Everyday Judaism · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Everyday Judaism Podcast.

Beautiful Sunday morning everybody. It is so magnificent to be here with all y'all to learn more Torah together in the Everyday Judaism Podcast. Today we are going to skip to Simmon 141. Kuf Memaleth, Simmon Kuf Memaleth, we're going to learn about the laws of Megillah. Previously in our Everyday Judaism series, we studied the laws of the four parshios,
which is chapter 140, which is the four portions that were added to the month of Adar, one right preceding the month of Adar, Shekolim. This past Shabbos was Zohar, to remember Amalek. Then we have Parshas Parah, which is going to be next week. And then we have Parshas HaChodesh, which is the Parsha right before the beginning of the month of Nisan. So during the month of Adar, with the one Shabbos preceding Adar, we read four special portions of the Torah, it's called the four parshios.
And we did those laws previously, Simmon 141. Then we also did the laws of the three other mitzvahs of the day of Purim, which are Mishlach Manot, which is giving gift baskets to one another, Matanot Lev Yonim, which is giving money to the poor, and Suudat Purim, which is having a feast on Purim. But there's one mitzvah of those four mitzvahs that we did not yet discuss, and that's what we're going to focus on today, and that is the laws of the Megillah.
Reading the Megillah, the miracle that transpired with the Jewish people, not only over 2,000 years ago, 2,400 years ago, but also the miracles we're experiencing today, not coincidentally, also having to do with Persia, and dealing with the entire rulership of Persia, and it is a great celebration, obviously, but we're going to learn those laws. There are 23 seifim, 23 little summary halachas in the Ketzer Shechonach, in the abridged code of Jewish law, and we begin, in ancient Persia, during the reign of King Ahasuerus,
his minister, the evil Haman, Hamani, plotted to annihilate the Jewish people and succeeded in winning the approval of King Ahasuerus to his plan. The festival of Purim, which is held on the 14th of Adar, celebrates the fall of Haman, and the miraculous deliverance of the Jewish people from their enemies in the battles that were waged at that time. This semin discusses the laws pertaining to the month of Adar, the laws of Tanis Esther, the fast of Esther, which is tomorrow,
and the laws of the reading of the Megillah, the scroll containing the book of Esther, in which the events of Purim are related. The rest of the laws of Purim are addressed in the following semin, which, as mentioned, semin 142, will be rebroadcast tomorrow on the Everyday Judaism podcast. Halacha number one. When the month of Adar comes upon us, we increase in joy. My grandfather points this out, and many of the sages point it out.
That means we should always be in a state of joy. Increase means more, but you should always be in a state of joy. And by the way, when it says in the month of Av, the month of destruction for the Jewish people, when we had terrible tragedies before us, it doesn't say that you should be sad. It says you should decrease a little in joy. But you should always be in a state of joy. A Jew who has a legal dispute
should schedule his judgment during this month because we have great fortune during this month. We have great tidings and great omens during this time. Halacha number two. In the days of Mordecai and Esther, the Jews gathered on the 13th day of the month of Adar to defend their lives and take vengeance on their enemies. And they needed to plead for mercy from Hashem. May His name be blessed. She asked Him that He should come to their aid. When the Jewish people were in battle,
they fasted so that Hashem should help them. Moshe, our leader of blessed memory, when he fought against the Amalekites, he fasted that day. He says it's most likely, it's presumable, that Mordecai and Esther as well on the 13th day of Adar also fasted. Therefore, the entire Jewish people accepted upon themselves that we make this a public fast day. And therefore, we have the fast of Esther, which tomorrow at sunrise begins the fast of Esther. And it's till stars are out tomorrow evening.
To remind ourselves that the Creator He listens and He sees all of our prayers, the prayers of each person, at their own unique time of distress. And when he fasts, when we fast and we return to Hashem with our complete heart, just as Hashem did for our forefathers back in those days. Notwithstanding that, this fast is not a complete obligation. Like the other four fasts whose sources are in scripture. One may be lenient in a case of need, a pregnant woman,
a nursing woman, even someone who is slightly ill, someone's not feeling well, they don't need to fast. Someone who has eye pain. If someone has a distress, don't fast. Someone who gave birth within 30 days, shouldn't fast. So to a groom within seven days of the feast of his wedding, do not need to fast. And they may compensate for the fast by fasting a different day of the year in its stead. But people who are healthy,
should not separate themselves from the general community. Someone who is traveling, and has a difficult time fasting, should make every attempt to fast. So it is an important thing for us to try to fast on this day, and to be part of the congregation, to be part of the greater Jewish community. Commonly this is a fast. Again, we do everything we can that is in our ability, if we can, to fast. Why? Because fasting means we limit ourselves physically
from our pursuit in this world, and we say Hashem, we realize we may have gone overboard in our pursuit, we're humbling ourselves. We're recognizing that everything is from You, and only through Your strength are we able to accomplish in this world. Halacha number three. On the 14th day of Adar is Purim. That's going to be on Tuesday this year. And if Purim falls on Sunday, then we move the fast to Thursday, the previous Thursday.
And if there's a circumcision on that day, on Thursday, they should make the circumcision meal at night. The circumcision is always done by day, but the meal for it, because it's a fast day, should be done at night. But the mohel and the sandik, who's the person who holds the baby, otherwise known as the godfather, or the father of the child, they are allowed to eat on that day, even though it is a fast day.
And they do not need to fast on Friday. But a person who forgot and ate on that Thursday should fast on Friday. Halacha number four. In honor of the Megillah reading, it is proper to don special Shabbos clothes for the hearing of the Megillah in the synagogue. And when he returns from the synagogue, it's proper to have candles lit, because it's a festive holiday. You should have candles lit when you come home from the synagogue, after reading the Megillah.
And the table set and neatly covered. The beds should be covered, the table should be made nicely, your couch should be all set, everything should be just like you do on Friday night. Arvis, the ma'arif prayer, are as follows. So what happens is, the evening service, which is going to be tomorrow night, at the end of the fast, we're going to have the evening service, the ma'arif, then we recite the Kaddish, which is the Kaddish that follows every prayer,
which is that Hashem should accept our prayers. Then we read the Megillah, and then we say the Atah Kaddosh, which is a part of the, we say this on Saturday nights, and additionally, we say this after the fast, after the ma'arif, after we read the Megillah. Additionally, the reason this prayer is recited is because its opening verse is in the psalm of Laman HaTzeach, for the conductor, on the Ayal HaSashachar, SheNemar Al-Ester, because it says on Esther,
SheNemar Elokai Ekro, Okay, so we read the Megillah at night, and we read the Megillah the following morning. So Purim morning, we read the Megillah again, and he brings over here the reason why we recite this Atah Kaddosh. And we say, You are the Holy One. Then we recite the full Kaddish without the Tizkabal. And on Matzah Shabbos, the order is as follows. Which is the regular part of our prayer. May the pleasantness of our service of Hashem.
And then Kaddish Sholem below Tizkabal. We say, And then we recite the Havdalah, and we recite Olenu, after we reread the Megillah. Before Purim, it is customary to donate one half of the coin of the standard denomination that you have in your country. So it could be a half dollar, which you'll find in every synagogue, they'll have a half dollar. Why? Because there was the shekel that was given during the month of Adar, preparing for Nisan.
Nisan is the beginning of the Jewish calendar. And they would have everyone donate prior to the month of Nisan. They would donate the half shekel to the Temple, so that there was enough money for all the offerings that were brought. For the purpose of funding the communal offerings. To give three halves. So that would be $1.50 in our currency per person. Because it says three times to give a donation in the portion of Kisisa about the shekel.
It's proper to give it in the evening prior to reading the Megillah. And they give that money, we distribute it to the poor people. But if his father gives it on his behalf one time when he's a child, then he needs to give it for the rest of his life. Some authorities say that he's obligated, and some say that he's not obligated. Until he's 20 years old. Because usually a child who's 13 years old is still on his father's table,
on his father's bank account. When he's 20 he's usually independent. Not anymore. Now he's probably 25 years old. Once they get married, even then they're supported by their parents. On the day of Purim, on the 14th day of Adar, Arvis, Shachris, and Mincha on the evening prayer preceding Purim, which is already Purim, and in the morning prayer, Shachris, and the afternoon prayer of Mincha, we add the Al Hanissim, then the laws, if one forgot to recite,
to add the Al Hanissim, which we say right after Modim, also if someone eats a meal, they have to add the Al Hanissim and the Bimei Mordechai V'Ester. We learned these laws previously that if you start the meal during the daytime of the obligation, for example, Shabbos, if you begin your meal on Shabbos and then Shabbos goes out but you didn't bench yet, you didn't recite the grace after meals, are you obligated to have the inserts for Shabbos?
Or is it out of Shabbos? So it goes by when you started the meal. It goes by when you started the meal. However, if you start the meal before Rosh Chodesh, and then you eat the meal into Rosh Chodesh, if you had bread in the evening, you add the Al Aviyah to it. That's what the Ketzeshochanarch says. Okay. Halacha number seven. Chai Efkal Adam. B'n'ish u'b'n'isha l'shmo'a krias Megillah balaylo b'yom. Everyone is obligated, both men,
women, children, are obligated to hear the Megillah reading by night and by day. Even the unmarried girls should go to the synagogue to hear the Megillah. And if they don't go to shul, they don't go to synagogue to hear the Megillah, that's fine. They should hear it at home. Also young children, it's proper to educate them b'n'ish u'b'n'isha l'shmo'a krias Megillah to hear the Megillah reading. It's proper not to bring little children that are going to make noise and disturb others
from hearing the Megillah appropriately. So if you can bring your children, it's fine, but they have to contain themselves and not make too much noise, unless it's during the reading of Haman, when we say the name Haman, we bang and make a lot of noise. Now everyone is welcome to join us in our synagogue. I'll give the information when we're off air. Everyone is welcome to join us. There's plenty of room for men and women and children, and it is quite festive.
Bring some earplugs, because it is loud. Megillah shal l'aylah asol l'kros It is forbidden to begin the nighttime reading of the Megillah before the stars are out. So Monday night, you can't say, I'm going to do an early reading. No, no, no. You have to read it after the stars are out on Monday night. Even though he's in great distress because of the fast, because we're going to be fasting the whole Monday, and then Monday night,
we're like, okay, let's get this thing rolling already. I want to eat. I'm hungry. You have to read the Megillah and then take out your fast. If one has a really difficult time, after the stars are out, one may drink and eat something and then read the Megillah, but not to get carried away, not to eat a whole meal, but one may break their fast if they need to cook their own coffee, if someone needs to drink coffee, and the like.
So that one has strength after fasting the whole day. We can do it. We got this. Our generation, we eat enough. We have nothing to worry about eating. Now, if someone has a health condition, don't play games with that. Allah makes it very, very clear that if someone is even not feeling well, but it's not a danger, you should eat. But if it is a danger, someone who's diabetic, someone who has any type of medical condition, don't play games, don't try to be
oh, Mr. Righteous. Just eat the way you need to eat to be healthy and don't play with your health. However, if someone is strong, someone is capable, then it is very praiseworthy for one to fast on Tanis Esther, the fast of Esther, which again, this year, in 2026, will be Tafshin Pei Vav, which is 5-7-8-6 this year. One should be sure on Monday, tomorrow, to fast. It is proper to, it is a higher standard of proper
to read the Megillah in a synagogue where there are many people. King Solomon teaches us in Proverbs that the more the merrier, the more people together, the more honor and glory it is for the Almighty, that we, alright, it says, in the multitudes of people is the glory of the King. Performing mitzvahs in the participation of many people brings greater glory to Hashem, which, interestingly, as a side note, there is a dispute between the Ashkenazic Jews
and the Sephardic Jews about when they do a bris for a baby. The Ashkenaz do it in the morning. Why do they do it in the morning? Because it says, you should hurry to do a mitzvah, don't wait, don't delay, but the Sephardic follow the verse that says the more people, the better. The more honor. It's a mitzvah. The more people that can participate, the better. When is more people awake and able to come?
Not in the morning. Not at 7 a.m. Most people don't like peeling themselves that. They get their kids to school, etc. So if you could do it at a later time, the Sephardic prefer that. But again, everyone has to follow their own custom. This is just a side note, so you understand that this is not just a we pulled a line out of King Solomon's Proverbs. No, no, no. It's a very important thing. V'lechol ha'pochos yireh lishmoa osan b'minyan asar.
It's proper for one to hear the Megillah with 10 people. That means there should be at least a minyan. V'im yiyef shalikros b'minyan. If someone is unable, they're in a place where there is no minyan. Yikra osa kol yachid mitokh b'migillah k'shera im ha'brochesh shalafaneh Then everyone can read it from a Megillah on their own, with a blessing before and after it. V'im echod yodeh likrosa v'ashar enun yoden. If one knows how to properly read it from a Megillah. Yikra zeh
shehu yodeh vehem yishmo. Then one who knows how to read it, should read it, and everybody else should listen. V'yotziyem af alpi she'in hamasar. And even if there aren't 10 people there, he should have them in mind and fulfill them in their obligation. And have them in mind in their obligation. Ava brochesh la'achareh ein omrim rak basora. The after blessing of the Megillah should only be done with 10 people. V'ach b'lo shem umalchus yochol gam yochid la'omra.
But if you don't say Hashem's name in that final blessing, because it's a blessing that's recited after reading the Megillah. Harav esrivenu azdon ezdenenu. That blessing should be recited only with Hashem's name when there are 10 people. Halacha number 10. Minak b'chol yisro she'akoreh einu koreh mitoch Megillah krucha. Ela poshet osah ve'koflo daf al daf kemo igeres. Mipnei she nikreis igeres hapurim hazos. Ava la'shomim einu tzichim lefashta. So the proper way for the Megillah to be read
is to be read like a scroll. So if you'll see the person who's reading it for the congregation doesn't read it and just keep on turning it like a Torah scroll. You open it up so it'd be like a a letter. Which is all, it's all spread out and you continue to read it as you would a long letter. Halacha yur alef. Hakoreh esa Megillah. Someone who reads, the person who's reading the Megillah, that, but that's
by the way, what we said about it being open is only for the person reading it. Every person who's sitting there with their own Megillah can have it rolled. That's fine. It doesn't have to be open in their full format. Halacha yur alef. Halacha number 11. Hakoreh esa Megillah. B'em b'yom b'em b'lailah. Someone who reads the Megillah, whether it be the evening reading or the day reading. Mevorach lefanei ha'shalash baruchas. Reads three blessings in front, before it.
What are they? Al mikr Megillah. On the reading of the Megillah. Sha'as anisim. That God performed miracles and shehechiyanu. Very good. Vele'ach ha'kriyasa korcha kula u'minicha lefanev u'mivarchim birchas harav esrivenu. And then after they finish reading the Megillah, they roll up the Megillah into just a scroll, and then they recite the after-blessing of harav esrivenu. Av im avel korre esa Megillah. If a mourner is reading the Megillah, he's the person who knows how to read the Megillah.
Yivarach acher esa brachos mishum birchas shehechiyanu. It's not appropriate for them to read shehechiyanu when they're in mourning. Hashem gives us life, right? It's not appropriate, so someone else should read the blessings. B'birach es shehechiyanu shel yom, yechavnu gam al mitzvos mishlach monos matan es lev yonim, v'sud es purim. So in the evening, when we recite the shehechiyanu, have in mind for the mitzvah of Megillah. But the shehechiyanu that we recite during the day, reading of the Megillah, have in
mind for the other three mitzvahs that you're going to perform during the day. What are they? Matan es lev yonim, giving money to poor. Mishlach monos, giving gift baskets. And the mitzvah of having a feast. So you're having the shehechiyanu in mind for those three mitzvahs. V'chein, shelech tzibor tzarch lech sheyichavin lehotzi es tzibor gam al mitzvos elu. So therefore, the person who's reading the Megillah for the congregation should have in mind for everyone else that this is fulfilling
their mitzvahs that they're going to perform throughout the day. Halacha Yud Gemol. Halacha number 13. Hakores et Megillah tzarch lechavin lehotzi es kol shom. Someone who reads any time you do this by the way, you have to have in mind this is any type of reading, have in mind to fulfill the obligation of the members of the congregation. V'gama shomei tzarch lechavin lehotzi es. And the person who hears the blessing and the Megillah has to have in mind to fulfill
his mitzvah of hearing the Megillah. V'leishmah kol teva o teva. We mentioned this with regarding to the laws of blowing the shofar. Same thing. The person blowing the shofar recites the blessing has to have in mind to fulfill everybody in their obligation. The same thing applies that the person hearing the shofar blowing has to have in mind to fulfill his obligation with it. V'leishmah kol teva o teva. You have to hear every word of the Megillah. Sha'afilu imrak teva achas lo shama
enu yotza. If someone misses one word, they don't fulfill the mitzvah of the Megillah. You have to hear the whole thing. V'lechen tzor chakoreh lehashg'yach ma'od sheb'sho shemar ishim v'balbulim ba'akas haman. That when the person reading the Megillah has to be very cautious that when they're banging and making all that noise and the commotion with the sound of Haman's name, that they shouldn't swallow up the words of the following because you say Haman and then
everyone's making all this noise and you continue reading, now they missed two words or a word. You've got to be very careful about that. Yishtog ad ya'avor harash le'gamri He has to say that Haman everyone has to hear it, they make their noise fine and now you remain silent until they're done with their commotion and noise and then he can continue reading after it's done completely. U'mikol mokom ra'ui v'nochon she'yeh le'kol echad Megillah k'shera k'dei she'yomer be'atzmo mi'le balachash
It is proper for every person to have their own Megillah with them and then what do they do? They read along and they read along so even if they didn't hear the Megillah being read by the person, they're reading along and they're going to at least fulfill that. Pen lo'yishma teva achas min ha'kore v'chen kol isho chachmas leiv she'omedes be'atzvos noshim im efsher matov li'yos lo Megillah k'shera likros mitokha. It is proper if a woman is able to, to do
the same. Ki shom kosher l'shmor because sometimes the women's section is a little bit further and it's harder for them to hear v'hanoshim chayavoz kamo hanoshim. And women, because it's their miracle as well, because of Queen Esther it's their miracle as well. They're obligated in this mitzvah as well. V'im lo'kitzu salavono v'nira so'a b'shas k'riasa Megillah, ayin le'el sov si'im tzadik zayin. If a person did not yet recite the Kiddush Salavono the Kitzu writes
that if there is enough time to recite Kiddush Salavono after the completion of Megillah they should not interrupt the reading. However, if the congregation has not yet recited Kiddush Salavono and if they do not interrupt the opportunity will pass then they should interrupt the reading of the Megillah to recite the Kiddush Salavono, which is the blessing on the moon. Okay? Halacha Yudalad number 14 Hakor etzorach shi yom mar es aseres b'nei hamon, v'gam tevas aseres, hakol b'nishim ha'achas
So they have to load up their lungs with air, the person reading, and when he reads the names of the ten sons of Haman Haman they have to read all the ten names in one breath including the following word aseres b'nei hamon, right? So all the ten names and then the following word of aseres which means the ten lo diya shekulam ner guv'nitlu k'echod they were all taken they were all killed at once together
you start from hamesh me'os ish they killed 500 men, es and then you read all the names of the ten sons of Haman, aseres and then you can take a breath all in one fell swoop they all fell he says he says in some places people, the whole congregation joins in when they say aseres b'nei hamon everyone's like all excited, it is not a proper custom for people to do that ella hakore levad, just the the person reading it
for the congregation everybody should listen and only the reader should say it out loud k'emo k'emo me'gilo, just like the rest of the me'gilo when they read the part that Achashverosh had a difficult time sleeping, he should raise his voice because the beginning of the miracle started at that point that's the beginning of the miracle when he reads this me'gilo he should shake his me'gilo because it's referring to this me'gilo halacha number 15
if someone has a me'gilo which is not kosher, or a chomish lo yikram shelech tzibbur, should not read with the community reader, with the person reading it out loud shema yishma acher ma shahu koreh v'lo yikraven likros likri ashleyach tzibbur so you have to be very careful when you read, to not read loud that you shouldn't interrupt yourself, others or the person reading for the congregation and interrupt their reading nobody should correct the person who is
reading the me'gilo for the community so when they read there's four verses that are read out loud by the listeners and by the reader and he should wait until everyone concludes everyone finishes, then he says it and he should make sure that he reads it properly from the kosher me'gilo sixteen someone who already heard the me'gilo and now is reading it for others so now he recited the blessing or he heard the blessing already
should he recite it when he's having other people in mind in the me'gilo so if the person hearing the me'gilo knows how to recite the blessing they should recite it themselves it is proper that if he is reading it for a woman that the reader should recite the blessing for her halacha number 17 on Shabbos when it's not Purim it is permitted to move the me'gilo scroll however if Purim is on Sunday
one may not bring the me'gilo scroll to the synagogue on Shabbos for the purposes of the me'gilo reading on Motsi Shabbos why? because it's a one of the prohibited actions on Shabbos which is me'chin, preparing for after Shabbos you're not allowed to prepare from Shabbos to weekday it's a disgrace for Shabbos that you're preparing for after Shabbos you're like rushing out of Shabbos, I can't wait I'm making my plans
you know the joke they say about this guy who walks over to his friend he says, not to do business on Shabbos nishtav Shabbos geret, let's not talk about this on Shabbos but I'm selling my car he says, really, which one? he says, you know my Mercedes, I'm selling my car he says, really, not to discuss this on Shabbos but how much are you asking for? so he says, not to discuss this on Shabbos, I'm only asking for this and that
he says, okay, nishtav Shabbos geret not to be discussing business on Shabbos I'll get back to you and then the next morning it comes to him not to discuss it on Shabbos I'm interested he says, not to discuss it on Shabbos, it's sold that's not appropriate it's not appropriate for one to do that you don't discuss these things on Shabbos you don't plan for after Shabbos don't plan vacations on Shabbos don't plan business ideas
now, one thing you can plan on Shabbos is Torah you can plan I'll learn with you during the week I'll plan, I'll learn with you it's a very special thing for a person to do that's a mitzvah okay because even if there is in the city in Eruv you still cannot carry the Megillah for after Shabbos because it is preparation on Shabbos for after Shabbos halacha number 18 if a congregation, a community does not have someone who can properly
read the Megillah according to its proper tune you can read it without the tune so you have to make sure that you read every word and make sure you pronounce them correctly in a way that does not change the translation of the words because sometimes if you misread the word it doesn't really change the meaning sometimes you misread the word, it's a different word completely and that would be inappropriate and that's the qualification by the way for a mistake read by
a person reading from the Torah is that if it changes the meaning it has to be re-read if it doesn't change the meaning then you can just leave it it's best for it to be read properly if it says about Mordechai that Mordechai was sitting and now he changes it to Mordechai sat it changes the explanation or and Haman was prostrated or and Haman fell it changes the meaning and in those cases a person should
it is proper to correct that if a person needs to have the vowels it is okay for them to have the vowels because so it is proper for a person to read from an actual Megillah, from an actual scroll and not to read it only from a Chumash for the public or for themselves it's proper to read it from an actual scroll a community does not have a Megillah, a scroll so let's say they do have a scroll but it's
missing a few words so if it doesn't have if it's just missing a word or two it's not missing a whole section then you can still recite a blessing on the reading of that Megillah and read it and the part that is missing you should read by heart or he can have someone whisper it to him from a Chumash and he says it out loud if they don't have any Megillah whatsoever, they don't have any scroll
or if it's missing an entire section or it's missing the beginning or the end then everyone can read it from a Chumash, from a Torah book but you don't recite the blessing before it there is an individual who doesn't have a Megillah to read from but only a Chumash by the way, every one of the stone edition Chumashes, every one of the Chumashes that you'll find, they generally have all the five Megillahs there's five different Megillahs
one of them is the book of Esther there's a Megillah of Shir Hashirim there's a Megillah of Ruth there's the Megillah of Koheles Ecclesiastes and the Megillah of Eicha which is Lamentations, so these are all five so Megillah of Esther is just one of five of the Megillahs Halacha number 19, and we only have three more, four more Halachas, Halacha number 19 so a person make sure that if you can read it from the scroll
if you don't have a scroll then you can read it from a Chumash but without a blessing someone who is in the seven days of mourning for the passing of a parent or the passing of someone close relative they continue their mourning as usual however they are permitted to wear shoes and sit on a chair because they are visible to all and it's not appropriate but at night if he is able to gather a minion in his home
and read the Megillah Mutav it is best for one to do so evening prayers in his house but then go to the synagogue for the reading of the Megillah and if the festivities of Purim begin meaning it's a Sunday Purim then he should go to synagogue for the third meal during the daytime and the morning he should go for prayers in the synagogue as well and for the reading of the Megillah because he's not supposed to go after Shabbos
he's not supposed to be walking around he's a mourner but during Shabbos you're not mourning on Shabbos there's no mourning on Shabbos and therefore he should walk to synagogue and stay there from Shabbos that way he's not just roaming the streets as a mourner someone who passed away on the fast of Esther and now they haven't buried the person until the next day which is Purim so now he's an onein a relative of someone who passed between the time of the passing
and the time of the burial during that time they're not obligated in any mitzvah so what do they do? do they read the Megillah? do they hear the Megillah? he should have someone else read the Megillah for him he should not eat meat and he should not drink wine because he's not obligated in a feast in the evening then in the morning after they read the Megillah and after they pray the morning prayers then they should do the burial
the funeral and the burial let's read that again one who had someone related to him die on Tanis Esther he's an onein and at night he's an onein which is again the mourner between passing and burial he should have someone else read the Megillah he should not eat meat or drink wine because at night one is not obligated to feast and during the day after leaving the synagogue they buried the deceased after that they should pray
and read the Megillah or hear it from another person listen to someone else reading it and if he heard the Megillah reading before the burial he fulfilled his obligation it's proper for him to read the Megillah again it's a blessing he should not put on tefillin after even after the burial because it's the first day of his mourning but an onein during Purim day is permitted to eat meat and drink wine something that they're not permitted to do
during the seven days of fasting they're not supposed to eat meat and drink wine just two more left in the morning we rise early to attend the synagogue this is everyone not referring to mourners and after the repetition of the Amidah we recite a half Kaddish and we read the Torah reading of Amalek from Exodus which is at the end of Parshah Beshalach we call up three people and then we read the half then we recite the half Kaddish
and after we return the Torah to the ark we read the Megillah and after the after blessing of the Megillah he says so then we finish off the rest of the prayers of the after the Megillah and the Asherah at the end of our prayers and then we recite the Kaddish with Tiskabel that Hashem should accept our prayers and one should not remove his tefillin until after the reading of the Megillah because it says and honor
and the tefillin are called they're called honor and these are the tefillin tefillin are very very precious and here we're saying and what is precious and therefore we read the Megillah while we have our precious on us if there is a bris on the day of Purim then you do the circumcision prior to the reading of the Megillah it says and great joy and great joy is referring to the mitzvah of circumcision we do that before we read the Megillah
at the time of the miracle of Purim King Ahasuerus granted the Jews on the 13th day of Adar to wage war on their enemies on the 14th day of Adar they rested from the fighting and celebrated the miraculous deliverance from their enemies as related in the Megillah I wouldn't be surprised if they named this the Purim War the one that we're experiencing now with Iran as related in the Megillah the people of Shushan were allowed an extra day
to fight their oppressors and did not rest from their fighting and celebrated the miraculous deliverance from their enemies on the 15th day of Adar when Mordechai and Esther with the consent of the Men of the Great Assembly established the festival of Purim for future generations they commemorated this event as well by dividing the celebration into two days, the 14th day of the month of Adar when the Jews throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus rested from the fighting and celebrated the miraculous
deliverance of their enemies was established as Purim the city of Shushan however, the walled city and certain other cities celebrated on the 15th day, so we celebrated on the 14th day of Adar in Jerusalem, in Hebron, in Jericho, in walled cities they celebrated on the 15th, so it's like two days of Purim a city that was surrounded by a wall from the days of Joshua even if it is not walled today they read the Megillah on the 15th
day however, it is uncommon in our country, it's not in Poland and not in New York and definitely not in Houston, we're not referring to our cities but only those of the land of Israel. My dear friends congratulations, this concludes Semen 41-41 Semen Kuf Mem Aleph and now we are opening the floor to your questions with Ask Away number 35 my dear friends, have a magnificent week, please join us on the next broadcast, we're going live in a couple of minutes.

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