ב׳ דבראשית צריך ארבע תגין ופשוטין אותיותיו של תיבה מן כל האותיות שהיא תקום לעולם: On the beth of bereshith1Gen. 1, 1 the first word of the Pentateuch. there must be four crownlets,2Short upward strokes on the top of the letter. and the letters3Some eds. read ‘letter’ in the singular, and the general practice is to enlarge only the beth. of the word must be extended above all the other letters, because by its means4This idea is also expressed in ’Othioth deRabbi ‘Aḳiba, quoted by M (p. 131): The world was created by means of the letter beth. the world came into existence.5So M. V reads, ‘for it (the world) will exist for ever’, the beth representing berakah (blessing). [Cf. Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, I, §9 (Sonc. ed., p. 9).]
וי"ו דגחון (ויקרא יא) צריך להיות זקוף שהיא חצי אותיות של תורה דרש דרש (שם י) חצי תיבות של תורה דרש בסוף שיטה דרש בראש שיטה: The waw of gaḥon6Lev. 11, 42, belly. must be enlarged,7lit. ‘upright, erect’. because it is the middle of the letters of the Torah;8The number of letters from the beginning of the Pentateuch to the waw of gaḥon equals the number from the waw to the end. darosh darash9ibid. X, 16, diligently inquired. is the middle of the words of the Torah. Darosh is written at the end of the line10Indicating the end of the first half of the number of words. and darash at the beginning of the next line.11Marking the beginning of the second half of the number of words.
וישחט (שם ח) צריך להיות פשוט שהוא חצי הפסוקים של תורה: Wayyishḥṭ12And when it was slain; it is uncertain whether this refers to Lev. 8, 15 (N.Y.) or ibid. 23 (M) both of which begin with the same word. must be enlarged,13According to M and H only the ḥeth of the word, it being also the initial of ḥaẓi (half), is to be enlarged. because it is half of the verses of the Torah.14In Ḳid. 30a (Sonc. ed., p. 144) wehithgallaḥ (Lev. 13, 33, then he shall be shaven) is given as the middle of the verses and, according to the Masorah, its gimel is to be enlarged. On the number of verses opinions differ. It is variously computed as 5,844, 5,845, 5,885 and 5,888.
שמע ישראל (דברים ו) צריך לכתבו בראש השיטה וכל אותיותיו פשוטין ואחד צריך שיהא בסוף השיטה: Shema‘ Yisra’el15Deut. 6, 4, Hear, O Israel. must be written at the beginning of a line, and all its letters are to be enlarged,16According to the Masorah only the ‘ayin of Shema‘ is enlarged. while ’eḥad17ibid., one. must come at the end of [the same] line.18The final letter of the word is also enlarged according to the Masorah.
למד דוישליכם (שם כט) צריך שיהא ארוך: The lamed of wayyashlikem19Deut. 29, 27, and cast them. must be long.20i.e. longer than the other letters. By its elongation, the lamed is treated as the beginning of a word consisting of it and the following two letters, LaKem which means ‘to you’, implying homiletically God’s promise, ‘I will be a God to you even after you have been cast into another land’.
ה׳ דהלה׳ (שם לב) צריך להיות פשוט מכל ה"י שיהא תיבה בפני עצמה: The he of haladonai21ibid. XXXII, 6, do … the Lord. must be longer than any other he, because it is22So GRA. V reads, ‘so that it shall form’. [N.Y. gives the meaning, ‘as though it were’, viz. the initial of הוי, ‘alas’; cf. Midrash Rabbah, Exodus, Sonc. ed., p. 294, n. 1.] a word on its own.
יו"ד של תשי (שם) צריך להיות קטן מכל יו"ד שבמקרא [יו"ד של יגדל] (במדבר יד) צריך להיות גדול שהוא אותיות שבמקרא ישראל שבסוף התורה צריך להיות פשוט ולמ"ד שלו צריך להיות זקוף מכל הלמ"ד: The yod of teshi23Deut. 32, 18, thou wast unmindful. must be smaller than any yod in the Scriptures. The yod of yigdal24Num. 14, 17, let … be great. must be bigger than any yod in the Torah.25So GRA and N.Y. V erroneously ‘big, because they are letters which are in Scripture’. H lacks the sentence. Yisra’el at the end of the Torah26Deut. 34, 12, Israel. must be enlarged, while the lamed in it must be higher than any other lamed.
אלו דברים כתובים ולא נקראים כתיב (דברים כח) בעפולים וקרינן בטחורים כתיב (ישעיה יג) תשגלנה וקרי תשכבנה כתיב (מלכים ב ו׳:כ״ה) ורובע (דביונים) [הקב חרייונים] וקרי ורובע הקב דביונים כתיב (שם יח) שיניהם וקרי מימי רגליהם כתיב את חוריהם וקרי את צואתם כתיב (שם י) וישימהו (למחריהם) [למחראות] וקרי למוצאות (מניין שאין מכנים לעריות) המכנה לעריות משתקין אותו א"ר יונה (המכנה בעריות) בעריות דאבוה ובעריות דאימיה האומר (ויקרא י״ח:כ״א) ומזרעך לא תתן למעברה בארמית׳ משתקין אותו בנזיפה: The following words27Which have an indelicate nuance. are written but not read [in their written form]:28A more polite word is substituted. It is written ba‘folim29Meaning ‘posteriors’. but we read baṭṭeḥorim;301 Sam. 5, 5, emerods. it is written yishgalennah31Meaning ‘rape’. This is the reading of N.Y. and M. V has thishgalennah. but we read yishkabennah;32Deut. 28, 30, shall lie with her. it is written weroba‘ haḳḳab ḥiryonim332 Kings 6, 25, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung. but we read weroba‘ haḳḳab dibyonim;34Meaning ‘and the fourth … of decayed leaves’. it is written memë shinehem35ibid. XVIII, 27, their own water. but we read memë raglehem;36lit. ‘the water of their feet’. it is written ḥorehem37ibid. their own dung. but we read ẓo’atham;38lit. ‘their evacuation’. it is written wayyesimehu lemaḥara’oth39ibid. X, 27, and made it a draught-house. but we read lemoẓa’oth.40lit. ‘retreats’.
If a person uses euphemisms in the section of forbidden marriages41Lev. 18, 6-20. he is silenced.42[The text in V is corrupt and emended in agreement with the Mishnah in Meg. 25a (Sonc. ed., p. 149).] R. Jonah explained:43What is meant here by ‘euphemisms’. [39a] [When one says]44By trying to be more considerate than Scripture. ‘the nakedness of his father’ or ‘the nakedness of his45Instead of thy father and thy mother (Lev. 18, 7). R. Joseph (Meg. loc. cit.) gives a different interpretation, viz. the alteration of nakedness to ‘shame’ (cf. Sonc. ed., p. 151, n. 2). mother’. If a person says46[Or, according to J. Rabbinowitz, Mishnah Megillah, p. 133. ‘And thou shalt not give any of thy seed (to a heathen woman) to become with child in idolatry,] instead of and thou shalt not give of thy seed to set them apart to Molech (Lev. 18, 21). ‘and thou shalt not cause any of thy seed to be conceived by a Gentile woman’,47So altering the true meaning of the text which deals with the worship of Molech (cf. Sonc. ed., Meg. p. 149, n. 3). he is silenced with a rebuke.
מעשה ראובן נקרא ולא מתרגם [מעשה תמר לא נקרא ולא מתרגם] מעשה עגל הראשון נקרא ומתרגם השני נקרא ולא מתרגם: The incident of Reuben48Gen. 35, 22. is read49In the public lection of the Scriptures. but not translated.50Out of respect for the memory of Reuben. In the ancient Synagogues, the readings from the Scriptures were rendered into Aramaic by an official for the benefit of those who were unable to follow the Hebrew. The story of Tamar51Gen. 38. is both read and translated.52So GRA and H in agreement with Meg. 25a (Sonc. ed., p. 151). V inserts the negative before both verbs. The reflection on Judah’s behaviour is mitigated by his frank confession. The first [account of] the golden calf53Ex. 33, 1-20. is read and translated,54Since the sin was forgiven (Meg. 25b, Sonc. ed., p. 152). the second55ibid. 21-25 according to Meg. loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 153). is read but not translated.56Because of the statement and there came out this calf (ibid. 24) which seems to indicate that the calf had abnormal powers.
מהיכא הוא מתחיל [שמות לב] מאנא חטא העם הזה ברכת כהנים מעשה דוד ואמנון (לא) נקרין ולא מתרגמין: Where [does the translator] begin? At Oh this people have sinned.57ibid. 31-35. This disagrees with Meg. quoted above. The blessing of the priests58Num. 6, 24-27 which includes the phrase lift up … countenance which in the Heb. could be misunderstood in its lit. meaning of ‘favouritism’. and the stories of David592 Sam. 11, 2-17 which is discreditable to David. and Amnon60ibid. XIII, 1-14 which records Amnon’s disgrace. are neither read nor translated.61So V and H in agreement with Meg. loc. cit.; but GRA and others omit the negative before ‘read’
אין מפטירין במרכבה ר׳ [יהודה] מתיר ר"א אומר אין מפטירין (יחזקאל ט״ז:ב׳) בהודע את ירושלים ומעשה באחד שהפטיר בהודע את ירושלים א"ל ר"א ילך האיש ההוא ויודע בתועבותיה של אמו בדקו אחריו ונמצא ממזר: The section dealing with the heavenly chariot62Ezek. 1 and X which are too abstruse for the ordinary layman. must not be read as a hafṭarah. R. Judah permits it.63The custom is for Ezek. 1 to be read as the hafṭarah on the first day of Pentecost. This is in accordance with R. Judah’s view. R. Eleazar says: The section beginning Cause Jerusalem to know64Ezek. 15I must not be read as a hafṭarah.65Because of the denunciation of Jerusalem. It once happened that a person read the section beginning Cause Jerusalem to know [hear bominations] as a hafṭarah and R. Eleazar exclaimed, ‘Let that man go and investigate the abominations of his mother’.66In. Meg. 25b (Sonc. ed., p. 153) the reading is: R. Eleazar said to him, ‘While you are investigating the abominations of Jerusalem, go and investigate the abominations of your mother’. Enquiries were made about him and he was found to be illegitimate.