Community Magazine March 2019

18 Community Magazine Words of Rabbi Eli J. Mansour If you look around the Bet Knesset on Purim night, you will probably agree that the decorum during the megillah reading is almost unparalleled - at least until the kids unleash their ammunition. You see people bent over their megillah meticulously following every word. This is noteworthy, since even for the reading the holy Torah itself on Shabbat, you will inevitably find those same people daydreaming or even dozing off. The question is why. What is so special about the Megillat Esther that it commands such paramount prominence? The mekubalim (kabbalists) teach that there is a unique spiritual light which is revealed on Purim. They explain that this light actually emanates from the megillah . What is this secret illumination that makes this book so special? What the Halakha Tells Us The question becomes bigger when you consider that also in halakha reading the megillah has a rare stature. Consider the following three halakhot: First, the G emara in Masechet Megillah (p. 3) states that reading the megillah on Purim overrides even the most holy of services. Even Kohanim in the Bet Hamikdash must interrupt offering sacrifices; Levi’im must leave the stage of their singing; Yisrael’im descend from their post in the Temple to read Megillat Esther . Moreover, the G emara continues and says that reading the ten chapters of the Purim story even overrides learning Torah! This is indeed surprising. The Gemara even entertains the possibility that reading Megillat Esther would override a met missva (burying a corpse that has no other caregivers). Although the conclusion is that megillah does not override met missva, the very thought is astounding. We know that met missva trumps all other misvot. Even someone on his way to bring the korban Pesah (Paschal sacrifice) or the Kohen Gadol (high priest) about to enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur must lose the opportunity to do so and tend to the corpse. What is so important about reading the megillah ? It seems to be merely a Rabbinic command to read a ten-chapter story. “… remember to bring your sunglasses with you - not as a costume, but because of the tremendous light that emanates from the megillah as soon as we open it.” לעילוי נשמתם של משה בן עליזה, יצחק הלל בן עליזה, והנרייט לאה בת עליזה, דוד בן גילה, רבקה בת גילה, יהושע בן גילה, משה בן גילה, שרה בת גילה, יעקב בן גילה, ואליאנה בת גילה. ולרפואה שלמה ליוסף בן אהובה מסעודה, שילת אהובה בת עליזה, ודניאל בן עליזה. When Preparing for Purim – Don’t Forget the Sunglasses! Mishloach Manot Matanot L’evyonim Sunglasses Megillah Reading Purim Seuda PURIM CHECKLIST