“He said: Blessed be the Lord, God of Shem, and Canaan shall be their servant” (Genesis 9:26). “May God expand Yefet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be their servant” (Genesis 9:27). “He said: Blessed be the Lord, God of Shem […May God expand Yefet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem]” – Reish Lakish said: From Yefet, as well, there were those [descendants] who stood in the tents of Shem.47Some of Yefet’s descendants joined the Jewish people and went to the “tent of Shem” – the Temple in Jerusalem.
“He said: Blessed be the Lord, God of Shem, and Canaan shall be…may God expand Yefet” – this refers to Cyrus [the king of Persia and Madai]48The nation of Madai were descendants of Yefet (Genesis 10:2). who decreed that the [second] Temple should be built. Nevertheless, “He shall dwell in the tents of Shem” – the Divine Presence rested only in the tents of Shem.49The full manifestation of the Divine Presence was found only in the Temple built by Solomon, a descendant of Shem, and not in the second Temple, which was sponsored by Cyrus, a descendant of Yefet.
Bar Kappara said: The words of the Torah will be said in the Greek language50The nation of Greece (Yavan) being a descendant of Yefet (Genesis 10:2). in the tents of Shem.51The Greek translation of the Torah was authorized to be read in the synagogue (see Mishna Megilla 1:8). Rabbi Yudan said: From here there is a source from the Torah for translations [of the Torah].52In our verse the Torah itself alludes to a Greek translation of the Torah.
That is what is written: “They read in the scroll of the Torah of God, [explicated, providing insight, and they elucidated the reading]” (Nehemiah 8:8). “They read in the scroll of the Torah of God” – this is the biblical text itself; “explicated” – this refers to translation; “providing insight” – this refers to the cantillation notes;53Which serve as punctuation, imparting the proper manner of grouping the words with one another. “and they elucidated the reading” – this refers to [the demarcation of the] beginnings of the verses.
Rabbi Huna ben Luleyani says: This refers to the delineation [of verses] and proofs.54When the text is unclear, one determines the meaning based on context and proofs cited from elsewhere. The Rabbis of Caesarea said: From here, the [concept of the] Masoret55Masoret is the body of work that establishes the correct pronunciation and spelling for each word of the Torah. is derived. Rabbi Ze’ira and Rabbi Ḥananel in the name of Rabbi: Even if one is as familiar with the Torah as Ezra, he should not recite it orally while writing [a Torah scroll].56When writing a Torah scroll, the scribe must copy from another Torah scroll, even if he knows the correct wording and spelling by heart.
But is it not taught that there was once an incident involving Rabbi Meir in Asia Minor; there was no Scroll of Esther there, and he recited it orally and wrote it down [for use on Purim]? Over there57In Babylon. they say: He wrote two scrolls; he put the first one aside and certified the second [for use].58The second was copied from the first, so it was valid. The first, which was not copied from another text, was disqualified.