Friday, February 09, 2007

Daf Yomi: Megillah - A Great Place To Join

because Purim is coming up, and so it is great preparation.

Here is an interesting phenomenon to investigate. Kefar in the Mishna means village, in which one would go early on the day of assembly to the nearby city. Meanwhile, Ayarot Gedolot and Kerachin are large cities and cities. Kerachin only appears modified by haMukafin Choma, thus walled cities, and thus stands opposed to Ayarot Gedolot.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, at least the way he is usually interpreted, appears to use these terms differently. For him, a Kerach, even unmodified, means a walled city. Opposed to that is a Kefar, which is judged an city, rather than village as it meant in the Mishna.

For example:

וא"ר יהושע בן לוי כרך שישב ואח"כ הוקף נידון ככפר מ"ט ואיש כי ימכור בית מושב עיר חומה מושב שהוקף ולבסוף ישב ולא שישב ולבסוף הוקף

I have a solution in mind, but it requires a reinterpretation. Maybe more elaboration after Shabbat.

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