PURIM: The Misvot of Purim

MEGILA

Women are normally exempted from Miṣvot triggered by time, like Tefilin or Sukka, but listening to the Megila is an exception. Because (i) women were part of the miracle, i.e., were also saved from the danger and  (ii) it was a woman, Queen Esther, who had the most critical role in saving the Jews from extermination.

Children are not obligated to listen to Megilat Esther, but they are expected to attend Synagogue during Purim.  Parents should make sure that their small children do not disrupt the public reading of the Megila.  

qera-ah lemafrea' lo yaṣa: "If one reads the Megila in a reverse order, the reading is invalid". Literally, this means that if a person reads first verse 2, then verse 1 and then verse 3 or so, he did not fulfill his obligation. Practically speaking, if a person comes late to the Synagogue and the congregation is reading for example, chapter 4, he cannot say: "I will read now from chapter 4 till the end and then, when they finish, I will read from the beginning till chapter 4". One has to listen or read the Megila in order from the beginning to the end.

     

MISHLOAḤ MANOT

During the day of Purim--Sunday Feb. 24th--we send two presents to one or more friends. These presents consist of food, ideally food to be used during the Purim banquet. It is customary to include at least two different types of foods, a drink and a baked product. The intention of this Miṣvot is to promote friendship and strengthen our unity. Mishloaḥ  Manot should not be given before Purim or during the night. The Manot should be delivered during Purim daytime. In certain circumstances, Mishloaḥ  Manot could be also a very discreet way to send food to those who need it, but would feel very uncomfortable to ask or even receive charity (or matanot laebiyonim) from others.

WATCH  Purim Animated See the Purim story come alive, from Aish.

PURIM: Reading Megilat Esther

Part of the celebration of Purim is the reading of the Book of Esther twice during the 14th of Adar. The first time at night (next Saturday night, February 23rd ) and the second time during the day (Sunday, February 24th).

The reading should be done from a Megila, a scroll or igeret. This igeret was meant to be an official document,  to be registered in the royal Archives of the Persian Empire.   Rabbi Abraham Eben Ezra explains that this is the reason why Mordekhay did not write the name of God in Megilat Esther. He knew that, following the protocols of those days, when the Persian officers would translate the story of Purim to the Persian language, they would have changed the name of HaShem to the name of one of their gods. 

Because the Megila is an igeret (as oppose to a book) the custom is to unroll the Megila as an open document and read from it. At the end, we first roll it and then we say the final blessing.  (MT, Megila 2:11).  

When the ba'al qore (reader) reads the Megila everybody should listen and follow his reading silently from a scroll or from a printed Megila.

Because it is an igeret, if the reader makes a  mistake at the reading, we do not need to correct him (en medaqdeqim beqri-atah MT, Megila 2:7). The general custom is that the somekh (the reader's assistant) would correct the reader only if the mistake he made affects the meaning of the word. 

There is no Halakhic objection to use a microphone when reading the Megila in public, provided it could be heard without the microphone as well. Listening by media (TV, radio, phone) is not acceptable for fulfilling the Miṣva of Megila.

Shabbat Shalom!

Candle-lighting in NYC:     5:12 pm

Shabbat ends in NYC:         6:10 pm

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PURIM: Why Mordekhay did not bow down to Haman?

 When King Aḥashverosh appointed Haman as his Chief of Staff he ordered all the officers of the King's court to bow-down to him. Everyone did, except Mordekhay.  As we explained yesterday (here) Haman's reaction (his personal revenge!) to Mordekhay disobedience was the plan to execute all the Jews. 

 We know of other occasions in which Jews have bowed down to others as a signal of respect.  So, why Mordekhay refused to honor Haman? The key to understand Mordekhay's disobedience seems to be the word: "kore'im" (Esther 3:2) "everyone knelt and bowed down to Haman".  In the Tora the verb leahishtaḥavot  (bowing down) is applied mostly in the context of prostrating in front of God. But we also find many times in the Tora that Jews bowed down to other people as an expression of respect. Abraham bowed down to the Hittites, Ya'aqob to Esav and Moshe to Yitro.  What we never find, however, is that people kneeled down to other people for respect. Knelling down (keri'a) has a religious connotation. As an expression of honor, kneeling down is an act of religious worship. We say in 'alenu leshabeaḥ that we reserved "kneeling down" exclusively to HaShem (ki LEKHA tikhra' kol berekh)! 

As our Rabbis explained, kneeling to Haman (or to the idol he was carrying) was an act of idol-worshiping.  Mordekhay was following the example of  Ḥanania, Mishael and Azaria, the three Jews that 100 years before him refused to kneel down to worship Nebuhadnezzar statue, and were condemned to death.  Mordekhay assumed that, same as  Nebuhadnezzar,  King Aḥashverosh will order his execution as well. Mordekhay was ready to sacrifice his life ('al qiddush haShem) to avoid idolatry, setting the example to all the Jews. 

READ HERE the story of Ḥanania, Mishael and Azaria, called by their Aramaic names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.