**Purim Message from Rabbi Mansour**
1) Rabbi Eli Mansour distributes Matanot La’Evyonim donations to many needy families and individuals on Purim. This year, you can have Rabbi Mansour be your Shaliach (messenger) in this required Mitzvah. See the Halacha entitled “Purim- The Laws & Importance of Matanot La'evyonim” for an understanding of the minimum dollar amount one should give to the needy. To fulfill your obligation and have Rabbi Mansour disburse your donations, send an email to info@dailyhalacha.com with the total amount of your contribution, and include your credit card number, name on the card, and expiration date. (This method is very secure. LearnTorah.com will be the listed merchant on your Credit Card bill.) Once processed, your credit card information will be permanently discarded. The deadline to send your contribution via email is Wednesday, Feb. 28th.
2) Purim Schedule with Rabbi Eli Mansour:
Thursday, March 1st- Taanit Esther
Fast begins 5:23 AM
Daf Yomi 6:00 AM
Shacharit 7:00 AM
Minha 5:10 PM
Fast Ends 6:10 PM
Saturday Evening, March 3rd- Motzae Shabbat/ Purim Night
All on the basement level of Har HaLebanon
Minha Shabbat 5:15 PM
Seudat Shelishi 5:45 PM
Rabbi Mansour’s Lecture 6:00 PM
Arbit 6:45 PM
Megilah 7:10 PM
Purim Party 10:00 PM (Men Only)
Sunday, March 4th- Purim Day
All on the basement level of Har HaLebanon
Daf Yomi 7:00 AM
Shacharit 8:00 AM
Megilat Esther 8:30 AM
Seudah following Shacharit
Minha Gedolah 1:00 PM
Today’s Halacha….
The Gemara in Masechet Megila (16) establishes that the one reading the Megila must read the list of the names of Haman's ten sons (9:7-9) in a single breath. The reason for this Halacha, as the Gemara explains, is to commemorate the fact that Haman's ten sons all died simultaneously, at the same moment. The Gemara rules that the word that appears immediately following the list of Haman's sons – "Aseret" – must also be recited in the single breath in which one reads the names.
The widespread custom is to begin this single breath with the three words immediately preceding the list of Haman's sons – "Chameish Mei'ot Ish" ("five hundred men," referring to the five hundred Persians killed by the Jews in Shushan). The Maharil (Rabbi Yaakov Molin, Germany, 1365-1427) explains that Haman's ten sons served as "Sarei Chamishim," supervisors assigned over fifty lower officials. The five hundred men mentioned in the verse were the five hundred officials under the charge of Haman's ten sons, who were killed at the same time as Haman's sons. It is therefore appropriate to include these words in the same breath in which one reads the names of Haman's sons.
If the reader did not read the names of Haman's sons in one breath, has he and the congregation fulfilled their obligation, or must the reader repeat the reading so that he could read the names of Haman's sons in one breath?
Tosefot in Masechet Megila write that this requirement to read the names of Haman's sons in one breath applies only on the level of "Le'chatechila" – the optimal standard. If, however, one did not read the names of Haman's sons in one breath, he has nevertheless fulfilled his obligation. This is the ruling of many other Talmudic commentators, as well, and this is the position codified by the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserless, Poland, 1525-1572), in his glosses to the Shulchan Aruch in siman 690:15; this is also the ruling of Chacham Ovadia Yosef.
The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chayim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Tetzaveh (9), warns that the person reading the Megila must remember while reading the names of Haman's sons not to read any words by heart. Since the reader is hurrying to complete the entire list in a single breath, and this list is arranged in the Torah scroll in two columns separated by a large space, the reader is prone to read some of the list by heart, rather than quickly moving his eyes back and forth to read the complete text from the Megila. One must ensure to read each word from the scroll, and not from memory. Nevertheless, if one read a small portion of the Megila from memory, he has nevertheless fulfilled his obligation.
Upon the completion of the Megila reading, the reader rolls the Megila and then recites the Beracha of "Ha'Kel Ha'rav Et Riveinu," which concludes with "Baruch Ata Hashem Ha'nifra Le'amo Yisrael Mi'kol Tzareihem Ha'Kel Ha'moshi'a." The recitation of this Beracha is not indispensable for the fulfillment of the Mitzva; one who did not recite the Berachot before or after the Megila reading has nevertheless satisfied his obligation.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Chazon Ovadia (Laws of Purim, p. 89), rules that the Beracha of "Ha'Kel Ha'Rav Et Riveinu" is recited only when the Megila is read in the presence of ten men or women; it is not recited when the Megila is read privately, without the presence of ten men or women. Children who have reached the age of training in Mitzvot also count towards the "Minyan" for the purposes of this Halacha.
Summary: The one who reads the Megila must read the names of Haman's ten sons in one breath, from the words "Chameish Mei'ot Ish" through the word "Aseret." He must ensure to read all the words from the Megila, and not from memory. If he did not read this section in one breath, he and the congregation have nevertheless fulfilled their obligation. After the Megila reading, the Megila is rolled and – if ten men or women are present – the Beracha of "Ha'Kel Ha'rav Et Riveinu" is recited.
