Megillah 2

הַקּוֹרֵא אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה לְמַפְרֵעַ, לֹא יָצָא. קְרָאָהּ עַל פֶּה, קְרָאָהּ תַּרְגּוּם, בְּכָל לָשׁוֹן, לֹא יָצָא. אֲבָל קוֹרִין אוֹתָהּ לַלּוֹעֲזוֹת בְּלַעַז. וְהַלּוֹעֵז שֶׁשָּׁמַע אַשּׁוּרִית, יָצָא:

If one reads the Megillah in inverted order he does not fulfill his obligation, it being written (Esther 9:28): "And these days are commemorated and celebrated." Just as celebration cannot be inverted (it being impossible for the fifteenth to precede the fourteenth), so commemoration (the reading of the Megillah) cannot be inverted.] If he reads it by heart, or in Targum, or in any language, he does not fulfill his obligation. [("by heart":), it being written here "commemorated," and, elsewhere (in respect to the eradication of Amalek - Exodus 17:14): "Write this as a commemoration in a book." ("or in Targum, etc.":) This is what is meant: If a Hebrew reads it in Targum, and he does not understand it; or if he reads it in any other language that he does not understand, he does not fulfill his obligation.] But it may be read to those speaking a foreign tongue in their tongue, [so long as it be written in that tongue, so that he not read it by heart.] And if one speaking a foreign tongue hears it in Ashurith, he fulfils his obligation. [Greek is like Ashurith relative to this halachah. It is just that the original Greek has been lost and been forgotten as we wrote above (1:8)].

קְרָאָהּ סֵרוּגִין, וּמִתְנַמְנֵם, יָצָא. הָיָה כוֹתְבָהּ, דּוֹרְשָׁהּ, וּמַגִּיהָהּ, אִם כִּוֵּן לִבּוֹ, יָצָא. וְאִם לָאו, לֹא יָצָא. הָיְתָה כְּתוּבָה בְּסַם, וּבְסִקְרָא, וּבְקוֹמוֹס וּבְקַנְקַנְתּוֹם, עַל הַנְּיָר וְעַל הַדִּפְתְּרָא, לֹא יָצָא, עַד שֶׁתְּהֵא כְּתוּבָה אַשּׁוּרִית, עַל הַסֵּפֶר וּבִדְיוֹ:

If he reads it desultorily [i.e., If he reads a little and pauses, and then reads a little more and pauses again — even if the pause is longer than that required to complete the whole], (or) if he "slumbers" (while reading), he fulfills the obligation. If he copied it, (or) expounded it, or proof-read it, [("If he copied it":) as when it was all written and lying before him, and he copied it (for he does not fulfill his obligation unless he reads from a Megillah which is entirely written)] — if he had intent [to fulfill his obligation with such reading], he fulfills his obligation; if not, he does not fulfill it. If it were written with sam [an herb], sikra [a stone which dyes red], komos [a type of resin], vitriol, on paper, or on diftera [unfinished hide — processed with salt and flour but not with gall nut], he does not fulfill his obligation; but it must be written Ashurith, on a scroll, and in ink.

בֶּן עִיר שֶׁהָלַךְ לִכְרַךְ וּבֶן כְּרַךְ שֶׁהָלַךְ לְעִיר, אִם עָתִיד לַחֲזֹר לִמְקוֹמוֹ, קוֹרֵא כִמְקוֹמוֹ. וְאִם לָאו, קוֹרֵא עִמָּהֶן. וּמֵהֵיכָן קוֹרֵא אָדָם אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה וְיוֹצֵא בָּהּ יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, כֻּלָּהּ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, מֵאִישׁ יְהוּדִי (אסתר ב). רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, מֵאַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה (אסתר ג):

If an unwalled city man [whose time (for reading the Megillah) is the fourteenth], went to a walled city, [whose time is the fifteenth], or a walled city man went to an unwalled city — If he intends to return to his place, he reads as (in) his place; if not, he reads with them. [If he is a walled city man who went to an unwalled city, and he intends to leave the city the night of the fourteenth before dawn — even though he spends the night in the city, since he does not intend to be there in the daytime, he is not even regarded as "unwalled for a day," for which reason he reads in his place on the fifteenth. But if he does not intend to leave there at night, he is "unwalled" for that day. Even though he intends to return the next day or some other day, he is called "unwalled" and reads with them. The same applies to an unwalled city man who went to a walled city. If he intends to return on the night of the fifteenth, he is not "walled for a day," and he reads on the fourteenth, even though he is in the walled city. But if he does not intend to return the night of the fifteenth, he does not read on the fourteenth, but waits and reads with them. This Mishnah is explained thus in the gemara.] And from where must one read (the Megillah) to fulfill his obligation? R. Meir says: (He must read) the whole thing. R. Yehudah says: From (Esther 2:5): "Ish Yehudi." R. Yossi says: From (Ibid. 3:1): "After these things." [The halachah is in accordance with R. Meir.]

הַכֹּל כְּשֵׁרִין לִקְרוֹת אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה, חוּץ מֵחֵרֵשׁ, שׁוֹטֶה, וְקָטָן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה מַכְשִׁיר בְּקָטָן. אֵין קוֹרִין אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה, וְלֹא מָלִין, וְלֹא טוֹבְלִין, וְלֹא מַזִּין, וְכֵן שׁוֹמֶרֶת יוֹם כְּנֶגֶד יוֹם לֹא תִטְבֹּל, עַד שֶׁתָּנֵץ הַחַמָּה. וְכֻלָּן שֶׁעָשׂוּ מִשֶּׁעָלָה עַמּוּד הַשַּׁחַר, כָּשֵׁר:

All [including women] are fit to read the Megillah, except a deaf-mute [(This Mishnah is in accordance with R. Yossi, who says that if one reads and does not "make it heard" to his ears, he has not fulfilled his obligation)], an imbecile, and a minor. R. Yehudah rules it to be fit with a minor. [The halachah is not in accordance with R. Yehudah.] The Megillah is not read, circumcision is not performed, (ritual) immersion is not performed, sprinkling is not performed, and also a woman who observes "day against day" does not immerse until sunrise. And all of them, if they did so at dawn, it is kasher. [("The Megillah is not read":) For one must read the Megillah at night and repeat it in the daytime. And the reading of the daytime is only after sunrise, viz. (Esther 9:28): "And these days are commemorated and celebrated." ("circumcision is not performed":), viz. (Leviticus 12:3): "And on the eighth day he shall circumcise." ("immersion and sprinkling are not performed":) it being written in respect to sprinkling (Numbers 19:19): "And the clean one shall sprinkle on the unclean one on the third day and on the seventh day," and immersion is likened to sprinkling. It is only when he immerses on the seventh day that he must immerse only in the daytime, and we do not say that he may immerse when it gets dark on the night of the seventh, even though the night is the beginning of the day. But after the seventh day has passed, it is permitted to immerse at night. ("a woman who observes 'day against day'":) during the eleven days between one niddah state and the next. If she sees blood on one of those days, she observes the next day (in cleanliness) and immerses that day itself at sunrise. ("if they did so at dawn, it is kasher:") For when the day dawns, it is called "day," viz. (Nechemiah 4:15): "And we did the work … from the dawn until the stars appeared," followed by (Ibid. 16): "…and the night for us was guarding, and the day, work." They said "until sunrise" only to insure that it was not night, for not all are expert in discriminating dawn.]

כָּל הַיּוֹם כָּשֵׁר לִקְרִיאַת הַמְּגִלָּה, וְלִקְרִיאַת הַהַלֵּל, וְלִתְקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר, וְלִנְטִילַת לוּלָב, וְלִתְפִלַּת הַמּוּסָפִין, וְלַמּוּסָפִין, וּלְוִדּוּי הַפָּרִים, וּלְוִדּוּי הַמַּעֲשֵׂר, וּלְוִדּוּי יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, לַסְּמִיכָה, לַשְּׁחִיטָה, לַתְּנוּפָה, לַהַגָּשָׁה, לַקְּמִיצָה וְלַהַקְטָרָה, לַמְּלִיקָה, וְלַקַּבָּלָה, וְלַהַזָּיָה, וּלְהַשְׁקָיַת סוֹטָה, וְלַעֲרִיפַת הָעֶגְלָה, וּלְטַהֲרַת הַמְּצֹרָע:

The entire day (i.e., the daytime) is kasher for: the reading of the Megillah, the reciting of Hallel, the blowing of the shofar, the taking of the lulav, the reciting of the mussaf prayer, the mussaf offering, the confession over the bullocks [the bullock of the anointed high-priest and the bullock of forgetfulness of the congregation, over which confession is made for the sins for which they are brought, the tithe-confession [(Deuteronomy 26:13): "I have removed the holy things from the house, etc."], the confession of Yom Kippur, placing of the hands (s'michah) [(Leviticus 1:4): "And he shall place his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering," slaughtering, lifting (of the omer and of parts of the peace-offering), presentation [First he presents the meal-offering at the southwest corner of the altar; then he takes the fistful], burning [the fistful, which corresponds in the meal-offering to the sprinkling of the blood in sacrifices, and which is kasher only in the daytime, as opposed to the burning of the fats and the limbs, which is kasher the entire night (2:6)], melikah ("pinching" a bird's head), receiving [of the blood in the sprinkling bowl], sprinkling (hazayah) [the sprinkling (on the ark cover) of the blood of bullocks which are burned and of all the inner sin-offerings; and the sprinkling of the blood on the altar is also called "hazayah."], the administering of the sotah's draught, the breaking of the neck of the red heifer, and the cleansing of the leper.

כָּל הַלַּיְלָה כָּשֵׁר לִקְצִירַת הָעֹמֶר וּלְהֶקְטֵר חֲלָבִים וְאֵבָרִים. זֶה הַכְּלָל, דָּבָר שֶׁמִּצְוָתוֹ בַיּוֹם, כָּשֵׁר כָּל הַיּוֹם. דָּבָר שֶׁמִּצְוָתוֹ בַלַּיְלָה, כָּשֵׁר כָּל הַלָּיְלָה:

The entire night is kasher for the harvesting of the omer and the burning of the fats and the limbs [left over from the afternoon tamid, viz. (Leviticus 6:2): "It is the burnt-offering upon its firewood on the altar all the night."] This is the rule: Something whose mitzvah is in the daytime is kasher the entire day, [to include the arranging of the two containers of frankincense placed on the show bread], and something whose mitzvah is at night is kasher the entire night, [to include the eating of the Pesach offering, which is kasher the entire night, the sages having said "until midnight" only to keep one far from transgression.]