[16a - 54 lines; 16b - 53lines]
1)[line 1]"[ויאמר ה' מסיני בא וזרח משעיר למו הופיע מהר פארן] ואתה מרבבת קדש [ממינו אש דת למו]""[VA'YOMAR HASH-M MI'SINAI BA V'ZARACH MI'SEIR LAMO HOFI'A ME'HAR PARAN,] V'ASA ME'RIVEVOS KODESH; [MI'YMINO ESH DAS LAMO.]"- "[And Moshe said... HaSh-m revealed Himself from the Mountain of Paran,] and then approached with some of the myriad Angels of the Holy Sanctum; [from His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them.]" (Devarim 33:2)
2)[line 4]דוגמא הוא ברבבה שלוDUGMA HU BA'REVAVAH SHELO- He is an outstanding Being (similar to an object used as a sample) among His host of ten thousand
3)[line 6]"ויאמר צא ועמדת בהר לפני ה' והנה ה' עבר ורוח גדולה וחזק מפרק הרים ומשבר סלעים לפני ה' לא ברוח ה' ואחר הרוח רעש לא ברעש ה'. ואחר הרעש אש לא באש ה' ואחר האש קול דממה דקה""VA'YOMER: TZEI V'AMADTA VA'HAR LIFNEI HASH-M..." - "And He said: Go and stand on the mountain before HaSh-m, and behold HaSh-m will pass. And behold, a great and powerful wind uprooting mountains and smashing rocks before HaSh-m - but HaSh-m was not was not in the wind. After that an earthquake passed - but HaSh-m was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was fire - but HaSh-m was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a quiet thin Sound." (Melachim I 19:11-12). (HASH-M IS IN THE SILENT, THIN VOICE)
(a)Following Eliyahu's spectacular demonstration on Har ha'Karmel, which ended with the capture and execution of the 450 prophets of Ba'al, Izevel (Achav's evil wife) threatened to kill him the very next day. Eliyahu was then forced to flee. Leaving his servant in Be'er Sheva, he entered Midbar Yehudah, where he requested to die. He lived long (over a thousand years, according to those who say that he was Pinchas), and did not understand why he had to live longer than all his contemporaries. He was particularly frustrated by the widespread idolatry in Yisrael, and on top of that, he had now become a fugitive.
(b)He then lied down to sleep. He had hardly fallen asleep, however, when an angel touched him and woke him up, instructing him to eat. Beside his head, he found a cake and a jar of water, which he ate and fell asleep once more. Awakening him a second time, the angel instructed him to eat again, since he had a long journey ahead of him, and the location towards which he was heading contained no food. So he ate again, and the food that he ate miraculously took forty days and forty nights to digest (like Moshe Rabeinu on Har Sinai).
(c)Arriving in the cave in Midbar Sinai in which Moshe Rabeinu had stood when the Shechinah passed, he stayed there overnight. When HaSh-m appeared to him and asked him what he was doing there, he explained that he was zealous for HaSh-m, in that the people had forsaken the covenant that He had made with them, demolished His Mizbe'ach and killed the true prophets. He was the only surviving Navi, he concluded, and now they were contriving to kill him.
(d)In this context the above verses were said. It seems that they were teaching him a lesson: True, there was a time to be zealous, as Eliyahu had taught when he was still known as Pinchas. Now, though, due to a change in circumstances, the call of the day was Tefilah and defense of Klal Yisrael (rather than harsh words). That is what HaSh-m was hinting to when the verse says, "And after the earthquake, there was fire - but HaSh-m was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a quiet thin Sound."
4)[line 27]פלטיריןPALTEIRIN- palace
5)[line 27]האשפהASHPAH- a garbage heap
6)[line 36]דמצי כייף ליה ליצריהD'MATZI CHAYIF LEI L'YITZREI- he is able to overcome his Yetzer ha'Ra
7a)[line 37]מתורגמניהMETURGEMANEI- the Meturgeman (see next entry) of Reish Lakish
b)[line 25]מתורגמןMETURGEMAN- (a) the person who repeats in a loud voice the words of the Rav, who lectures in a low voice (RASHI to Berachos 56a); (b) the person who translates into Aramaic the words of the Rav, who delivers the Shi'ur in a low voice in Hebrew (RASHI to Yoma 20b)
8)[line 41]על דוכנןAL DUCHANAN (DUCHAN)
(a)The Duchan was a platform with three steps that was hewn into the stone floor of the Azarah. Each step was half an Amah high and half an Amah wide. The bottom step rose one Amah above Ezras Yisrael. The highest step was level with the floor of Ezras Kohanim. The distance from the beginning of the lowest step until the Mizbe'ach was 11 Amos, all of which was Ezras Kohanim. The Duchan extended for the entire width of the Azarah (135 Amos).
(b)The main purpose of the Duchan was for the Leviyim to stand upon it facing the Sanctuary (their backs to the people) while singing to HaSh-m, when the Kohanim offered obligatory public Korbenos Olah (burnt offerings) or the Shelamim (peace offering) of Shavuos. They also played musical instruments to accompany the singing.
(c)The Duchan was also used for Birkas Kohanim (see Background to Yoma 39:12) when there were too many Kohanim standing on the steps of the Heichal, the usual place for Birkas Kohanim. (They would face the people, with their backs towards the sides of the Azarah, in order that their backs should not be towards the Heichal.) (Notes of the TIFERES YISRAEL on the Beis ha'Mikdash Diagram #25 and TIFERES YISRAEL to Midos 2:6.)
9)[line 52]לסמוךLISMOCH (SEMICHAH)
Semichah refers to the Mitzvah for a person to press his hands with all his might on the head of his animal sacrifice before it is slaughtered, as described in Vayikra (1:4).
16b----------------------------------------16b
10)[line 23]פיוסי פייסיהPIYUSEI PAISEI- Rebbi Yehudah Ben Tabai appeased the dead false witness
11)[line 33]לתרבות רעהTARBUS RA'AH- wicked, deplorable conduct
12)[line 36]סיריקוןSIRIKON- royal, silk robes
13)[line 51]אקפו ידייכוAKFU YEDAICHU- let your hands rest lightly (lit. float) on the head of the sacrifice
14a)[last line]צדדיןTZEDADIN- (lit. the sides) the parts of the animal that are not normally used (or a one-step-removed use of a tree, such as the use of a basket that is hanging from a tree limb)
b)[last line]צדדין אסוריןTZEDADIN ASURIN- leaning on an animal of Hekdesh at a place that is not normally used, such as the sides or the head of the animal, is prohibited. (Similarly, a one-step-removed use of a tree, such as the use of a basket that is hanging from a tree limb, is prohibited.)