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BT Megilla 5a records:

Mishnah: What is reckoned a large town? One which has in it ten idlers [בטלנין]... Gemara: A Tanna taught that the ten idlers attend the synagogue.

In fn. 21 of the Artscroll translation (JT) it explains that the בטלנין "idlers" are:

ten men who are supported by the community and refrain from other employment in order to insure the presence of a minyan in the synagogue during prayers (Rashi 3b, followed by Korban HaEidah; cf. Ran to Rif, Sdeh Yehoshua).

My question is: According to the view that they were there to insure the presence of a minyan, why 10?

If a man arrived at shul looking for a minyan, only 9 more would be needed.

So why pay 10? Are these 10 men praying on behalf of the kahal?

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  • I never read it as that we hired these 10 guys. They’re called בטלנין for a reason- they’re kinda like bums that don’t have any real job and just spend all their time in the shul. And you need 10 of these guys because that’s the amount for the place to be considered a large city
    – Curious Yid
    Commented Jan 11 at 3:22
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    Maybe a woman will come and want to daven with a minyan
    – Heshy
    Commented Jan 11 at 11:45
  • @Curious Yid see sefaria.org/Teshuvot_HaRambam.17.3
    – אילפא
    Commented Jan 11 at 13:15
  • @YehudaW Where does the Gemara say they are paid?
    – Deuteronomy
    Commented Jan 11 at 14:44
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    Another Source is Rashi Bava Kama 82a The Gemara bring the עשרה בטלנין as the reason why 10 verses are read during Krias Hatorah Mon/ Thur and Shabos mincha (we just learnt this in Daf Yomi)
    – sam freed
    Commented Jan 31 at 22:41

1 Answer 1

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Rashi (s.v. עשרה בטלנין), in explanation of why 10 are needed, cites a gemara in berachos (6b) which goes as follows:

אֲמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בָּא בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת, וְלֹא מָצָא בָהּ עֲשָׂרָה, מִיָּד הוּא כּוֹעֵס, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: {ישעיהו נ':ב'} "מַדּוּעַ בָּאתִי וְאֵין אִישׁ קָרָאתִי וְאֵין עוֹנֶה".

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When the Holy One, Blessed be He, enters a synagogue and does not find ten people there, He immediately becomes angry, as it is stated: “Why, when I came, was there no one? When I called, there was no one to answer…Behold, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness” (Isaiah 50:2).

It's about having certainty that ten will be there when it's time for tefilah regardless of how many show up from the community at large.

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  • So, are they davening on behalf of the community (as well as themselves)?
    – Yehuda W
    Commented Jan 12 at 18:37
  • This reasoning would support having 9 (perhaps 10) men available 3 times a day, not all day long. But the Talmud seems to envision having the men there all day long.
    – Yehuda W
    Commented Feb 1 at 1:47
  • @YehudaW it is not the Talmud, it is an interpretation of the Talmud. As I've already noted above to you, there are other understandings of the function/role/mechanics of the עשרה בטלנין.
    – Deuteronomy
    Commented Feb 2 at 15:26
  • @Deuteronomy What are the other understandings that you mention?
    – Yehuda W
    Commented Feb 11 at 13:11
  • @YehudaW check the comments to your original post above - I posted citations a couple of weeks ago. Check them inside.
    – Deuteronomy
    Commented Feb 11 at 18:07

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