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One is required to read the Megillah at night, and then again during the day. The Megillah may be read all night till the coming of dawn. By day, the Megillah may likewise be read from sunrise till sunset. However, if one has read the Megillah even before sunrise, but at least after dawn, he has fulfilled his obligation to read the Megillah. Both men and women are obligated to read the Megillah (or hear it read).
The most preferred manner of fulfilling the Mitzvah is to read the Megillah publicly, and in the Synagogue. Even if there are many people in one's company, he should not read the Megillah at home, but should rather go to the Synagogue, since, 'In a multitude there is Majesty;' and the miracle is made known more widely.
Positive Torah commandments are all deferred for the sake of hearing the Megillah. Even the study of the Torah is suspended for the Megillah Reading. The only Mitzvah which is not deferred by the Reading of the Megillah, is the Mitzvah of providing burial for a dead person, when there is no one else available to do so.
If one hears the Megillah read, he fulfills the obligation as if he were to read it himself; provided that the Reader is himself obligated to perform Mitzvot. It is, however, necessary to hear every single word, for if one has not heard the entire Megillah, he has not fulfilled his obligation.
It is proper for every person to hold a Megillah on parchment before him and to read along in a whisper, as he hears the Reader. If a scroll is not available, then a person should use a printed Megillah.
The Reader pauses when he reaches each of the four 'verses-of-redemption' which are found in the Megillah. As he pauses, the congregation reads each verse aloud, and the Reader then repeats it from his Megillah since those who fulfill the obligation of reading the Megillah by hearing it read, are required to hear the entire Megillah read. The following are the four 'verses-of-redemption:' 'There was a Jew in Shushan...' 'And Mordechai went forth from before the King in royal garments...' 'Unto the Jews there was light...' 'For Mordechai, the Jew, was second to the King. . .' The purpose of this custom is to keep the children from slumber so that the great miracle performed for Israel in the days of Mordechai and Esther, might enter their hearts.
The passage, 'That night the sleep of the King was disturbed,' is customarily read aloud; that is, more loudly, and with a variation in the melody, because therein the salvation of the Jews begins to be revealed.
The names of the ten sons of Haman together with the four preceding words ('500 men and'), and the word 'ten' which follows, are all read in one breath: thereby indicating that they were all slain and hung together. The 500 men mentioned with them, consisted of ten groups - each under the command of one of Haman's sons - who were charged with executing their wishes. If the Reader fails to hold his breath for the duration of the entire passage, he nevertheless fulfills the obligation of the Megillah Reading.
The Brachot of the Megillah
The reader of the Megillah recites three brachot prior to the reading, and one afterwards, and he should intend to fulfill the obligation of the congregation. The congregation answers 'Amen,' and they should likewise intend to fulfill the Mitzvah. They do not say 'Baruch Hu u'varuch Shemo' - in order not to interrupt in the middle of the brachah. Before the Megillah-Reading three brachot are said:
- 'Who sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the Reading of the Megillah...'
- 'Who made miracles for our fathers in those days at this time...'
- 'Who kept us alive and sustained us...'
Afterwards, one brachah is said: 'Who waged our quarrels...' Two concluding passages follow, as indicated in the 'Siddur.' The second of these contains the word: 'Cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordechai . . . and also Charvonah shall be remembered for good.' The prayer is an allusion to the Sages' injunction to utter words of curse against Haman, and of blessing upon Mordechai and Charvonah. The first of the two concluding passages 'Asher heni' is not said after the Megillah-Reading by day.
The brachot preceding the Megillah-Reading are said before the reading of the Megillah by day as well; except that in saying 'Shehecheyanu,' ('Who kept us alive'), the Reader should intend to apply his 'brachah' to the other Mitzvot of the day - the Purim Feast, the Sending of Gifts, the Giving of Gifts to the Poor.
If one reads the Megillah alone, he recites the 'brachot' which precede it, but not the one which follows. If one has already fulfilled the obligation of reading the Megillah, and he wishes to read it a second time publicly for the sake of others, he recites all the 'brachot' beginning and end. If one reads the Megillah for another individual, he recites only the first brachot. And if the individual knows the brachot well, he says them himself.
Before the brachah which follows the Megillah Reading, the Megillah is rolled together since it is not respectful to keep the Megillah open after the reading. Before the Reading, the Megillah was folded in the form of a letter, because it is referred to as an 'Iggeret,' a letter. When the Megillah is read before women, the first brachah is changed. Since women are obligated only to hear the Megillah read, but not to read it themselves, the word 'lishmoa' (to hear) is used, instead of 'al mikra Megillah' ('over the Reading of the Megillah'). In Sephardic communities, there was an earlier “Pesak” by the Ben Ish Chai, that the Megillah is read for women without a “Berachah.” However, there has been a more recent “Pesak” by Rav Ovadiah Yosef, that the Megillah is read for women with the same “Berachah” – “al Mikra Megillah,” that is recited when the Megillah is read for men. Sephardic communities are divided as to which “Pesak” they follow.
