More Discussions for this daf
1. Women's obligation in Parshas Zachor 2. Question on Rashi and Tosfos 3. Megilah 004: Reason Why Kfarim Move Forward to Yom ha'Kenisah
4. Reading Megilah on Shabbos 5. Kefarim at the Yom ha'Kenisah 6. Bnei ha'Kefarim on Yom ha'Kenisah
7. Gezeirah d'Rabah 8. Reading Megilah on Shabbos 9. Rebbi Yossi or Rebbi?
10. Rabah's decree 11. Reason why Kfarim can bring forward to Yom Haknisah 12. Women's obligation in Megilah
13. Women's obligation in Sukah 14. Learning the Halachos of Purim on Shabbos 15. Women & Megilah
16. Yom ha'Kenisah 17. Tosfos' Shitah of saying Birchas Zman 18. Who built Lod and Ono?
19. יום הכניסה
DAF DISCUSSIONS - MEGILAH 4

danny fad asked:

Thank you!

I am having a hard time to understand the life of the small villages in those days..who came in on Mon and Thursdays? Who didn't and why/why not? Beis Din? Krias Hatora? Business? If one didn't come in Mon & Thu does it mean they weren't particular on Krias Hatora/Beis din? Or did they have the means in their village? Could it be some villages could read the Torah but not the Megilla? Even if they came for the Beis din, who came just the people in the dispute or the whole village? Is that enough to think they would come EVERY Mon and Thursday? How many disputes could there be?

Is there a Sefer you can recommend which describes the life of the villages, that can elucidate all the points above?

Thanks Again

Daniel

The Kollel replies:

Presumably the villagers came into the larger towns for Keri'as ha'Torah. Keri'as ha'Torah was established on Mondays and Thursdays, as described in Bava Kama 82a and Tosfos there. Since the people came into the cities for Keri'as ha'Torah on those days, it was also established that Beis Din convene on those days, so that whoever needed could avail themselves of the services of Beis Din when they came to hear Keri'as ha'Torah. (The convening of Beis Din was done whether or not disputes came before them -- the three Dayanim merely sat together in the same Beis Midrash on those two days, and if there were any disputes that needed to be settled, then they were available to settle them.)

If one did not go into the city to hear Keri'as ha'Torah, then that is comparable to one who does not go to Shul today to hear Keri'as ha'Torah.

We do not know of any Sefer that describes the life of the villages of ancient times.

D. Zupnik, Y. Shaw