Megillah

If the new moon of Ab falls on a Sabbath the haftarah is [the passage with the verse] ‘Your new moons and your appointed seasons my soul hateth, they are a burden unto me’.1 What is the meaning of ‘they are a burden unto me’? God said: ‘It is not enough for Israel that they sin before Me, but they impose on Me the burden of considering what punishment2 I shall bring upon them". On the Ninth of Ab itself what is the haftarah? — Rab said: ‘[The passage containing], How is she become a harlot’.3 What is the section from the Torah? — It has been taught: Others say, ‘But if ye will not hearken unto me’;4 R. Nathan b. Joseph says, ‘How long will this people despise me’;5 and some say, ‘How long shall I bear with this evil congregation’.6 Abaye said: Nowadays the custom has been adopted of reading [from the Torah] ‘When thou shalt beget children’,7 and for haftarah, ‘I will utterly consume them’.8 ON MA'AMADOTH THE ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION. Whence is this rule derived? — Said R.. Ammi: But for the ma'amadoth, the heaven and earth would not be firmly established, as it says, But for My covenant [which continues] day and night, I had not set the statutes of heaven and earth,9 and it is written, And he said, O Lord God, Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it.10 Said Abraham before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of the Universe, perhaps God forbid, Israel will sin before Thee and Thou wilt do to them as Thou didst to the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Division?11 He answered, Not so. He then said before Him: Sovereign of the Universe, by what shall I know this? He said: Take me a heifer of three years old12 etc. He then said before Him: Sovereign of the Universe, This is very well for the time when the Temple will be standing, but in the time when there will be no Temple what will befall them? He replied to him: I have already fixed for them the order of the sacrifices. Whenever they will read the section dealing with them, I will reckon it as if they were bringing me an offering, and forgive all their inquities. ON FAST DAYS [THE PORTION OF] BLESSINGS AND CURSES IS READ, AND THERE MUST BE NO BREAK IN [THE READING OF] THE CURSES. Whence is this rule derived? — R. Hiyya b. Gamda replied in the name of R. Assi: Because Scripture says, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord.13 Resh Lakish said: It is because a blessing14 should not be said for chastisement. How then is the reader to do? A Tanna taught: He commences his reading with a verse15 before them and concludes it with a verse after them. Said Abaye: This rule was laid down only for the curses in Leviticus, but in the curses in Deuteronomy a break may be made. What is the reason? — In the former Israel are addressed in the plural number and Moses uttered them on behalf of the Almighty;16 in the latter Israel are addressed in the singular, and Moses uttered them in his own name.17 Levi b. Buti was once reading the curses [in Deuteronomy] in the presence of R. Huna hesitatingly. Said R. Huna to him: Do just as you please, the rule [against making a break] applies only to the curses in Leviticus, but in those in Deuteronomy a break may be made. It has been taught: R. Simeon b. Eleazar says: Ezra made a regulation for Israel that they should read the curses in Leviticus before Pentecost and those in Deuteronomy before New Year. What is the reason? — Abaye — or you may also say Resh Lakish said: So that the year may end along with its curses. I grant you that in regard to the curses in Deuteronomy you can say, ‘so that the year should end along with its curses’. But as regards those In Leviticus — is Pentecost a New Year? — Yes; Pentecost is also a New Year, as we have learnt: ‘On Pentecost is the new year for [fruit of] the tree’.18 It has been taught: R. Simeon b. Eleazar says: If old men say to you, throw down’, and young men say to you ‘build up’ throw down and do not build up, because destruction by old men is construction, and construction by boys is destruction; and the example is Rehoboam son of Solomon.19 Our Rabbis taught: The place [in the Torah] where they leave off in the morning service on Sabbath is the place where they begin at Minhah; the place where they leave off at Minhah [on Sabbath] is the place where they begin on Monday; the place where they leave off on Monday is the place where they begin on Thursday; the place where they leave off on Thursday is the place where they begin on the next Sabbath. This is the ruling of R. Meir. R. Judah, however, says that the place where they leave off in the morning service on Sabbath is the place where they begin on [Sabbath] Minah, on Monday, on Thursday, and on the next Sabbath. R. Zera said: The halachah is that the place where they leave off in the morning service on Sabbath is the place where they begin at Minhah, on Monday, on Thursday and on the next Sabbath. Why does he not say, ‘the halachah follows Rabbi Judah’? — you do not wish to continue with the reading of it. 50a.