We are commanded each year to read Megillat Esther! So if you have been doing Judaism for some time now, you can probably retell the story of Purim! How much of the story can you piece together? and if you can't remember all of it (or retelling it becomes more of a game of telephone (jumbled characters, wonky timeline) then we should probably follow that commandment and READ the story! But do we need to read the entire thing... the WHOLE MEGILLAH as some might say!
What does the Talmud Say?
When the Talmud discusses the laws of Megillah reading, it asks: How much of the Book of Esther should a person have to read on Purim in order to check that off their to-do list? After all, it is a pretty long book...here's what they have to say:
ומהיכן קורא אדם את המגילה ויוצא בה י"ח ר"מ אומר כולה ר' יהודה אומר מאיש יהודי רבי יוסי אומר מאחר הדברים האלה:
Beginning from where must a person read the Megilla in order to fulfill his obligation? Rabbi Meir says: He must read all of it. Rabbi Yehuda says: He need read only from “There was a certain Jew” (Esther 2:5). Rabbi Yosei says: From “After these things” (Esther 3:1).
Rabbi Meir isn't willing to compromise; he says we have to read the whole Megillah - all ten chapters. Rabbi Yehuda gives us the option of reading from close to the beginning of the second chapter, and Rabbi Yosei says that starting from the third chapter would work just as well.
Take a look at these different starting points. For each of the three opinions, ask yourself these questions:
1) If I read the book from this starting point, who is the hero?
2) Who is the most important character?
3) What is the message of the book?
Since you already know the basic story, you don't have to read every word, just skim the chapters to get a sense of the different perspectives that these three opinions might represent. You can find the full text here.
You be the Talmudic Rabbi!
- Should Jews read the entire story, start from one of the suggested starting points, or do you have another opinion?
- What do you think is the most important part of the text?
- What is the one Megillah lesson every Jew should remind themselves of each year?