Talmud for Megillah 35:25
קראה סירוגין יצא וכו': לא הוו ידעי רבנן מאי סירוגין שמעוה לאמתא דבי רבי דקאמרה להו לרבנן דהוי עיילי פסקי פסקי לבי רבי עד מתי אתם נכנסין סירוגין סירוגין
[MISHNA:] "If he read it with <i>seirugin</i>, he has fulfilled his obligation." The Rabbis did not know what <i>seirugin</i> was. Then, one day, they heard the maid of Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi's house say to the Rabbis who would come into the house at intervals. "How long will you come in <i>seirugin seirugin</i>?"
Jerusalem Talmud Megillah
26A very similar paragraph is in Ševi`it 9:1 (Notes 11–12). Rebbi Ḥaggai said, the colleagues did know neither what חֲלוֹגְלוּגוֹת ,סֵירוּגִין, means nor “who is superior, in wisdom or in years?27Serugin is from the Mishnah here, Ḥalaglugot from Mishnah Ševi`it9:1, and the problem whether wisdom or age gives preference arises in connection with Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:2 that in criminal cases the senior judge has to give his opinion last.” They said, let us go and ask in the house of Rebbi. They went to ask; a slave girl from the house of Rebbi came out and told them, enter in pairs. Each one said, that one should enter before me. They started to enter one by one. She said to them, why do you enter in סֵירוּגִין? One rabbi was carrying purslain; it fell from him. She said to him, Rabbi, your חֲלוֹגְלוּגוֹת are dispersed. She said to her28This sentence is missing in Ševi`it 9:1. It seems that the pure Hebrew speaking head-slave ordered one of her underlings to bring a broom., bring a broom29The problem is the hapax in Is. 12:23.; she brought a willow-broom30The Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew expression for “broom”. Babli 18a..
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy