Arakhin 4A

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Text Excerpt

וגואלין לעולם, אימא במצות ראש השנה נמי לא ליחייבו, קמשמע לן: נהי דליתנהו בהשמטת קרקע בהשמטת כספים ⁠— בשילוח עבדים מיהא איתנהו.

and they may also redeem lands that they sold at any time, i.e., even right after selling the field, and are not bound by the halakhot of the Jubilee Year, one might say that they should also not be obligated to fulfill the mitzva of blowing the shofar on Rosh HaShana. Therefore, the baraita teaches us that this is not the case. This is due to the fact that although priests are not included in the release of land, in any event they are included in the release of money and in the release of slaves in the Jubilee Year. Therefore, the priests are obligated in the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShana.

הכל חייבים במקרא מגילה, כהנים לוים וישראלים. פשיטא! לא צריכא ליבטיל עבודתם, וכדרב יהודה אמר שמואל, דאמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל: כהנים בעבודתם, ולוים בדוכנן, וישראל במעמדן ⁠— מבטלין עבודתם ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה.

§ The Talmud cites another similar baraita: Everyone is obligated in the reading of the Megilla including priests, Levites, and Israelites. The Talmud asks as before: Isn’t that obvious? The Talmud answers: No, it is necessary to teach that they cancel their service in the Temple and come to hear the reading of the Megilla, and this is in accordance with that which Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says. As Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: The priests at their Temple service, and the Levites on their platform in the Temple where they sang the daily psalm, and the Israelites at their non-priestly watches for the offerings of the community, all cancel their service and come to hear the reading of the Megilla.

הכל חייבין בזימון, כהנים לוים וישראלים. פשיטא! לא צריכא, דקאכלי קדשים. סלקא דעתך אמינא: ״ואכלו אותם אשר כפר בהם״ אמר רחמנא, והא כפרה היא.

The Talmud cites yet another similar baraita: Everyone is obligated to form a zimmun and recite Grace after Meals, including priests, Levites, and Israelites. The Talmud asks: Isn’t that obvious? The Talmud answers: No, it is necessary to teach this halakha in a case where the priests partake of sacrificial meat. It might enter your mind to say that since God states in the Torah: “And they should eat those things with which atonement was made” (Exodus 29:33), indicating that the owners of those offerings thereby achieve atonement, and therefore this consumption is an obligatory ritual act to bring about atonement, consequently, it is not considered a social meal requiring one to form a zimmun.

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.