Megillot

The five biblical scrolls read on five different occasions — most famously the Megillat Esther on Purim.

By The Editors

Diving Deeper · 3 minute read

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Summary. The Five Megillot are biblical scrolls read on five holidays: Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) on Pesach, Rut (Ruth) on Shavuot, Eichah (Lamentations) on Tisha B’Av, Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) on Sukkot, and Esther on Purim. The most prominent in practice is Megillat Esther, which is read from a klaf (parchment scroll) on Purim night and morning. A kosher Megillat Esther scroll is a substantial purchase; many shuls own one and lend or sell privately produced ones to congregants. Reading from a printed text is permissible if a scroll is unavailable, but the mitzvah is to read from the klaf.

The Five Books

Shir HaShirim — Song of Songs. Read on Shabbat Chol HaMo’ed Pesach (or on Pesach itself when it falls on Shabbat). Read at the end of the Friday-night Ma’ariv in many Chassidic communities. The Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 10:3) reads its erotic poetry as the supreme allegory of the soul’s love for God.

Rut — Ruth. Read on Shavuot. The story of the Moabite convert who becomes the great-grandmother of David is the paradigmatic Jewish narrative of chesed and conversion. Tradition holds that David was born and died on Shavuot.

Eichah — Lamentations. Chanted on the night and morning of Tisha B’Av in the special, mournful Eichah trope. The book is a poetic lament over the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.

Kohelet — Ecclesiastes. Read on Shabbat Chol HaMo’ed Sukkot. The most philosophical book of Tanakh, traditionally attributed to Shlomo HaMelech in his old age.

Esther — Esther. Read twice on Purim: once on the night of Purim and once on the morning. The mitzvah is to hear every word, hence the importance of a competent reader. A Megillah without God’s name explicit but with God’s providence on every page.

The Megillah Scroll

A kosher Megillat Esther scroll, hand-written by a sofer on parchment in stam script, costs $500–$5,000 depending on size, quality, and decoration. The scroll is rolled to allow reading; the four columns at a time are typical. The scroll is unrolled to lie flat on the lap of the reader rather than rolled like a Torah scroll; this is a distinctive feature of the Megillat Esther. Some scrolls are illuminated (decorated with miniature paintings); the great Sephardic illuminated Megillot are remarkable works of art.

Hearing the Megillah

The mitzvah on Purim is to hear every word of the Megillah read from a kosher scroll. Hence the importance of: (1) attending shul on both Purim night and Purim morning; (2) finding a competent reader; (3) refraining from talking during the reading; (4) ensuring that the noise made at Haman’s name does not drown out subsequent words. Failure to hear a word may require asking the reader to repeat it. A New Jew who does not yet know the trope can follow along with a printed Megillah.

Where Denominations Diverge

Universal in Orthodox practice. Conservative practice is essentially identical. Reform observance of Megillah readings is increasingly common, especially for Esther on Purim and Eichah on Tisha B’Av. Reform congregations sometimes substitute partial readings or selected passages.

Sources

Megillot themselves (Shir HaShirim, Rut, Eichah, Kohelet, Esther) within the Ketuvim.

Mishnah Megillah; Talmud Bavli, Megillah.

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Megillah.

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 686–697.