DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 740 KB)
Handling a Megila on Shabbat

Under what circumstance is an object considered Mukse in one area, but entirely permissible for handling in other locations?

Such a situation, interestingly enough, arises when Purim – the fourteenth of Adar – occurs on Friday.

Generally speaking, it is entirely permissible to handle a Megila on Shabbat, just as Halacha permits handling Torah scrolls, Haftara scrolls and ordinary books on Shabbat. Since these articles are used for reading and studying, Halacha permits handling and using them on Shabbat.

The one exception to this rule is when the fifteenth of Adar falls on Shabbat. Normally, Jews in Jerusalem observe Purim on this date – the fifteenth of Adar (as opposed to other locales, where Purim is celebrated on the fourteenth). When the fifteenth falls on Shabbat, however, the Sages forbade reading the Megila, out of concern that somebody might mistakenly carry the Megila through a public domain, in violation of Shabbat. The Peri Hadash (commentary to the Shulhan Aruch by Rav Hizkiya Da Silva, 1659-1698) ruled that once the Sages forbade reading the Megila on Shabbat in such a case, the Megila becomes Mukse. Thus, in this particular instance, when the fifteenth of Adar falls on Shabbat, it is forbidden for the Jews in Jerusalem to handle the Megila. Elsewhere, however, one may handle the Megila, since they do not observe Purim on that day and there is thus no Rabbinic enactment forbidding Megila reading.

Summary: It is permissible to read, study from or move a Megilat Ester scroll on Shabbat, except when the fifteenth of Adar falls on Shabbat, in which case people in Jerusalem may not handle a Megila on this day.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is it Permissible to Draw Hot Water From an Urn With Ladle on Shabbat?
The Woman’s Obligation in Kiddush
Using a Moistened Cloth or Napkin on Shabbat
Halachot Pertaining to Lel Shabbat: Covering the Table, Reciting Shalom Alechem, and Covering the Bread
The Recitation of “Bo’i Kalla” in Kabbalat Shabbat
Repeating Kiddush for Those Who Have Yet to Hear Kiddush
Cutting a Branch of Hadasim or a Cluster of Grapes on Shabbat
Fasting on Shabbat
When Should One Recite Kiddush and Begin the Shabbat Meal When Accepting Shabbat Early?
Situations Where One May Derive Benefit from a Light Turned on by a Gentile During Shabbat
The Status of Food Cooked by a Gentile on Shabbat; Asking a Gentile to Restore Power in Order to Heat Food on Shabbat
Does Dignity Supersede The Laws of Muktze, Such As In The Case of Tearing Toilet Tissue
Preparing Instant Coffee, Hot Chocolate and Tea on Shabbat
The Custom of Eating Sambusak on Shabbat
Food That Was Purchased Specifically for Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found