[13a - 37 lines; 13b - 44 lines]
**********************GIRSA SECTION*********************
We recommend using the textual changes suggested by the Bach and the marginal notes of the Vilna Shas. This section is devoted to any other important corrections that Acharonim have pointed out in the Gemara, Rashi and Tosfos.
[1] Gemara 13a [line 5]:
The colon should be removed
*******************************************************
1)[line 3]ìà éãçä éãòéä îî÷åîåLO YIDACHEH YEDAYAH MI'MEKOMO- [the Mishmar] of Yedayah should not be removed from its place; that is, the Mishmar will be Yedayah's, and Yehoyariv will not have their own Mishmar, even if they come to Eretz Yisrael later
2)[line 7]"áàãéï áèìú òáéãú áéú àì÷à ãé áéøåùìí [åäåú áèìà òã ùðú úøúéï ìîìëåú ãøéåù îìê ôøñ]""BEIDAYIN BETEILAS AVIDAS BEIS ELAKA DI BI'YERUSHALEM [VA'HAVAS BATLA AD SHNAS TARTEIN L'MALCHUS DARYAVESH MELECH PARAS]" - "Then the work of the house of HaSh-m in Yerushalayim was stopped [and it remained idle until the second year of the kingdom of Daryavesh, King of Persia]" (Ezra 4:24) (THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BEIS HA'MIKDASH IS POSTPONED FOR EIGHTEEN YEARS)
(a)Koresh, King of Persia, granted Zerubavel permission to rebuild the Beis ha'Mikdash, and the construction was already well underway. The numerous enemies of Yisrael, determined to put a stop to the building, sent a strong letter of protest to Koresh in which they "reminded" him how, throughout history, Yisrael subjugated all the other kingdoms. They warned him that if Yisrael would be allowed to rebuild their Temple and have autonomy in their land, they would rebel against him and overthrow him. At that point, Koresh withdrew his permission, and he sent letters to Rachum the secretary, to Shamshai (Haman's son), both of whom lived in Shomron, and to all the nations surrounding Yisrael. These letters corroborated all that had been written in the letter that the enemies of Yisrael had been sent to Koresh, and commanded that the work on the Beis ha'Mikdash must stop immediately.
(b)As soon as Rachum and Shamshai (who were responsible for the letter that had been sent to Koresh) receive the king's response, they rushed to Yerushalayim and forcibly stopped all work on the Beis ha'Mikdash.
(c)The work remained idle for another eighteen years, through the end of the reign of Koresh, the entire reign of Achashverosh, and the two years of Dayavesh the second (son of Esther), who finally gave permission to complete the building of the second Beis ha'Mikdash, seventy years after the exile of Tzidkiyahu and the destruction of the first Beis ha'Mikdash.
3)[line 8]"åùéöéà áéúà ãðà òã éåí úìúà ìéøç àãø ãäéà ùðú ùéú ìîìëåú ãøéåù îìëà""V'SHEITZI BAISA DENA AD YOM TELASA LI'YRACH ADAR, D'HI SHNAS SHEIS L'MALCHUS DARYAVESH MALKA" - "And this house was finished on the third of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Daryavesh, King of Persia" (Ezra 6:15) (THE SECOND BEIS HA'MIKDASH IS FINALLY COMPLETED)
(a)After finding the original order that Koresh issued eighteen years earlier to rebuild the Beis ha'Mikdash, Daryavesh the second (also called Artachshasta) took upon himself to complete what Koresh began. He ordered all of the holy vessels that Nevuchadnetzar had taken to Bavel to be returned to Yerushalayim, and he warned all of Yisrael's enemies to keep away from the construction, and that anyone who interferes with the building would be hanged and his house demolished. He also gave orders that the Kohanim in Yerushalayim should be provided with all the materials necessary for the building to proceed, and that they should be kept in constant supply of whatever animals, flour, wine, and oil they needed to offer sacrifices to HaSh-m. His only personal request was that when they sacrifice to HaSh-m, they should pray on behalf of the king and his sons.
(b)The work proceeded at a fast pace, and took four years to complete. At its completion, the people joyously inaugurated the Beis ha'Mikdash, with the Kohanim performing the Avodah and the Leviyim singing. They brought 100 oxen, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. They brought twelve she-goats as sin-offerings corresponding to the twelve tribes, even though it was only Yehudah and Binyamin who actually returned from exile.
(c)For the first time in seventy years, they brought the Korban Pesach with great joy, enhanced by the encouragement and assistance that they received from Daryavesh, King of Bavel and of Ashur, over which he also ruled.
4)[line 11]"åéáà éøåùìéí áçåãù äçîéùé äéà ùðú äùáéòéú ìîìê""VA'YAVO YERUSHALAYIM BA'CHODESH HA'CHAMISHI HI SHNAS HA'SHEVI'IS LA'MELECH" - "And he (Ezra) arrived in Yerushalayim in the fifth month, that was in the seventh year of the King" (Ezra 7:8) (EZRA ARRIVES IN YERUSHALAYIM)
(a)Ezra arrived in Yerushalayim one year after the completion of the Beis-ha'Mikdash. Many people from Yisrael, Leviyim and Kohanim accompanied him. His success as one of Yisrael's greatest leaders was due to the fact that, as the Pasuk describes him - 'He prepared his heart to seek the Torah of HaSh-m, to perform Mitzvos and to teach Yisrael the statutes and the judgments.'
5)[line 17]"[áòùøéí åçîù ùðä ìâìåúðå áøàù äùðä áòùåø ìçãù] áàøáò òùøä ùðä àçø àùø äëúä äòéø [áòöí äéåí äæä äéúä òìé éã ä' åéáà àúé ùîä]""[B'ESRIM V'CHAMESH SHANAH L'GALUSENU, B'ROSH HASHANAH B'ASOR LA'CHODESH], B'ARBA ESREI SHANAH ACHAR ASHER HUKESAH HA'IR, [B'ETZEM HA'YOM HA'ZEH HAYESAH ALAI YAD HASH-M, VA'YAVEI OSI SHAMAH]" - "[In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month (Yom Kippur)], in the fourteenth year after the city (Yerushalayim) was destroyed, [on this very day the hand of HaSh-m was upon me, and He brought me there]" (Yechezkel 40:1) (YEARS OF GALUS)
6)[line 21]"áï àøáòéí ùðä àðëé áùìç îùä òáã ä' àåúé î÷ãù áøðò ìøâì àú äàøõ åàùá àúå ãáø ëàùø òí ìááé""BEN ARBA'IM SHANAH ANOCHI BI'SHLO'ACH MOSHE EVED HASH-M OSI MI'KADESH BARNE'A L'RAGEL ES HA'ARETZ; VA'ASHEV OSO DAVAR KA'ASHER IM LEVAVI" - "I was forty years old when Moshe the servant of HaSh-m sent me from Kadesh Barne'a to spy out the land; and I returned him word according to what I believed" (Yehoshua 14:7) (KALEV RECALLS MOSHE'S OATH)
(a)Kalev recalls how, when he returned from his spying mission, he spoke well about Eretz Yisrael, when most of his colleagues spoke disparagingly about the land. He said what he believed in his heart, even though this was not what he had told his colleagues (with whom he had pretended to agree).
(b)He now reminds Yehoshua (with whom he had sided on that fateful mission) of Moshe's promise to give him Chevron, the city that he visited alone (to pray for Divine assistance for strength not to succumb to the urge to give in to his colleagues), as a reward for his loyalty.
7)[line 22]"[åòúä äðä äçéä ä' àúé ëàùø ãáø æä àøáòéí åçîù ùðä îàæ ãáø ä' àú äãáø äæä àì îùä àùø äìê éùøàì áîãáø] åòúä äðä àðëé äéåí áï çîù åùîåðéí ùðä""[V'ATAH, HINEI HECHEYAH HASH-M OSI KA'ASHER DIBER, ZEH ARBA'IM V'CHAMESH SHANAH ME'AZ DIBER HASH-M ES HA'DAVAR HA'ZEH EL MOSHE ASHER HALACH YISRAEL B'MIDBAR], V'ATAH HINEI ANOCHI HA'YOM BEN CHAMESH U'SHEMONIM SHANAH" - "[And now, behold HaSh-m has kept me alive these forty-five years, as He said He would, from the time that HaSh-m told this thing to Moshe when Yisrael traveled in the desert]. And now behold I am eighty-five years old today!" (Yehoshua 14:10) (KALEV AGES, BUT REMAINS ROBUST)
(a)Since this was the final portion of land that Yehoshua distributed, it is evident from here that the conquest of Kena'an took seven years. Moshe Rabeinu sent the spies in the second year of the sojourn in the desert, and they spent another thirty-eight years in the desert, plus the seven of conquest, making a total of forty-five years.
(b)Anticipating Yehoshua's response that Kalev was now too old to fight the giants who lived in Chevron and to capture their heavily-fortified cities, Kalev asserts that despite his advanced age he was as strong then as he had been when he spied out the land forty-five years earlier. He was capable both to lead the people into battle and to teach them the tactics of war.
(c)Yehoshua blessed Kalev and gave him Chevron, as he had been promised. It is important to note, however, that Yehoshua did not give him the actual town, which had already been designated as a city of refuge, but only the surrounding area.
8)[line 31]îùùä èìàéí äîáå÷øéïMI'SHISHAH TELA'IM MEVUKARIM (KORBAN TAMID) - there are never less than six checked lambs in the Lishkas ha'Tela'im
(a)The Korban Tamid, a communal offering (Korban Tzibur) consists of two male sheep that were less than one year old. One sheep was offered at dawn and the second sheep was offered in the afternoon, ideally 2 1/2 Halachic hours before sunset. One tenth of an Eifah (approximately 2.16, 2.49 or 4.32 liters, depending upon the differing Halachic opinions) of flour was brought with each sheep as a Minchah (flour offering), which was mixed with one quarter of a Hin (approximately 0.9, 1.04 or 1.8 liters) of hand pressed olive oil. One quarter of a Hin of wine for each sheep was brought as a wine libation (Bamidbar 28:5).
(b)To insure that at least two sheep would be available for the Korban Tamid each day, six sheep were kept in the Lishkas ha'Tela'im, the Chamber of Lambs (TY #43, also known as the Lishkas ha'Korban or Lishkas Tela'ei Korban). The lambs were checked to ensure that they had no Mum (blemish).
13b----------------------------------------13b
9)[line 3]ùèòåï áé÷åø àøáòä éîéíSHE'TA'UN BIKUR ARBA'AH YAMIM- each animal that was designated as a Korban must be checked for four days prior to being brought as a Korban to make sure that it is free from blemishes
10)[line 13]"[åäìåéí äîùøøéí ìëìí ìàñó ìäéîï ìéãúåï åìáðéäí åìàçéäí îìáùéí áåõ áîöìúéí åáðáìéí åëðøåú òîãéí îæøç ìîæáç] åòîäí ëäðéí ìîàä åòùøéí îçööøéí áçööøåú""[VEHA'LEVIYIM HA'MESHORERIM L'CHULAM, L'ASAF, L'HEIMAN LI'YEDUSUN V'LIVNEIHEM VELA'ACHEIHEM MELUBASHIM BUTZ, BI'METZALTAYIM UVI'NEVALIM V'CHINOROS, OMDIM MIZRACH LA'MIZBE'ACH], V'IMAHEM KOHANIM L'ME'AH V'ESRIM MACHTZERIM BA'CHATZOTZEROS" - "[The Leviyim, all of them singers, Asaf, Heiman,Yedusun, together with their sons and kinsmen, all dressed in linen, with cymbals, lyres and harps, standing on the east side of the Mizbe'ach], and with them were 120 Kohanim blowing trumpets" (Divrei ha'Yamim II 5:12) (SHLOMO INAUGURATES THE BEIS-HA'MIKDASH)
See Background to Erchin 11:13.
11)[line 16]"[àñó äøàù åîùðäå æëøéä éòéàì åùîéøîåú åéçéàì åîúúéä åàìéàá åáðéäå åòáã àãí åéòéàì áëìé ðáìéí åáëðøåú] åàñó áîöìúéí îùîéò""[ASAF HA'ROSH, U'MISHNEHU ZECHARYAH, YE'I'EL U'SHMIRAMOS VI'YECHIEL U'MATISYAH VE'ELI'AV U'VENAYAHU V'OVED EDOM VI'IY'IEL BI'CHLEI NEVALIM UV'CHINOROS], V'ASAF BA'METZILTAYIM MASHMI'A" - "[Asaf the chief, his second in command Zecharyah, Ye'iel... with instruments of lyres and harps], and Asaf sounding the cymbals" (Divrei ha'Yamim I 16:5) (DAVID HA'MELECH INAUGURATES THE ARRIVAL OF THE ARON IN YERUSHALAYIM)
(a)David ha'Melech moved the Aron from the house of Oved Edom ha'Giti amidst great pomp and ceremony (see Sotah 35b) to Yerushalayim, where he set it up in a special tent that he erected to house it. To celebrate the occasion, he brought many Olos and Shelamim (on a Bamah Ketanah) in its honor. When he finished, he blessed the people who had participated in the occasion and presented each person with a loaf of bread, a sixth of a bull, and a sixth of a Hin (two Lugin) of wine. He then appointed the Leviyim mentioned in this verse to sing before the Aron, under the leadership of the great musician Asaf. He also appointed Benayahu and Yachaziel the Kohanim to blow the trumpets, as the Torah prescribes.
(b)Each morning, the Leviyim would sing, "Hodu la'HaSh-m Kir'u vi'Shemo" (Divrei ha'Yamim I 16:8-36). This went on for forty-three years, until Shlomo ha'Melech built the Beis ha'Mikdash. The Midrash explains that this chapter (which appears in Tehilim 105 with slightly different wording) was sung by the cows, in praise of HaSh-m's miracles, with which the Pelishtim sent back the Aron after they captured it. This is why David ha'Melech ordered these two paragraphs to be sung, one with the morning Tamid and one with the afternoon Tamid.
(c)Meanwhile, David ha'Melech set up Tzadok ha'Kohen and his fellow Kohanim to bring Korbanos each morning and afternoon in Giv'on, where the Bamah Gedolah was situated.
12)[line 18]òåîãéï òì äãåëïOMDIN AL HA'DUCHAN - standing upon the Duchan
(a)The Duchan was a platform with three steps that was hewn into the stone floor of the Azarah. Each step was half an Amah high and half an Amah wide. The bottom step rose one Amah above Ezras Yisrael. The highest step was level with the floor of Ezras Kohanim. The distance from the beginning of the lowest step until the Mizbe'ach was 11 Amos, all of which was Ezras Kohanim. The Duchan extended for the entire width of the Azarah (135 Amos).
(b)The main purpose of the Duchan was for the Leviyim to stand upon it facing the Sanctuary (their backs to the people) while singing to HaSh-m, when the Kohanim offered the daily obligatory public Korbenos Olah (burnt offerings) or the Shelamim (peace offering) of Shavu'os. They also played musical instruments to accompany the singing.
(c)The Duchan was also used for Birkas Kohanim (see Background to Kidushin 71:17) when there were too many Kohanim standing on the steps of the Heichal, the usual place for Birkas Kohanim. (They would face the people, with their backs towards the sides of the Azarah, in order that their backs should not be turned towards the Heichal.) (Notes of the TIFERES YISRAEL on the Beis ha'Mikdash Diagram TY #25 and TIFERES YISRAEL to Midos 2:6)
13)[line 20]ìéúï úáì áðòéîäLITEN TEVEL BA'NE'IMAH- to put sweetness (lit. spice) into the melody
14)[line 21]åöòøé äìåéíV'TZO'AREI HA'LEVIYIM- and the irritators of the Leviyim
15)[line 23]"[... åéöà äâåøì äøàùåï ìàñó ìéåñó âãìéäå äùðé] äåà åàçéå åáðéå ùðéí òùø""[VA'YETZEI HA'GORAL HA'RISHON L'ASAF, L'YOSEF; GEDALYAHU HA'SHENI], HU V'ECHAV U'VANAV SHNEIM ASAR" - "... The first lot fell upon [the firstborn son of] Asaf, Yosef; Gedalyahu (Yedusun's firstborn son) was the second [lot]; he, together with his kinsmen and his sons, [numbered] twelve" (Divrei ha'Yamim I 25:9) (DAVID ORGANIZES THE KOHANIM AND LEVIYIM INTO SHIFTS)
(a)Having organized the Kohanim (by means of lots) into twenty-four shifts, which served in rotation of one week each, David ha'Melech now arranged the Leviyim in a similar fashion. The reason was so that each group of Leviyim would correspond to a group of Kohanim. The group of Leviyim headed by Yosef corresponded to that of Yehoyariv the Kohen, the group headed by Gedalyahu corresponded to the Kohanim headed by Yedayah, Zakur with Charim, and so on. While the group of Kohanim that served that week brought the Korbanos, the corresponding group of Leviyim either sang or guarded the gates.
(b)There were a total number of 284 Leviyim. Consequently, each group was comprised of twelve.
16)[line 25]"åéòîåã éùåò áðéå åàçéå ÷ãîéàì åáðéå áðé éäåãä ëàçã ìðöç òì òùä äîìàëä ááéú äàìäéí áðé çðãã áðéäí åàçéäí äìåéí""VA'YA'AMOD YESHU'A, BANAV, V'ECHAV KADMI'EL U'VANAV BNEI YEHUDAH K'ECHAD L'NATZE'ACH AL OSEI HA'MELACHAH B'VEIS HA'ELOKIM, BNEI CHENADAD, BENEIHEM VA'ACHEIHEM HA'LEVIYIM" - "Then Yeshu'a, his sons and kinsmen, Kadmi'el and his sons of the children of Yehudah arose as one to direct the workers of the house of HaSh-m [as well as] the sons of Chenadad, their sons and their brothers the Leviyim" (Ezra 3:9) (BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE SECOND BEIS HA'MIKDASH)
(a)In the month of Iyar of the second year after the exiles returned to Yerushalayim with the consent of Koresh, King of Persia, they began to build the foundations of the second Beis ha'Mikdash. To encourage the workers to proceed with the building, Zerubavel ben She'elti'el, Yeshu'a the son of Yehotzadak the Kohen Gadol, and the other communal leaders appointed all the Leviyim who were over twenty years of age to sing in accompaniment to the building. It appears that Yeshu'a himself, together with the other Leviyim mentioned in the verse, joined the singing and playing of instruments, while the Kohanim played the trumpets, as the builders proceeded in their work.
(b)Despite the general atmosphere of rejoicing and thanksgiving, there were many Kohanim and Leviyim, as well as some of the elders of Yisrael, who remembered the magnificence of the first Beis ha'Mikdash, and who realized even at that early stage that the Kavod of the Beis ha'Mikdash that was currently being built did not match that of its predecessor, and they began to weep. Their wailing could be heard from afar, until it drowned the sounds of Simchah emitted by those who had not seen the first Beis ha'Mikdash.
(c)In any event, the current situation did not last, and it was not long before Koresh withdrew his consent to rebuild the Beis ha'Mikdash, and the building was stopped for another eighteen years. See above, entry #2.
17)[line 34]ñåòãé äìåéíSO'ADEI HA'LEVIYIM- the helpers of the Leviyim
18a)[line 35]÷èéï ÷ìééäåKATIN KOLAIHU- their voice is high-pitched
b)[line 35]òá ÷ìééäåAV KOLAIHU- their voice is low-pitched (lit. thick)
19)[line 35]î÷èèéMEKATETEI- sang in a high-pitched tone
PEREK #3 YESH B'ERCHIN
20)[line 38]ùãä àçåæäSEDEI ACHUZAH
(a)A Sedeh Achuzah is a field that came into the possession of its owner's family after the conquest and division of Eretz Yisrael, at the time of Yehoshua bin Nun.
(b)If a person was Makdish (consecrated to the possession of the Beis ha'Mikdash) his Sedeh Achuzah, everyone has the right to redeem it from Hekdesh from that day until Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year. If the Makdish redeems it, he must pay to Hekdesh an additional fifth (of the ensuing total, or a quarter of the original value) of the value of the field. If the Makdish does not redeem his field by Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel year, but rather it is not redeemed, or another person redeems it, it is given to the Mishmar of Kohanim who are on duty at that time (Vayikra 27:15-21).
(c)When redeeming a Sedeh Achuzah from Hekdesh, its "value" is determined according to the fixed endowment value stated in Vayikra 27:16, i.e. 50 silver Shekels for every parcel of land that is normally sown with a Chomer (1 Chomer = 1 Kur = 30 Se'ah or approximately 216, 248.9 or 432 liters, depending upon the differing Halachic opinions) of barley seed (75,000 sq. Amos — see Background to Kidushin 60:17). However, fifty Shekels are given only if the field was redeemed at the beginning of a new Yovel cycle; the amount decreases proportionally with every year that passes until it is less than two years before the next Yovel. At that point, it is once again redeemed for fifty Shekels per Chomer (ibid. 25a).
21)[line 38]ùåø äîåòãSHOR HA'MU'AD
(a)If a person's Shor ha'Mu'ad kills another person, the bull is put to death by stoning (see Background to Bava Kama 40:28) and the owner of the bull is Chayav Misah b'Yedei Shamayim. The owner can redeem himself by paying "Kofer" to the children or heirs of the dead man, as the verse states, "v'Im Kofer Yushas Alav, v'Nasan Pidyon Nafsho" (Shemos 21:30; see Background to Bava Kama 23:22). If the bull intended to kill another animal, and instead killed a person, the bull is not put to death, and the Amora'im argue whether the owner must pay Kofer (Bava Kama 43b-44a).
(b)If one's Shor ha'Mu'ad kills another person's Nochri slave (Eved Kena'ani — see Background to Kidushin 22:16), instead of paying Kofer, he owner of the bull must pay 30 Shekalim (Sela'im) to the slave's master. This payment does not vary with the value of the slave that was killed, and it is therefore deemed a "Kenas" (see Background to Bava Kama 74:5). Therefore, if the owner of the bull admits in court that his bull killed a slave (without having been found guilty through the testimony of witnesses), he is exempt from paying the 30 Shekalim.
22a)[line 39]àåðñONES (ONES)
If a man rapes a girl (between the ages of 12 and 12 1/2, according to Rebbi Meir, or between the ages of 3 and 12 1/2, according to the Chachamim — Kesuvos 29a), he must pay her father a fine of 50 Shekalim, as stated in the Torah (Devarim 22:28). This amount is the equivalent of a Kesuvah (dowry) of a virgin and is in addition to the payments of Pegam, Boshes and Tza'ar (Kesuvos 39a; see Background to Shevuos 33:10:1, 2, 5). The man must also marry the girl and never divorce her, if the girl wishes to be his wife.
b)[line 39]áîôúäMEFATEH (MEFATEH)
If a man seduces a girl (between the ages of 12 and 12 1/2, according to Rebbi Meir, or between the ages of 3 and 12 1/2, according to the Chachamim — Kesuvos 29a), and the girl or her father refuses to let him marry her, or if the man chooses not to marry her, he must give the father of the girl 50 Shekalim. This amount is the equivalent of a Kesuvah of a virgin and is in addition to the payments of Pegam and Boshes (see Background to Shevuos 33:10:1, 5; the seducer does not pay the payment of Tza'ar — Kesuvos 39b). If he chooses to marry her and they consent, the man is not obligated to pay anything to the girl or to her father at the time of the marriage. If he later divorces her, he must give her the Kesuvah of a virgin upon her divorce (Shemos 22:16).
c)[line 39]îåöéà ùí øòMOTZI SHEM RA
If a man marries a Na'arah (a 12 year old girl who has attained physical maturity) who is a Besulah (a virgin who was never married in the past) and, after the Chupah is performed, he falsely accuses her of committing adultery and losing her virginity prior to the Chupah, he receives Malkus (lashes) for his slanderous speech (Devarim 22:18). He must also give her father 100 Shekalim and never divorce her against her will (ibid. 22:19).
23)[line 40]äðàäHA'NA'EH- the handsome one
24)[line 41]äëòåøHA'KA'UR- the ugly one