Study Megillah folio 3B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מלמד שלן בעומקה של הלכה. ואמר רב שמואל בר אוניא: גדול תלמוד תורה יותר מהקרבת תמידין, שנאמר: ״עתה באתי״!
This teaches that he spent the night in the depths [be’umeka] of halakha, i.e., that he spent the night studying Torah with the Jewish people. And Rav Shmuel bar Unya said: Torah study is greater than sacrificing the daily offerings, as it is stated: “I have come now” (Joshua 5:14), indicating that the angel came to rebuke Joshua for neglecting Torah study and not for neglecting the daily offering. Consequently, how did the rabbis of the house of R' Yehuda HaNasi determine that the Temple service is more important than Torah study?
לא קשיא: הא דרבים, והא דיחיד.
The Talmud explains that it is not difficult. This statement, with regard to the story of Joshua, is referring to Torah study by the masses, which is greater than the Temple service. That statement of the rabbis of the house of R' Yehuda HaNasi is referring to Torah study by an individual, which is less significant than the Temple service.
ודיחיד קל? והתנן: נשים במועד מענות אבל לא מטפחות, רבי ישמעאל אומר: אם היו סמוכות למטה — מטפחות. בראשי חדשים בחנוכה ובפורים, מענות ומטפחות בזה ובזה, אבל לא מקוננות.
The Talmud asks: Is the Torah study of an individual a light matter? Didn’t we learn in a Mishnah: On the intermediate days of a Festival, women may lament the demise of the deceased in unison, but they may not clap their hands in mourning? R' Yishmael says: Those that are close to the bier may clap. On Rosh Chodesh, on Hanukkah, and on Purim, which are not mandated by Torah law, they may both lament and clap their hands in mourning. However, on both groups of days, they may not wail responsively, a form of wailing where one woman wails and the others repeat after her.