Purim

It is a mitzva for each and every Jew to give matanot la-evyonim on Purim. In order to fulfill this mitzva, one must give a minimum of two gifts – one each to two poor people – but it is praiseworthy to give more.

The mitzva to rejoice on Purim is quite unique. This joy must be accompanied by a heightened sense of love and unity among Jews. This is true joy, as it expresses a broadening of life and its spread through the love of all people.

The Sages did not originally establish Purim as a holiday on which work is prohibited. Over time, however, the Jewish people developed a custom to refrain from work on Purim.

The Sages formulated the Al Ha-nisim prayer so that we may thank God for the salvation He performed for the Jewish people at the time of Purim. The Sages enacted that three people are called to the Torah on Purim to read the section beginning with “Amalek came”.

The execution of Haman and his ten sons is an integral part of the Megilla, for it confirms that justice was done and the wicked people who rose up against the nation of Israel were punished and put to death.

Since Megilat Esther is referred to as a “letter,” it is customary to prepare the scroll for reading in public by spreading it out and folding it over. One may sit or stand while fulfilling the mitzva of reading the Megilla.

The berakhot prepare us for the mitzva, focusing the reader and the listeners on fulfilling the mitzva and understanding its purpose: to remember and publicize the miracle that God performed for our ancestors.

Megilat Esther is considered holy writ; therefore, it must be written in the way a Torah scroll is written. When writing a Torah scroll, we make sure that all of its letters are written according to their exact configurations.

To fulfill the mitzva of reading the Megilla, one must read it from a kosher megilla that was written in ink on parchment. However, if the reader skips a word, or makes a mistake in one of the words that changes the meaning of the word, he has not discharged his obligation according to most poskim, and he must read the Megilla again properly.

It is a mitzva to train children to perform mitzvot, and from the moment a boy or girl reaches the stage at which he or she understands the Megilla and can listen to it as halakha requires, one must train them to do so.