[3a - 45 lines; 3b - 36 lines]
1)[line 5]אל תקרי וַיִּרְאוּ אלא וַיֵּירָאוּAL TIKRI VA'YIR'U ELA V'YERA'U- do not read it "va'Yir'u" - (they saw); rather read it "va'Yera'u" (they were seen)
2a)[line 7]איIY- if; this explanation of Ki also includes Ka'asher (when) and Asher (that)
b)[line 7]דילמאDILMA- perhaps
c)[line 7]אלאELA- rather
d)[line 7]דהאD'HA- because
3)[line 9]לסייחSAYACH- foal, young donkey or horse
4)[line 11]ערדAROD- a wild desert donkey
5)[line 31]תניא כוותיה דרב' יוחנןTANYA KAVASEI D'REBBI YOCHANAN- that is, the Beraisa also supports the opinion of Rebbi Yochanan, as well as that of Rebbi Elazar (TOSFOS DH Tanya; Tosfos explains why the Beraisa needed to bring both sets of verses and Rebbi Elazar's verse alone did not suffice)
3b----------------------------------------3b
6)[line 16]"ויהי בחדש ניסן...""VA'YEHI B'CHODESH NISAN..."- These verses are from Nechemyah 2:1-6.
a)[line 17]יין לפניוYAYIN L'FANAV- wine [was brought] before him
b)[line 18]ולא הייתי רע לפניוV'LO HAYISI RA L'FANAV- I had never before appeared downcast in his presence
c)[line 20]רֹעַ לֵבRO'A LEV- wickedness of the heart (i.e., you are planning to assassinate me by placing poison in this very cup - RASHI on Nechemyah ibid.)
d)[line 24]והשגלSHEGAL- queen
e)[line 25]עד מתי יהיה מַהֲלָכְךָ?AD MASAI YIHEYEH MAHALACHECHA?- (a) When will you travel? (RASHI to Nechemyah 2:6); (b) For how long will you go? (METZUDAS DAVID ibid.)
7)[line 26]"ביום עשרים וארבעה לחדש, בששי; בשנת שתים לדריוש המלך" ... "בשביעי, בעשרים ואחד לחדש, [היה דבר ה' ביד חגי הנביא לאמר]""B'YOM ESRIM V'ARBA'AH LA'CHODESH, BA'SHISHI; BI'SHNAS SHTAYIM L'DARYAVESH HA'MELECH" ... "BA'SHEVI'I, B'ESRIM V'ECHAD LA'CHODESH, [HAYAH DEVAR HASH-M B'YAD CHAGAI HA'NAVI LEIMOR]" - "And it was on twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Daryavesh" ... "In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, [the word of HaSh-m came to Chagai the Navi, saying]" (Chagai 1:15 - 2:1) (THE CONTSTRUCTION OF THE SECOND BEIS HA'MIKDASH BEGINS)
(a)On the date mentioned in the first verse, the spirit of HaSh-m rested on Zerubavel ben Shaltiel (a prince of Yehudah), Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak (the Kohen Gadol), and the rest of the people, and they began to prepare stones and wood for the construction of the second Beis ha'Mikdash.
(b)One month later, on the last day of Sukos (21 Tishrei), Chagai was commanded by Hash-m to tell Zerubavel, Yehoshua Kohen Gadol, and the rest of the people that those who witnessed the first Beis ha'Mikdash will soon realize that the second does not compare with it. Nevertheless, he urged them not to despair, but to build with alacrity.
8)[line 30]"וְשֵׁיצִיא בַּיְתָה דְנָה עַד יוֹם תְּלָתָה לִירַח אֲדָר; דִּי הִיא שְׁנַת שֵׁת לְמַלְכוּת דָּרְיָוֶשׁ מַלְכָּא" ... "וַיָּבֹא יְרוּשָׁלַיִם בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי; הִיא שְׁנַת הַשְּׁבִיעִית לַמֶּלֶךְ""V'SHEITZI BAISAH DENAH AD YOM TELASAH L'YERACH ADAR; DI HI SHNAS SHES L'MALCHUS DARYAVESH MALKA" ... "VA'YAVO YERUSHALAYIM BA'CHODESH HA'CHAMISHI, HI SHNAS HA'SHEVI'IS LA'MELECH" - "This Temple was completed by the third day of the month of Adar; this was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius" ... "And he (Ezra) came to Yerushalayim in the fifth month, which was the seventh year of the king" (Ezra 6:15, 7:8) (THE SECOND BEIS HA'MAKIDASH IS FINALLY COMPLETED)
(a)Although Koresh, king of Medes, authorized the digging of the foundations of the second Beis ha'Mikdash some forty years earlier, the building was subsequently stopped by Koresh himself. It resumed only in the second year of Daryavesh, son of Achashverosh. From that point on, the elders of Yehudah proceeded successfully (as Chagai and Zecharyah prophesied).
(b)The verse here (6:15) refers to the Beis ha'Mikdash's completion four years later, in the sixth year of Daryavesh. It goes on to describe the Chanukas ha'Bayis (the dedication ceremony of the Beis ha'Mikdash) and the Korban Pesach that followed.
(c)In the next chapter, the verse (7:8) describes the arrival of Ezra. When Baruch ben Neriyah died, Ezra ha'Sofer, his disciple, came to join Nechemyah in Eretz Yisrael. He left to Eretz Yisrael from Bavel, accompanied by many returnees who had remained in Bavel, on Rosh Chodesh Nisan of the seventh year of the reign of Daryavesh (one year and one month after the completion of the Beis ha'Mikdash), and he arrived in Yerushalayim in the month of Av.
(d)Described by Chazal as parallel to Moshe Rabeinu in greatness, Ezra immediately took over the leadership of the people and began to instill in them Torah and Yir'as Shamayim.
(e)The question arises as to why Ezra waited so long before joining Zerubavel and Nechemyah in Yerushalayim. Why did he not accompany Zerubavel in the time of Koresh I, or why did he not at least join Mordechai's return to Eretz Yisrael twenty-four years later, when Daryavesh II gave his permission to rebuild the Beis ha'Mikdash?
(f)The Gemara in Megilah (end of 16b) explains that as long as Ezra's Rebbi, Baruch ben Neriyah (who presumably was too old to travel) was still alive, Ezra stayed with him. The Gemara there learns from this that the Mitzvah of Torah study overrides even the construction of the Beis ha'Mikdash.
9)[line 34]הוא ארתחשסתאHU ARTACHSHASTA- That is, the second Daryavesh (son of Queen Esther) was also called Artachshasta and Koresh (TOSFOS DH v'Artachshasta; this is not the same Daryavesh mentioned at the top of the page, according to TOSFOS DH Shnas, who was not a "kosher" king).