מנהג קיפול המגילה בקהילות האשכנזים The Custom of Folding the Megillah

Rav Hai Gaon of blessed memory wrote, "A custom that we observe: whoever is reading the [Esther] Scroll reads and spreads [it] like a letter. However to read and roll [it] like a Torah Scroll is not observed by us.

One who reads the [Esther] Scroll is public rolls and reads it like a Torah Scroll. He is allowed to pause where ever he pleases, whether it is the end of a verse. or the middle of a verse. This is the custom in the two academies, and this is also what Rav Amram Gaon, head of the academy, said. Accordingly Rav Yehudai Gaon wrote: One who reads the [Esther] Scroll in public rolls and reads it like a Torah Scroll and does not spread it like a letter, since in the two academies, the hall of our master in Babylon, and in all places in Palestine they read it like a Torah Scroll, and this is the popular custom.

Rav Hai Gaon said, the custom that we observe is [to] read and spread [the Esther Scroll] like a letter. However [to] read and roll [it] like a Torah Scroll is not observed by us.

When he wants to read [the Esther Scroll] he spreads all of it before [he reads] like a letter, thus he does not roll and read like a Torah Scroll.

And it is the custom of all of Israel that the reader of the [Esther] Scroll reads and spreads [it] like a letter, to show the miracle. And when he finishes, he goes back and rolls all of it and recites the blessing.

Maimonides wrote, "The custom in Palestine is: The one who reads the [Esther] Scroll reads and spreads [it] like a letter and when he finishes he rolls it up again and blesses. Note: this is found [written] in the name of Our Master Meir the Cantor. This is also how Our Teacher Rav Meir [of Rothenburg] of blessed memory practiced. There are places that spread the [Esther] Scroll like a letter before the reading. What is the source of this custom?! Does it not say "He reads and spreads"! Implying that the one who performs the reading does not spread [it at all], for if [the scroll] needed to be spread before the reading, he would not have needed to say, "He reads and spreads like a letter", since [he could have communicated the action of spreading while reading more efficiently]. Instead he should have said, "Regarding one who reads the [Esther] Scroll, when he finishes [reading], he returns, rolls it up and blesses." The interpretation of having the [Esther] Scroll [completely] spread during the reading fits better, since [Maimonides] said, "He returns and rolls it up." If he said that, I would have thought that he does not spread [the scroll] even while reading, rather he reads and rolls like a Torah Scroll, as Mar son of Rav Itzhak wrote. When [Maimonides] said, "He returns and rolls it up", I would have have thought that it means, when he finishes the reading, he returns and rolls it up entirely from its end to its beginning. That cannot be the correct interpretation, because why would we require him to return and roll it up? He should roll it up as is! Did we not teach regarding Torah reading in the third chapter of [Tractate] Megillah that one who reads the Torah does not skip from section to section even within one topic. This is so that he does not confuse the translator who is translating the text by heart. Rashi explains that it is disrespectful to the congregation who must stand silently while [The Torah scroll] is rolled after the reading. The [reading] of the [Esther] Scroll is more important than the reading of the Torah, since we stop Torah study to read the [Esther] Scroll. [We also remove] priests from their service, Levites from their stage, and Israelites from their posts, so certainly we would [stop Torah study]. Despite [the Esther Scroll's importance], it is [still] disgraceful and burdensome to the congregation to be silent for so long. However if he spread [the scroll] while reading in order to publicize the miracle, thereby requiring him to roll it up after the reading, it is not disgraceful to the congregation. It is in fact a disgrace to the [Esther] Scroll to be left open for no purpose after the completion of its reading, therefore he must roll it up after the completion of its reading. If you want to say that [the Esther Scroll] needs to be spread before the reading, then [Maimonides] would have said, 'One who reads the [Esther] Scroll places it spread as is, and when he finishes [reading it], he returns, rolls it up completely and blesses." [Maimonides] would also have to say, "He reads and spreads [it] like a letter, and when he finishes rolling it up, he blesses." Since he said, "he returns and rolls it up", perhaps he thought that before the reading it is not spread, and he returns and rolls it up like it was originally, before the reading.

Answer: It can be understood from the statement of our masters, "He reads and spreads", that during the moment of reading [the scroll] should be similar to a letter. Based on this the ancients would spread [the scroll] before the reading. It may be an obligation that even the smallest bit of [the scroll] that has already been read should not be rolled up, since what happened happened.

Rav Hai of blessed memory wrote, "The custom that we observe is whoever reads the [Esther] Scroll spreads and reads [it] like a letter, but we do not observe [the practice of reading it] like a Torah Scroll." Rav Natronai of blessed memory wrote, "They know that in the two academies that are in the hall of our master in Babylon and in many places in Israel they read and roll [the Esther Scroll] like a Torah Scroll." [The communities] in Spain, Germany and Northern France practice according to Rav Hai.

Rav Hai wrote, "The custom that we observe is whoever is reading the [Esther] Scroll spreads and reads like a letter etc." This language, ["spreads and reads"], implies that he spreads it before the reading, and that is the custom. However in all the other compositions that quote the statement of Rav Hai it is written, "He reads and spreads like a letter", implying that [the scroll] is not spread before the reading, rather during the reading he leaves the part, that he has read, spread out until he finishes the reading. This has already been explained at length in the responsa of Maharil section 56. The conclusion is to spread out [the scroll] before the reading. In any case [Maharil] is quoted saying that specifically one who reads in public for others [needs to spread out the scroll], but individuals that have scrolls do not need to spread [them out]. (See his sermons) This is based on the words of Maimonides who wrote, "He reads and spreads [the Esther Scroll] like a letter to demonstrate the miracle." That only applies when one reads in public for others.

(17) 17. It is a custom of all Jews that the reader reads and spreads out [the Megillah] like a letter in order to make the miracle seen. And when one finishes, one goes back and wraps it all up and makes a blessing.

(10) He reads and spreads [it] like a letter.

This implies that he only spreads what he is reading, but the Tur wrote the opposite, "He spreads it and reads [it] like a letter"; implying that he spreads it first before the reading. That is the custom.