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21. Purim and Chanukah - Megillah ve-Chanukah
a) Purim
The prophets instituted the reading of the Scroll (megillah)
of Esther on the night and day of Purim, the
fourteenth day of Adar (but in certain walled cities it is
read on the fifteenth; in some villages it used to
be read on the previous Monday or Thursday) or on the
thirteenth if the fourteenth falls on a sabbath.a The
megillah must be written in ink on parchment like a Torah
scroll.b Purim must be celebrated with a banquet and
by sending portions of food to one's friends and giving
gifts to the poor, as it says "[To make the fourteenth
day of the month Adar or the fifteenth day of it...days
of banqueting and happiness] and sending of portions
each to his friend and gifts to the poor".1,c
b) Chanukah
The sages instituted an eight-day celebration
(Chanukah) beginning on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev
in commemoration of the recapture of the Temple by the
Hasmoneans. On each of the eight nights candles are
lit at the doors of houses, and on each of the eight
days hallel (Psalms 113-118) is recited.d It is
customary to light one candle the first night, two the
second, and so on. The candles should be put on the side
of the door opposite the mezuzah, or in a window
facing the street if one does not live on the ground level.e
Sources: |
| 1. Esther 9:21-22 |
a. 1:1,3,4,6,9,13 |
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b. 2:9ff. |
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c. 2:14-16 |
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d. 3:1-3,5 |
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e. 4:1,7 |
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ARTICLES ON
CHUKAS:
Symbolism Over Substance Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky - 5759
Leadership or Independence? Rabbi Berel Wein - 5768
Speculations on the Red Cow Rabbi Yissocher Frand - 5757
 The TRUE Red Threat Rabbi Pinchas Winston - 5762
The War of the Words Rabbi Berel Wein - 5764
From The Nile to Denial Rabbi Pinchas Winston - 5764
 An Idle Mind... Shlomo Katz - 5768
Wagon Full of Fuel Rabbi Raymond Beyda - 5767
Balancing Act Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann - 5761
Uncommon Courtesy Rabbi Pinchas Avruch - 5766
Building on Shaky Foundations Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann - 5766
Man is Like an Earthenware Vessel Rabbi Yissocher Frand - 5755
'Kill' Yourself for Torah Rabbi Yaakov Menken - 5760
Bilam's Big Appetite Shlomo Katz - 5760
Never the Twain Shall Meet Rabbi Yissocher Frand - 5760
Miriam's Death Rabbi Yissocher Frand - 5759

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