19 Mar IS A KOSHER MEGILLAH NECESSARY?

Many wonder why
some people have a
kosher Megillah scroll
if they’re going to hear
the Megillah reading
from the Baal Kore’.
The simple answer is
that if one indeed listens attentively and can
hear every word from the Baal Kore’, they
may not necessarily need the physical scroll of
the Megillah. The problem arises when one
misses a word due to noise, tiredness from the
long day, sitting too far from the Baal Kore’,
or any other reason. Sitting far from the person
reading is particularly common among
women, who are also obligated in the Mitsva
of Megillah just as men are.
If one missed even one word from the reading
of the Baal Kore’, they may not have fulfilled
the Mitsva of Megillah reading(תסז סימן רשב״א
א ,יח מגילה ור״ן (. The remedy for such a
scenario is to read from the Chumash that one
has in front of them and then read until they
catch up with the Baal Kore’. Doing it this
way will be considered as if they heard the
Megillah, but only Bedieved. However, many
people can’t catch up with the Baal Kore’, in
which case they may not fulfill the Mitsva at
all. To avoid such a situation, one can have a
kosher Megillah and follow along. They may
then either read it in a whispering sound or

read just the word they missed and catch up
with the Baal Kore’. In both cases, they would
fulfill the Mitsva properly.
סימן תרפט ס״ק יט)Brura Mishna the Therefore
one that says) והגר״ע יוסף בחזו״ע פורים עמוד עט
should try to have a kosher scroll Megila.
Another issue with following from a Chumash
is that people tend to ‘space out’ or ‘dream’
during part of the reading since it is so long.
גרי״ש אלישיב באשרי האיש פרק מג) Poskim The
ה״ז (write that by doing so we miss hearing
some words which then we won’t fulfill our
obligation.
Another advantage of owning a kosher
Megillah is that you can recite the bracha
yourself, rather than hearing it from the Baal
בן איש חי תצוה הלכה יא חיד״א בברכי יוסף)Koreh
סק״ה רצה סימן (. When saying the blessing over
a kosher Megillah, one should have the
intention in their heart not to fulfill the
blessing they hear from the Baal Koreh.
The Beit Yosef(תרצ סימן (from the Rashba(ח״א
ותשכז תסז סימן (explains that while one who
holds a Chumash should not read from it, as
he may attention to his reading which isn’t
kosher rather than hearing it from the Baal
Koreh, someone who holds a kosher Megillah
may read it quietly to himself while the Baal
Koreh reads it aloud.

Can an Ashkenazi hear the
Megillah from a Sephardi
reader, or vice versa? The
poskim permit this, since the
Megillah may even be read in
languages other than Lashon
גרי״ש אלישיב ספר)Hakodesh
,However .) יבקשו תורה עמוד קל
this reading is considered
חזו״ע עמוד פ ותשובות)bedieved
,Therefore .) והנהגות ח״א סימן תא
if one finds themselves in such
a scenario, they should quietly
read from their own Megillah
in order not to interrupt others
while the baal koreh is reading with their
syllable.
At some large shuls, they use a microphone
when reading the Megillah to ensure everyone
can hear the reading. However, there is a
machloket among authorities regarding
whether hearing the Megillah through a
microphone is considered valid. Therefore,
someone who must be at such a place should
also read along from a kosher Megillah.
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach(שלמה הליכות
ה״ד יט פרק (pointed out that during the reading,
there are portions where the congregation
reads loudly ahead before the baal kore, who
then repeats those sections. The rabbi suggests
that one who is reading from a Chumash must
intend not to fulfill their obligation through
this reading, as it would then be considered
as if they read from a non-kosher Megillah,
but instead wait to hear it from the baal
kore’. Thus, reading from a kosher Megillah
would resolve this issue.
Needless to say, the Megillah comes in very
handy for those who can’t go to shul. For
example, if one doesn’t feel well or lives in
an area without a reading, or if one missed
the reading for some reason. This is
especially relevant for women, who may
sometimes give birth and don’t have anyone
to read for them. In places where they can’t
make it to the reading, their husband can
read it for them.
The Guide to Buying a Kosher Megillah.
If one decides to buy a Megillah, they should
pay attention to a few things in order to
purchase the correct Megillah. There are
four basic types of writings: Ashkenazi,
Sephardi, Arizal (Chasidish), and Baal
Hatania. One should try to purchase a
Megillah according to their custom. For
example, a Sephardi megillah, besides
having different shapes to the letters
compared to Ashkenazi writings, should also
have a stick sewn to the Megillah. Without
this stick, the Megillah isn’t considered
kosher.The Ashkenazi custom is not to have
. (שולחן ערוך ורמ״א סימן תרצא סעיף ב)stick a
Additionally, the names of Haman’s children
should be on a separate page on their own. If
one has more psukim written on that page
before or after, according to Ashkenazim it’s

only considered acceptable bedieved(משנ״ב
,Sephardim to according but ,) סימן תרצא ס״ק כ
אור לציון ח״ד עמוד שלה)pasul is Megillah the
. (בשם פר״ח והשיירי כנסת הגדולה
Some Chabad Megilot are the size of a Sefer
Torah parchment and the names of Haman’s
children aren’t on a separate page, as was the
case with the Megillah of the Maharash.
The Vilna Gaon, a prominent Jewish scholar,
had an opinion about the writing of the
Megillah known as the Gra Megillah. In this
version, there are 11 lines of text. The reason
for this unique format is explained by the
Vilna Gaon: he believed that the names of
Haman’s children should be written in the
same size as all other text. Jewish law prohibits
writing letters in a larger size without
instructions from sages. Therefore, to maintain
uniformity in letter size while including
Haman’s children’s names, which must be
written across the entire page, the Gra
Megillah was written with 11 lines. This
format ensures that all the text, including the
names of Haman’s children, is the same size
and kosher according to Jewish law.
Needless to say, the Megillah should be
purchased from a yere shamayim sofer or a
trustworthy seller. This is because writing a
Megillah has many Halachot that must be
followed to make it valid. For example, a sofer
must say first that he’s writing it “leshem
Kedushat Megilah” – I’m writing for the
Kedusha of a Megillah. Forgetting to say this
invalidates the Megillah. It must also have
lines scratched on the parchment, use black
ink, the letters should not be touching, and
they should adhere to all the many laws that
apply to writing “stam”.
One who purchases a Megillah should avoid
getting scammed by the seller, as Megillot are
often the first things a new scribe starts
writing. They typically begin with a Megillah
since it doesn’t contain Hashem’s name.
Obviously, their writings are still not as nice
and consistent, therefore, they write the last
pages first and end with the first page. The
reason is that when one looks at a Megillah to
buy it, they often examine the first couple of
pages, assuming the rest would be the same.
Then, during the reading of the Megillah in
shul, they discover many surprises on the
middle pages that they didn’t expect.