּלְּלִין עַל קׇרְבַּן אֲחֵיהֶם שֶׁיִּתְקַבֵּל בְּרָצוֹן. וְאַנְשֵׁי מַעֲמָד מִתְכַּנְּסִין לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת, וְיוֹשְׁבִין אַרְבַּע תַּעֲנִיּוֹת: בַּשֵּׁנִי בַּשַּׁבָּת, בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי, בָּרְבִיעִי, וּבַחֲמִישִׁי. בַּשֵּׁנִי — עַל יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם. בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי — עַל הוֹלְכֵי מִדְבָּרוֹת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **The Sages taught: The members of the priestly watch would pray for the offerings of their brothers,** the daily offering, **that it should be accepted with favor. And** meanwhile, **the members of** the **non-priestly watch** remained in their towns and would **assemble in the synagogue and observe four fasts: On Monday of** that **week, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and on Thursday. On Monday** they would fast **for seafarers,** that they should be rescued from danger, as the sea was created on Monday. **On Tuesday** they would fast **for those who walk in the desert,** as the dry land was created on Tuesday.


###### Taanit 27b:7
[Taanit 27b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:7)

בָּרְבִיעִי — עַל אַסְכָּרָא שֶׁלֹּא תִּיפּוֹל עַל הַתִּינוֹקוֹת. בַּחֲמִישִׁי — עַל עוּבָּרוֹת וּמֵינִיקוֹת. עוּבָּרוֹת — שֶׁלֹּא יַפִּילוּ, מֵינִיקוֹת — שֶׁיָּנִיקוּ אֶת בְּנֵיהֶם. וּבָעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת לֹא הָיוּ מִתְעַנִּין מִפְּנֵי כְּבוֹד הַשַּׁבָּת, קַל וָחוֹמֶר בַּשַּׁבָּת עַצְמָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**On Wednesday** they would fast **over croup, that it should not befall the children,** as on the fourth day the bodies of light [*me’orot*] were created, a textual allusion to curses [*me’erot*]. **On Thursday** they would fast **for pregnant women and nursing women,** as living beings were first created on this day. For **pregnant women** they would fast **that they should not miscarry,** while for **nursing women** they would fast **that they** should be able to **nurse their children** properly. **And on Shabbat eve they would not fast, in deference to Shabbat,** and ***a fortiori*** they would not fast **on Shabbat itself.**


###### Taanit 27b:8
[Taanit 27b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:8)

בְּאֶחָד בְּשַׁבָּת מַאי טַעְמָא לָא? אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מִפְּנֵי הַנּוֹצְרִים. רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר: מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא שְׁלִישִׁי לַיְצִירָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **What is the reason** that they would **not** fast **on Sunday? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Due to the Christians,** as Sunday is their day of rest, and they would claim that even the Jews ascribe significance to their special day. **Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Because it is the third day after the creation** of man, who was created on Friday, and the third day of recovery from a wound or sickness, in this case one’s very creation, is considered the most painful.


###### Taanit 27b:9
[Taanit 27b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:9)

רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אָמַר: מִפְּנֵי נְשָׁמָה יְתֵירָה, דְּאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: נְשָׁמָה יְתֵירָה נִיתְּנָה בּוֹ בָּאָדָם בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת, בְּמוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת נוֹטְלִין אוֹתָהּ מִמֶּנּוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ״. כֵּיוָן שֶׁשָּׁבַת — וַי אָבְדָה נָפֶשׁ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Reish Lakish said:** They would not fast on Sunday **due to the added soul, as Reish Lakish said: An added soul is given to man on Shabbat eve,** and **at the conclusion of Shabbat it is removed it from him, as it is stated: “He ceased from work and rested** [***vayinafash***]” (Exodus 31:17), which he expounds as follows: **Since one has rested** and Shabbat has passed, **woe for the soul [*vai nefesh*]** that is **lost,** the added soul that each individual relinquishes. Consequently, one is still weak from this loss on Sunday.


###### Taanit 27b:10
[Taanit 27b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:10)

בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן ״בְּרֵאשִׁית״ וִ״יהִי רָקִיעַ״. תָּנָא: ״בְּרֵאשִׁית״ בִּשְׁנַיִם, ״יְהִי רָקִיעַ״ בְּאֶחָד. בִּשְׁלָמָא ״יְהִי רָקִיעַ״ בְּאֶחָד — תְּלָתָא פְּסוּקֵי הָווּ. אֶלָּא ״בְּרֵאשִׁית״ בִּשְׁנַיִם, מַאי טַעְמָא? חַמְשָׁה פְּסוּקֵי הָוַיִין, וְתַנְיָא: הַקּוֹרֵא בַּתּוֹרָה — אַל יִפְחוֹת מִשְּׁלֹשָׁה פְּסוּקִים!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The mishna taught that **on Sunday** they would read the portions starting with: **“In the beginning”** (Genesis 1:1–5) **and “Let there be a firmament”** (Genesis 1:6–8). It **is taught** in a *baraita*: The section: **“In the beginning”** is read **by two** people, while **“Let there be a firmament”** is read **by one.** The Gemara asks: **Granted,** the passage **“Let there be a firmament”** is read **by one** individual, as **it is three verses** long, and one who is called to the Torah reads at least three verses. **However, what is the reason** that the section **“In the beginning”** is read **by two** individuals? It is five verses long, **and it is taught** in a mishna (*Megilla* 22a): **One who reads from the Torah** may **not** read **fewer than three verses.** How, then, are five verses read by two individuals?


###### Taanit 27b:11
[Taanit 27b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:11)

רַב אָמַר: דּוֹלֵג. וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר: פּוֹסֵק. וְרַב דְּאָמַר דּוֹלֵג, מַאי טַעְמָא לָא אָמַר פּוֹסֵק? קָסָבַר: כׇּל פְּסוּקָא דְּלָא פַּסְקֵיהּ מֹשֶׁה — אֲנַן לָא פָּסְקִינַן לֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara cites two answers. **Rav said:** The first reader reads the first three verses, and the second reader **repeats** the last verse read by the first, and continues with the final two verses. **And Shmuel said:** They **split** the middle verse into two, so that each of the pair reads half of it. The Gemara asks: **And** with regard to **Rav, who said** that one **repeats, what is the reason** that **he did not say** they should **split** a verse? The Gemara answers that Rav **maintains** that with regard to **any verse that was not divided by Moses, we do not divide it.**


###### Taanit 27b:12
[Taanit 27b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:12)

וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר פּוֹסֵק, וּמִי פָּסְקִינַן? וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא קָרָא: צַעַר גָּדוֹל הָיָה לִי אֵצֶל רַבִּי חֲנִינָא הַגָּדוֹל וְלֹא הִתִּיר לִי לִפְסוֹק אֶלָּא לְתִינוֹקוֹת שֶׁל בֵּית רַבָּן, הוֹאִיל וּלְהִתְלַמֵּד עֲשׂוּיִן. וּשְׁמוּאֵל — הָתָם טַעְמָא מַאי? מִשּׁוּם דְּלָא אֶפְשָׁר. הָכָא נָמֵי לָא אֶפְשָׁר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And Shmuel said** that one **splits** the middle verse into two. The Gemara asks: **And may one split** a single verse? **But didn’t Rabbi Ḥanina Kara,** the Bible expert, who taught the Bible to schoolchildren, **say: I had great trouble with Rabbi Ḥanina the Great** when I asked him this question, **and he permitted me to split** long verses into two **only for** the benefit of **schoolchildren, since it is performed to** help them **learn. And Shmuel** can respond that **what is the reason there,** in the case of schoolchildren, that it is permitted to split verses? **Because it is not possible** to proceed in any other way. **Here too, it is not possible** for two people to read five verses other than by splitting one of them into two.


###### Taanit 27b:13
[Taanit 27b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:13)

וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר פּוֹסֵק, מַאי טַעְמָא לָא אָמַר דּוֹלֵג? גְּזֵירָה מִשּׁוּם הַנִּכְנָסִין וּגְזֵרָה מִשּׁוּם הַיּוֹצְאִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara questions this last conclusion. **And Shmuel said** that one **splits** the middle verse into two. **What is the reason** that **he did not say** that he **repeats** one of the verses, in accordance with the opinion of Rav? The Gemara explains: It is a rabbinic **decree due to those who enter** the synagogue in the middle of the reading, and **a decree due to those who leave** in the middle. If someone entered or exited in the middle of the reading and heard three full verses, he might think that one of the readers had read fewer than three full verses, which might lead him to conclude that it is permitted to read fewer than three verses.


###### Taanit 27b:14
[Taanit 27b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:14)

מֵיתִיבִי: פָּרָשָׁה שֶׁל שִׁשָּׁה פְּסוּקִים — קוֹרִין אוֹתָהּ בִּשְׁנַיִם, וְשֶׁל חֲמִשָּׁה — בְּיָחִיד. וְאִם הָרִאשׁוֹן קוֹרֵא שְׁלֹשָׁה, הַשֵּׁנִי קוֹרֵא שְׁנַיִם מִפָּרָשָׁה זוֹ וְאֶחָד מִפָּרָשָׁה אַחֶרֶת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים: שְׁלֹשָׁה, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מַתְחִילִין בַּפָּרָשָׁה פָּחוֹת מִשְּׁלֹשָׁה פְּסוּקִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara **raises an objection** from a *baraita*: **A chapter** consisting **of six verses** may **be read by two** individuals, **and** a chapter **of five** verses must be read **by one. And if the first** individual **reads three** verses from the five-verse chapter, **the second** one reads the last **two** verses **of that chapter and one** more from **another chapter. And some say** that **three** verses are read from the next chapter, **as one may not begin to read a chapter** for **fewer than three verses.**


###### Taanit 27b:15
[Taanit 27b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/27b:15)

לְמַאן דְּאָמַר דּוֹלֵג — לִידְלוֹג, וּלְמַאן דְּאָמַר פּוֹסֵק — לִיפְסוֹק! שָׁאנֵי הָתָם,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara explains the objection: **According to the one who said** that they **repeat** the middle verse, **let** the second reader **repeat** a verse here as well. **And according to the one who said** that they **split** a verse, here too, **let** them **split** it. Apparently, the *baraita* contradicts the opinions of both Rav and Shmuel. The Gemara answers: **It is different there,**