פירוש על מגילה 1:1

מגילה נקראת באחד עשר בשנים עשר – at times on this [day] and at times on that [day] as is explained further on.

Introduction The first mishnah of Megillah teaches that the Megillah might be read on different days, depending on the locality. Tomorrow’s mishnah will explain this in greater detail.

מימות יהושע בן נון קורין בט"ו – as it is written (Esther 9:19): “That is why village Jews, who live in unwalled towns observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar…” And when those in unwalled towns [read the Megillah] on the fourteenth [of Adar], we infer from it that those are in walled cities read on the fifteenth [of Adar]. And this is from the time of Joshua [son of Nun], which we derive by analogy from [the usage of the words] פרזי פרזי . It is written here (Esther 9:19): “village Jews” and it is written there (Deuteronomy 3:5): “…apart from a great number of unwalled towns.” Just as there, [it is] from the time of Joshua, so here too, [it is] from the time of Joshua. And they established that cities surrounded by a wall from the days of Joshua, even though they now lack a wall , should read [the Megillah] on the fifteenth [of Adar] like Shushan/Susa, in order to distribute honor to the Land of Israel that was destroyed during the days of Mordecai and Esther, in order that they [residents in the Land of Israel] would read [the Megillah] like those who live in Shushan and would be considered as if they are walled cities, even though right now they are destroyed. And there would be a reminder to the Land of Israel through this miracle, and since Joshua began to fight with the Amalekites first, as it is written (Exodus 17:14): “[Then the LORD said to Moses,] ‘Inscribe this in a document as a reminder to the, and read it aloud to Joshua: [I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven]!’” Therefore, they mention it [Amalek – the ancestors of Haman] from the days of Joshua.

The Megillah is read on the eleventh, the twelfth, the thirteenth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth [of Adar], never earlier and never later. This section provides all of the possible dates in Adar on which the Megillah might be read. Tomorrow’s mishnah will explain in what situation it might be read on the eleventh, twelfth, or thirteenth.

אלא שהכפרים מקדימין – that is to say, in the aftermath that, those [who live] in walled cities read [the Megillah] on the fifteenth [of Adar] and those who are not in walled cities [read] on the fourteenth [of Adar], everyone is within this principle. So how do we find further [that one can read the Megillah] on the eleventh, the twelfth or on the thirteenth [of Adar]? Rather, those who dwell in villages were given permission to advance their reading to the gathering [i.e., market] day [prior to Purim], on the Monday of the week before the fourteenth [of the month] or the Thursday of the week [before the fourteenth] , which are the gathering day, when the villagers gather together in the villages for judgment, since the Jewish courts sit on Mondays and Thursdays according to the ordinance of Ezra [the Scribe]. Alternatively, the villagers gather together in the cities [that are unwalled] on Mondays and Thursdays to hear the reading of the Torah. But the villagers are not so expert to read [the Torah] and need that it should be read for them by one of the city-dwellers. And the Sages did not trouble them to return and come on the fourteenth [of Adar], in order that they would be free on Purim day to provide for the needs of the festive Purim meal to those who dwell in the cities. And they [the Sages] found a hint for this from the Bible, as it is written (Esther 9:31): “These days of Purim shall be observed at their proper time[s, as Mordecai the Jew – and now Queen Esther – has obligated them to do…” and if Mordecai and Esther had not established anything other than the fourteenth and fifteenth [of Adar] which is written in the Bible, let the verse say, “in their time.” What is the meaning of “at their proper time[s]?” We learn from it two other times/occasions other than those that are written in the Megillah; but it was not necessary for the Bible to include the thirteenth [of Adar] as a day appropriate for reading [the Megillah] since the essence of the miracle [of Purim] was on that day, since on it they [i.e., the Jews] gathered to be avenged of their enemies, whether in Shushan or in the rest of the [one-hundred and twenty-seven] provinces. By force, the Bible only had to include the eleventh and the twelfth [of Adar], and we don’t say that it includes the sixteenth and seventeenth [of Adar] for after the fourteen and fifteenth [of Adar] mentioned in the Megillah, as the Bible states (Esther 9:27): “[to observe these two days] in the manner prescribed/ולא יעבור [and at the proper time each year].”

Cities which have been walled since the days of Joshua ben Nun read on the fifteenth; villages and large towns read on the fourteenth, Esther 9:19 reads, “That is why village Jews, who live in unwalled towns, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and make it a day of merrymaking and feasting, and as a holiday and an occasion for sending gifts to one another.” If Jews in unwalled towns celebrate Purim on the fourteenth, it implies that Jews in walled cities celebrate on another day. This day must be the fifteenth, since in verse 18 the Jews in Shushan rest from their fighting on the fifteenth. The mishnah determines what is a walled city by reference to Joshua, even though Joshua lived hundreds of years before the events of Purim. The mishnah refers back to Joshua because the land of Israel was desolate in the time of Achashverosh and none of its cities were walled. In order to honor Israel, we therefore refer back to the original conquering.

Except that villages move the reading up to the day of gathering. Small villages move the reading up to the Monday or Thursday prior to the fourteenth of Adar. These were the market days, the days on which the court would convene and the days on which the Torah was read. The idea was that on these days the Jews would gather in the larger cities and it would be more possible to have a large celebration than if each individual village had celebrated separately on the fourteenth.