[118a - 39 lines; 118b - 52 lines]
1)[line 7]÷ãåù áëåøåú ëîòé÷øàKIDUSH BECHOROS K'ME'IKARA- [it should require] the sanctity of the firstborn as [was the law] originally
2)[line 11]"[åéçðå áðé éùøàì áâìâì] åéòùå àú äôñç (áâìâì) [áàøáòä òùø éåí ìçãù áòøá áòøáåú éøéçå]""[VA'YACHANU VENEI YISRAEL BA'GILGAL] VA'YA'ASU ES HA'PESACH (BA'GILGAL) [B'ARBA'AH ASAR YOM LA'CHODESH BA'EREV B'ARVOS YERICHO]" - "[The Jewish people encamped in Gilgal,] and they brought the Pesach offering [on the late afternoon of the fourteenth of Nisan, in the plains of Yericho]" (Yehoshua 5:10) (THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARRIVE AT GILGAL)
(a)Gilgal was Yisrael's first encampment in Eretz Yisrael. There they set up the Bamah Gedolah, which served as their Mizbe'ach for fourteen years, until they had captured the bulk of the land and distributed it among the tribes. That was when they built the Mishkan in Shiloh.
(b)On that very day, they brought the Korban Pesach. They remained forbidden, however, from eating Chadash (the new produce of Eretz Yisrael) until they brought the Omer two days later. Meanwhile, the Man that fell for the last time on the seventh of Adar (the day Moshe Rabeinu died) lasted for a full forty days.
3)[line 15]òøì î÷áì äæàäAREL MEKABEL HAZA'AH- an uncircumcised man may receive the sprinkling of the Mei Chatas (see Background to Zevachim 78:7). That is, the purifying water and ashes of the Parah Adumah may be sprinkled on a person who is uncircumcised, and this effects purification from Tum'as Mes. (Even though most of the Jewish people had become Tamei in the Midbar and were not circumcised until the 11th of Nisan, they were able to bring the Korban Pesach on the 14th.)
4)[line 18]ôñç åçåáåú ä÷áåò ìäï æîïPESACH V'CHOVOS HA'KAVU'A LAHEN ZEMAN- the Pesach offering and obligatory offerings that have a fixed time [may be brought only a Bamah Gedolah but not on a Bamah Ketanah
5)[line 23]çáéèéïCHAVITIN (MINCHAS CHAVITIN)
See Background to Zevachim 109:3.
6)[line 26]"[åúòìäå òîä ëàùø âîìúå áôøéí ùìùä åàéôä àçú ÷îç åðáì ééï] åúáàäå áéú ä' ùÑÄìåÉ; [åäðòø ðòø]""V'TA'ALEHU IMAH KA'ASHER GEMALTU B'FARIM SHELOSHAH V'EIFAH ACHAS KEMACH V'NEVEL YAYIN] V'TEVI'EHU BEIS HASH-M SHILO [VEHA'NA'AR NA'AR]" - "[And she brought him up with her when she weaned him, with three bulls and one Eifah of flour and a flask of wine,] and she brought him to the House of HaSh-m to Shiloh, [and the boy was very young]" (Shmuel I 1:24) (CHANAH BRINGS SHMUEL TO MISHKAN SHILOH)
(a)When her son Shmuel was born, Chanah informed her husband Elkanah that she would not accompany him to the Mishkan in Shiloh on Yom Tov, as she had done previously, until she had weaned her son.
(b)She intended to bring the Eifah (three Se'ah) of flour as a Minchah, one Se'ah per bull. This would yield three tenths of a Se'ah for each bull, once it had been thoroughly ground, for the rest of his life. The wine would be used for Nesachim.
(c)The verse teaches that Chanah took Shmuel with her to the Mishkan in Shiloh despite his tender age. Moreover, based on the verse that follows, Chazal relate the episode that took place there: the people in the Mishkan sought a Kohen to slaughter the bulls, and the little Shmuel pointed out that Shechitah is an Avodah which may be performed by a Zar, a non-Kohen. They brought Shmuel before Eli, who wanted to sentence him to death for issuing a Halachic ruling in the presence of his Rebbi. Chanah pleaded with Eli and had him retract (although it is unclear how a two-year-old could be Chayav Misah in the first place).
(d)On a more simple level, the commentaries explain that Chanah brought Shmuel to the Mishkan in Shiloh to leave him there to serve HaSh-m (as she had promised she would do). She now brought him to Eli to show him how the Tefilah that he had offered on her behalf had been accepted, and to ask him to swear to look after his young prodigy.
7)[line 31]åäéà äéúä îðåçäV'HI HAYESAH MENUCHAH- and this is the place called "Menuchah" ("resting place") foretold by the Torah. (The SHITAH MEKUBETZES deletes this apparently incongruous sentence. Others explain that this phrase follows as a conclusion from the Gemara's previous statement; i.e. the Mishkan in Shilo was termed "resting place" because it was a stone house, signifying stability.)
118b----------------------------------------118b
8)[line 1]åìå úàðú ùéìäV'LO SA'ANAS SHILOH- ''This is to him at Ta'anas Shiloh.'' There is no such verse in the Torah, but a similar phrase appears (Yehoshua 16:6), which mentions Ta'anas Shiloh as one of the cities of the territory of Efraim.
9)[line 2]îúàðç òìéåMIS'ANACH ALAV- he [who saw Shiloh after it was destroyed] would sigh/moan over it
10)[line 5]ëîìà òéðéäKI'MELO EINEI- for as far as the eye can see
11)[line 11]áé ëðéùúà ãîòåïBEI KENISHTA D'MA'ON- the synagogue of Ma'on, from where one could see Shiloh with an unobstructed view
12)[line 18]åáéú òåìîéíU'VEIS OLAMIM- the Beis Olamim is the Beis ha'Mikdash. It was called by this name, the "Eternal Dwelling," because once it was chosen, it became the permanent dwelling place of the Shechinah. See Background to Zevachim 61:3.
13)[line 22]çã áøà äåä ìéä ìëééìéì åìà îéú÷ïCHAD BARA HAVAH LEI L'CHAYELIL V'LO MITKAN- [Abaye said:] "Kailil (Abaye's father) had one son and he was not as he should be"; i.e. he is deficient in his learning
14)[line 29]îé÷øáï ðçìåú âáé äããéMIKARVAN NACHALOS GABEI HADADEI- [there, in the case of the Beis ha'Mikdash,] the portions of Binyamin and Yehudah were adjacent to each other
15)[line 31]øöåòäRETZU'AH- a strip of land
16)[line 45]"áï àøáòéí ùðä àðëé áùìåç îùä òáã ä' àåúé î÷ãù áøðò ìøâì àú äàøõ; åàùá àåúå ãáø ëàùø òí ìááé""BEN ARBA'IM SHANAH ANOCHI BI'SHELOA'CH MOSHE EVED HASH-M OSI MI'KADESH BARNE'A L'RAGEL ES HA'ARETZ; VA'ASHEV OSO DAVAR KA'ASHER IM LEVAVI" - "I was forty years old when Moshe, the servant of HaSh-m, sent me from Kadesh Barne'a to spy out the land; and I returned to him the word according to what was with my heart" (Yehoshua 14:7) (KALEV REMEMBERS MOSHE'S OATH)
(a)Kalev recalls how, when he returned from his spying mission, he spoke well about Eretz Yisrael even though his colleagues (with the exception of Yehoshua) spoke disparagingly about the land. He ultimately said what he believed in his heart, although this was not what he had told his colleagues, with whom he had pretended to agree.
(b)He now reminds Yehoshua (with whom he had sided on that fateful mission) of Moshe's promise to give him Chevron. This was the city that he visited alone (to pray for Divine assistance for the strength not to succumb to the urge to give in to his colleagues), as a reward for his loyalty.
17)[line 46]"[åòúä äðä äçéä ä' àåúé ëàùø ãáø æä àøáòéí åçîù ùðä îàæ ãáø ä' àú äãáø äæä àì îùä àùø äìê éùøàì áîãáø] åòúä äðä àðëé äéåí áï çîù åùîåðéí ùðä""V'ATAH HINEH HECHEYAH HASH-M OSI KA'ASHER DIBER ZEH ARBA'IM V'CHAMESH SHANAH ME'AZ DIBER HASH-M ES HA'DAVAR HA'ZEH EL MOSHE ASHER HALACH YISRAEL BA'MIDBAR] V'ATAH HINEH ANOCHI HA'YOM BEN CHAMESH U'SHEMONIM SHANAH" - "[And now, behold HaSh-m has kept me alive these forty-five years, as He said He would, from the time that HaSh-m told this thing to Moshe when Yisrael traveled in the desert.] And now, behold I am eighty-five years old today" (Yehoshua 14:10) (KALEV AGES BUT REMAINS STRONG)
(a)This verse is written in the context of the final portion of land that Yehoshua distributed. We can learn from here that the conquest of Kena'an took seven years. Moshe sent the spies in the second year, they spent another thirty-eight in the desert, plus the seven of conquest, making a total of forty-five years.
(b)Anticipating Yehoshua's response that Kalev was now too old to fight the giants who lived in Chevron and to capture their heavily-fortified cities, Kalev states that despite his advanced age he was as strong then as he had been when he spied out the land forty-five years earlier. This was true both with regard to leading the people into battle and to teaching them the tactics of war.
(c)Yehoshua blessed Kalev and gave him Chevron, as Kalev had been promised. It is important to note, however, that he did not give him the actual town, which had already been designated as a city of refuge, but the surrounding area.
18)[line 48]"[áòùøéí åçîù ùðä ìâìúðå áøàù äùðä áòùåø ìçåãù] áàøáò òùøä ùðä àçø àùø äåëúä äòéø [áòöí äéåí äæä äéúä òìé éã ä' åéáà àúé ùîä]""[B'ESRIM V'CHAMESH SHANAH L'GALUSENU B'ROSH HA'SHANAH BE'ASOR LA'CHODESH] B'ARBA ESREH SHANAH ACHAR ASHER HUKESAH HA'IR [B'ETZEM HA'YOM HA'ZEH HAYESAH ALAI YAD HASH-M VA'YAVEI OSI SHAMAH]" - "[In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, on Rosh Hashanah, on the tenth of the month (Yom Kippur)], in the fourteenth year after the city (Yerushalayim) was destroyed, [on this very day the hand of HaSh-m was upon me, and He brought me there]" (Yechezkel 40:1) (YECHEZKEL'S PROPHETIC VISIT TO YERUSHALAYIM)
(a)The Navi mentions "Rosh Hashanah on the tenth of the month." Obviously, Rosh Hashanah does not fall "on the tenth of the month." Rather, it must have been a Yovel year, when the Shofar is blown on Yom Kippur, on the tenth of the month of Tishrei. The Yovel year was due to occur fourteen years after the Churban (twenty-five years after Galus Yechonyah, which took place in the twenty-sixth year of the Yovel, eleven years before the Churban). Yechezkel went into exile together with Galus Yechonyah, and now, many years later, he experienced the current prophecy. (See Background to Erchin 13:3 for a timeline of the events surrounding the Galus.)
(b)In a Divine vision, Yechezkel was now transported to the smitten city and was given a demonstration by an angel of all the details and dimensions of the construction of the final Beis ha'Mikdash in the times of Mashi'ach.
19)[line 49]"åéäé ëäæëéøå àú àøåï äà-ì÷éí [åéôì îòì äëñà àçøðéú áòã éã äùòø åúùáø îôøúå åéîú ëé æ÷ï äàéù åëáã åäåà ùôè àú éùøàì àøáòéí ùðä]""VA'YEHI K'HAZKIRO ES ARON HA'EL-KIM [VA'YIPOL ME'AL HA'KISEI ACHORANIS B'AD YAD HA'SHA'AR, VA'TISHAVER MARAKTO VA'YAMOS, KI ZAKEN HA'ISH V'CHAVED, V'HU SHAFAT ES YISRAEL ARBA'IM SHANAH]" - "And it was when he (the fugitive from the battle-front) mentioned the [capture of the] Aron of HaSh-m, [he (Eli) fell backwards from off his chair at the side of the gate, and his neck-bone broke and he died, for the man was old and weighty. He had judged Yisrael for forty years]" (Shmuel I 4:18) (THE DEATH OF ELI HA'KOHEN)
(a)This was the first (and last) time that Yisrael took the main Aron ha'Kodesh (which Betzalel had made) to war, instead of the temporary Aron which Moshe Rabeinu had made to house the Luchos until Betzalel's Aron was completed. Recovering from their initial terror of having to pit their strength against the G-d of Yisrael, the Pelishtim re-organized themselves and went on to defeat the army of Yisrael. They captured the Aron ha'Kodesh, but it would cause them so much trouble that within the year they would return voluntarily, together with accompanying gifts. They killed 30,000 Jewish troops, including Chofni and Pinchas (the sons of Eli, the Kohen Gadol).
(b)The fugitive mentioned in the verse was Shaul ben Kish (who was destined to become the first king of Yisrael). He seized the Luchos from the hands of Golyas (Goliath) and escaped with them to Eli, to whom he broke the heart-rending news.
(c)Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Pinchas (one of the sons who had just died in battle) was about to give birth when she heard the terrible news. The baby emerged and she died, after calling him "Iy-Chavod," or "no honor," since the Aron had been captured and both her husband and her father-in-law had died.
20)[line 50]"åéäé îéåí ùáú äàøåï á÷øéú éòøéí åéøáå äéîéí åéäéå òùøéí ùðä åéðäå ëì áéú éùøàì àçøé ä'""VA'YEHI MI'YOM SHEVES HA'ARON B'KIRYAS YE'ARIM VA'YIRBU HA'YAMIM VA'YIHEYU ESRIM SHANAH; VA'YINAHU KOL BEIS YISRAEL ACHAREI HASH-M" - "And it was from the day that the Aron was stationed in Kiryas Ye'arim, much time elapsed and became twenty years; and the whole of Yisrael were drawn after [the service of] HaSh-m" (Shmuel I 7:2) (THE PEOPLE COME CLOSER TO HASH-M)
(a)The people's process of repentance were motivated by the harsh punishment that came upon them on account of the sins of Eli's sons. The people also witnessed the way HaSh-m treated the Pelishtim during the period that they held the Aron in captivity.
(b)The twenty years were comprised of the ten years that Shmuel reigned on his own, the year that he shared the leadership with Shaul, the two years that Shaul reigned alone, and seven years into David ha'Melech's reign.