Prologue:[1] Working in the barn from the break of dawn was exhausting. Cleaning the barn, sweeping the refuse, and caring for the horses had become his life. Every muscle in his body reprimanded him: “There must be a better way.  You were made for a better life. You are destined for greatness.” At that moment he […]

Chazal, our Sages, asked a strange question in the Gemara of Chullin (39b): Esther min haTorah minayin?“Where do we find a hint in the Torah to the book of Esther?”, the last book of Tanach to be canonised. The Gemara answers with the words, v’anochi haster astir panai, “I will hide my face on that day.” Hashem’s most […]

In a leap year we celebrate Purim in Adar Sheni in order to connect the redemption story of Purim adjacent to the redemption story of Pesach. Why is this more important than the principle of not passing over mitzvot? The end of Babylonian exile is the first time an exile of force becomes an exile […]

What are we fulfilling with the reading the megillah? Recounting the miracle is a form of publicizing the miracle and thus takes on an amplified status among mitzvot d’rabbanan. The obligation is based on the word נזכרים – remembered. Thus reading the megillah is closely associated with another זכירה – remembering Amalek, and is a […]

Rebbi Shimon ben Yochai told his students that the Jews in the generation of the Megillah were threatened with destruction because they bowed down to the statue erected by Nevuchadnetzer. Why are the Jews of the entire realm slated for destruction because of something that happened 45 years earlier? At the beginning of Galut Bavel […]

The Rosh says that when the Jews went to fight their enemies they went to war therefore we fast on Taanit Esther to commemorate that. What is the deeper reason? Why isn’t Hashem’s name mentioned in the megillah? The Ben Yehoyada says that Haman’s threat was never abolished completely. All we can do is to try […]

This shiur uncovers a deeper connection between Purim and Pesach. Using classical and contemporary sources while focusing on the texts of both Megillas Esther and those relating to Pesach, we discover echoes of Yetzias Mitzraim within the Purim story. Through these ideas, Mrs. Orlian explores the goal of honing our sensitivity to the blessings in […]

The OU Daf Yomi Initiative presents a collection of shiurim on tractate Megillah, as well as halacha shiurim, designed to uplift and enhance your Purim experience. * Shiurim from tractate Megillah exploring Megillas Esther, delivered by Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Rabbi Shalom Rosner and Rabbi Yosef Grossman. * Halacha videos by Rabbi Moshe Elefant, sponsored by kosher.com. * […]

There are 2 mitzvot connected to Amalek – remembering what they did and eliminating them. We are never vulnerable to the external Amalek unless there is a part of Amalek that is in our character. Thus, even if we can’t eradicate Amalek externally, we can eradicate those aspects of our personalities. The two traits of […]