Study Megillah folio 2A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Mishnah: The Megilla is read on the 11th, on the 12th, on the 13th, on the 14th, or on the 15th of the month of Adar, not earlier and not later. The Mishnah explains the circumstances when the Megilla is read on each of these days. Cities [kerakin] that have been surrounded by a wall since the da
How so? If the 14th of Adar occurs on Monday, the villages and large towns read it on that day, and the walled cities read it on the next day, the 15th. If the 14th occurs on Tuesday or Wednesday, the villages advance their reading to the day of assembly, i.e., Monday, the 12th or 13th of Adar; t
If the 14th occurs on Thursday, the villages and large towns read it on that day, the 14th, and the walled cities read it on the next day, the 15th. If the 14th occurs on Friday, the villages advance their reading to the day of assembly, i.e., Thursday, the 13th of Adar; and the large towns and t
If the 14th occurs on Shabbat, both the villages and large towns advance their reading to the day of assembly, i.e., Thursday, the 12th of Adar; and the walled cities read it on the day after Purim, the 15th. If the 14th occurs on Sunday, the villages advance their reading to the day of assembly,
Talmud: We learned in the Mishnah: The Megilla is read on the 11th of Adar. The Talmud asks: From where do we derive this halakha? The Talmud expresses surprise at the question: What room is there to ask: From where do we derive this halakha? The reason is as we intend to say further on: The rabbis