*The words of the wise are as goads … they are given from one shepherd;*¹ and one Shepherd² has uttered them. Therefore they must be saved from a fire.³ A book of the ’aggadta, although not allowed to be written, must nevertheless be saved from a fire. What is the reason? It is a time to work for the Lord; they have made void Thy law.⁴. This implies that when the welfare of the people or the preservation of the Faith requires it, a law may be temporarily suspended.

footnotes: ¹ Eccles. 12, 11. ² [i.e. God; cf. ARN XVIII, 3, p. 105.] ³ Even on the Sabbath. ⁴ Ps. 119, 126, E.V. for the Lord to work

[The sequence of the Sabbath readings] is interrupted⁵ for New Moons, Ḥanukkah, Purim, fasts, ma‘amadoth and the Day of Atonement.⁶

footnotes: ⁵ To make room for the special reading for the particular occasion which replaces it, or is added to it, as explained below. ⁶ In the afternoon service, even when it falls on a Sabbath.

In what manner are the interruptions made if the New Moon or the days of Ḥanukkah fall on a Sabbath? [In the former case] seven persons read the regular Sabbath section while the eighth reads that of the New Moon, viz. the two portions⁷ And on the sabbath day⁸ and *And in your new moons;*⁹ 11-15. and if the first day of Ḥanukkah¹⁰ it was. falls on a Sabbath, seven read [the section] of the Sabbath while the eighth reads, And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made an end¹¹ up to so he made the candlestick.¹² VIII, 5.

footnotes: ⁷ So GRA. V and M read ‘breaks’. ⁸ i.e. the passage Num. 28, 9f which begins with these words. ⁹ The passage ibid. ¹⁰ Or any of the other days. Unlike our present custom, they read the same portion on the Sabbath irrespective of which day of Ḥanukkah ¹¹ Num. 7, 1. ¹² ibid.

[42a] What¹³ 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.¹⁴ The three fast days¹⁵ 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 Purim¹⁶ on account of [the victory over] Nicanor and his associates,¹⁷ [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.

footnotes: ¹³ From here to Then came Amalek ¹⁴ Ex. 17, 8-16. ¹⁵ In commemoration of the three days of fasting ordained by Mordecai and Esther (Esth. 4, 16). ¹⁶ Not, as others, before it. ¹⁷ This occurred on the thirteenth of Adar, the day before Purim

[What was the procedure in the case of] ma‘amadoth? As it was taught:¹⁸ The men of the ma‘amadoth used to fast [as follows]: On every Monday for the sake of those who sail on the sea, as it is written, *And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters;*¹⁹ is a call to prayer on behalf of those who sail over the sea. on Tuesdays for the sake of wayfarers, as it is written, *And God said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together;*²⁰ 9, which is followed by And let the dry land appear. on Wednesdays for the sake of children that they should not be attacked by croup, as it is written, And God said: Let there be lights,²¹ 14, children being to the home what the heavenly luminaries are to the world. the written form being defective;²² is missing in the noun מארת (lights). on Thursdays they fasted for the sake of pregnant women and nursing mothers that they should not lose their children, as it is said, And God said: Let the waters swarm with swarms.²³ 20, followed by living creatures (ibid.). On the Sabbath eve and at the conclusion of the Sabbath²⁴ they did not fast from respect for the Sabbath. Some declare²⁵ that at the twilight of the Sabbath eve an additional soul is given to every Israelite, and after the Sabbath it is taken from him.²⁶ Another reason²⁷ is that Christians²⁸ should not say, ‘Because we rejoice on the Sunday they fast on it’. The Sages, however, said: In the period of the ma‘amadoth they were not concerned with the hatred of the Christians, but the reason is that it is written He ceased from work wayyinnafash,²⁹. [which is homiletically interpreted] wai ‘al nefesh, ‘Woe for [the loss of the additional] soul’.

footnotes: ¹⁸ [Cf. Ta‘an. 27b (Sonc. ed., p. 145).] ¹⁹ Gen. 1, 6. The mention of water ²⁰ ibid. ²¹ ibid. ²² A waw ²³ ibid. ²⁴ i.e. Sunday, as explicitly mentioned in Ta‘an. 26a (Sonc. ed., pp. 136f). ²⁵ As a reason why they did not fast on Sundays. ²⁶ The body is then weakened, and fasting is held to be too great a hardship. ²⁷ Why there was no fasting on Sunday. ²⁸ So M and H. V has ‘worshippers of stars’, an alteration made because of the censor. ²⁹ Ex. 31, 17, E.V., and rested

On Passover we read from the section of the Festivals in Leviticus;³⁰ on Pentecost *Seven weeks;*³¹ XV, 19—XVI, 17 on the second day of Pentecost; and if it falls on a Sabbath to begin from XIV, 22. on New Year *In the seventh month on the first day of the month;*³² on the Day of Atonement After the death.³³ XVI. On the first day of Tabernacles we read from the section of the Festivals in Leviticus,³⁴ XXII, 26—XXIII, 44. and on the other days of Tabernacles the section of the offerings of the Festival.³⁵

footnotes: ³⁰ Lev. 22, 26—XXIII, 44. ³¹ Deut. 16, 9ff. The present practice is to read ibid. ³² Lev. 23, 23ff. ³³ ibid. ³⁴ ibid. ³⁵ Num. 29, 12ff, on each day the corresponding offering.

On Ḥanukkah we read the section of [the dedication of the altar by] the princes;³⁶ on *Purim, Then came Amalek;*³⁷ on the New Moon, *And in your new moons;*³⁸ at the ma‘amadoth the account of the creation.³⁹ On the fast days of the Ninth of Ab and the last seven days in connection with droughts,⁴⁰ we read the section of the blessings and curses;⁴¹ but on other fast days And Moses besought,⁴² and we read as the hafṭarah Seek ye the Lord.⁴³ Some say that no hafṭarah is to be read, but the people have adopted the custom of reading the hafṭarah.⁴⁴’. There must be no break in the section of curses because it is not proper to end with curses and to begin with curses.⁴⁵

footnotes: ³⁶ Num. 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. ³⁷ Ex. 17, 8-16. ³⁸ Num. 28, 11-15. ³⁹ Gen. 1, 1—II, 3, because it is on account of the Temple service that the heaven and earth were created. ⁴⁰ lit. ‘the shutting up of the rains’. ⁴¹ Lev. 26, 3-46. ⁴² Ex. 32, 11-14, XXXIV, 1-10. ⁴³ Isa. 55, 6—LVI, 8. ⁴⁴ So GRA. V, M and H omit ‘but’ and ‘of reading the hafṭarah ⁴⁵ Cf. above XII, 1.

On Mondays and Thursdays and at the Sabbath afternoon service the regular portion of the week is read, and this is not reckoned as a part of the reading [for the succeeding Sabbath].⁴⁶ [The reason⁴⁷ is] because it is stated, And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Lord,⁴⁸ which implies that it is an ordinance that each [appointed section] shall be read in its season. Hence [the Rabbis] said: [The sequence of the readings] is interrupted for them all—for New Moons, Ḥanukkah, Purim, fasts, ma‘amadoth and the Day of Atonement,⁴⁹ irrespective of whether these occur on a Sabbath, a Monday or Thursday, on which days there exists a regular sequence of readings.⁵⁰ to she’ain. This sequence is interrupted⁵¹ and the [special sections] are read. You cannot, however, say of fasts or ma‘amadoth⁵² that they would fall on a Sabbath in order [to lay down the rule that] the normal sequence of the Sabbath [readings] is interrupted on their account. [For these can interrupt the sequence] of a Monday or Thursday only.

footnotes: ⁴⁶ When it must be repeated. ⁴⁷ For the various readings prescribed above. ⁴⁸ Lev. 23, 44. ⁴⁹ Cf. Rule 2. ⁵⁰ lit. ‘which they read according to order’. H (so N.Y.) has ‘on which they do not read’, etc., changing shehem ⁵¹ lit. ‘that they interrupt’. ⁵² Which can never occur on the Sabbath.

When a New Moon falls on the Sabbath, the eighth person who has to read And on the sabbath day and And in the beginnings of your months⁵³ also reads, as the hafṭarah, Thus said the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east.⁵⁴ prescribed here is included in that of parashath haḥodesh, which is read only once a year, on the Sabbath of the New Moon of Nisan or, if that falls on a week-day, on the Sabbath preceding it. If [the New Moon] falls on a Sunday, he⁵⁵ reads on the Sabbath preceding the New Moon And Jonathan said unto him: To-morrow is the new moon.⁵⁶ On the New Moon itself, three persons read the section of the continual offering. The first person reads, And … spoke,⁵⁷ Command,⁵⁸ 2. And thou shalt say.⁵⁹ 3. The second person reads, The one lamb,⁶⁰ 4. And the tenth part,⁶¹. It is a continual burnt-offering,⁶². And the drink-offering thereof,⁶³ 7. And the other lamb.⁶⁴ 8. This verse is included by GRA and M. The third person repeats and reads, It is a continual burnt-offering, And the drink-offering, And the other lamb, And on the sabbath day,⁶⁵ 9. This and the following verses are added by GRA. This is the burnt-offering of every sabbath.⁶⁶ 10. [The reason for this arrangement is] because [the Rabbis] ruled that it is not permitted to read less than three verses in a section nor⁶⁷ is it permissible to leave unfinished less than three verses at the end of a section.⁶⁸

footnotes: ⁵³ Cf. Rule 3. ⁵⁴ Ezek. 46, 1. The present custom is to read Isa. 66. The hafṭarah ⁵⁵ The eighth person called to the reading. ⁵⁶ 1 Sam. 20, 18-42. ⁵⁷ Num. 28, 1. ⁵⁸ ibid. ⁵⁹ ibid. ⁶⁰ ibid. ⁶¹ ibid. 5 ⁶² ibid. 6 ⁶³ ibid. ⁶⁴ ibid. ⁶⁵ ibid. ⁶⁶ ibid. ⁶⁷ So GRA. V, M and H read ‘and some say’. ⁶⁸ The sections under discussion are the following: Num. 28, 1-8, 9f, 11-15.

⁶⁹ If two verses were read,⁷⁰ (Num. 28, 9f), which consists of only two verses. and another section was begun,⁷¹ (ibid. 11-15). there must be no stop before three verses of the latter were read. And since [the third person] reads, … burnt-offering, And the drink-offering thereof, And the other lamb, And on the sabbath day, This is the burnt-offering of … sabbath,⁷² 6-10. it follows that the third person reads five verses,⁷³ while [the next] one reads the whole section of the New Moon, And in the beginnings of your months.⁷⁴ 11-15.

footnotes: ⁶⁹ The text according to GRA is followed. ⁷⁰ As with the section, And on the sabbath day ⁷¹ e.g., And in the beginnings of your months ⁷² ibid. ⁷³ So GRA. V, M and H have ‘four’. ⁷⁴ ibid.

On the New Moon it is necessary to say after May the glory⁷⁵ the following: The Lord reigneth,⁷⁶ *O sing unto the Lord a new song;*⁷⁷ and after that, O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name⁷⁸ and the six daily psalms;⁷⁹ for⁸⁰ R. Jose said, ‘May my lot be among those who include in their daily prayers⁸¹ those six psalms’. It has also been stated: Why did David mention Abraham, Isaac and Jacob⁸² in the psalm beginning, O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name? Because it has to be said daily.

footnotes: ⁷⁵ Ps. 104, 31. The reference is to the collection of verses beginning with these words (cf. P.B., pp. 28f) or to the whole of Ps. 104 which is added now to the daily Psalm at the end of the morning service of the New Moon. ⁷⁶ Ps. 93. ⁷⁷ Ps. 98. From ‘on the New Moon’ to ‘ a new song’ is the reading of GRA. V, M and H begin with ‘but’, omit ‘on the New Moon’, and conclude with ‘according to the words of the Scribes’. ⁷⁸ 1 Chron. 16, 8-36. ⁷⁹ Pss. CXLV to CL. ⁸⁰ So according to M. V and H read ‘and’. ⁸¹ lit. ‘those who pray’. ⁸² So GRA. V, M and H read ‘priests, Levites and Israelites’.