daf bit: Megilah 20
Jul. 31st, 2014 09:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioA mishna on today's daf lists things that are to be done "by day", meaning
after sunrise: reading the megilah, circumcision, taking a ritual bath,
sprinkling the waters of purification (after contact with a dead body),
and a woman's counting of days. However, if any of these things are done
after dawn has appeared (which is about an hour before sunrise), it counts
as done. Why these acts in particular? Because in all these cases1 the
scripture describing them says "day" (or "days"): these days shall be
remembered, circumcise on the eighth day, and so on. Why is "day"
accepted from dawn if from sunrise is correct? Because there is
some uncertainty about when vay'hi erev vay'hi voker (and there
was evening and there was morning) begins, precisely. (20a-b)
1 Actually, a footnote notes, immersing in a ritual bath doesn't say that, but it gets carried along by sprinkling, which does and is similar.