{"id":221,"date":"2020-03-08T01:36:24","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T05:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/?p=221"},"modified":"2020-07-28T09:43:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T13:43:52","slug":"golinkin-megillah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/2020\/03\/08\/golinkin-megillah\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabbi David Golinkin: In Light of the Spread of the Corona Virus, is it Permissible to Listen to the Megillah Reading \u201cLive\u201d via Telephone, Radio, Television or Facebook?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question from Dr. Yizhar Hess, Director General of the Masorti Movement:\u00a0<\/strong>In light of the spread of the corona virus, is it permissible to listen to the Megillah reading \u201clive\u201d via telephone, radio, television or Facebook?<\/p>\n

Responsum:<\/strong>\u00a0I am replying in brief since the matter is urgent, and since I am in the middle of a trip to the United States and have no books.<\/p>\n

I.\u00a0Pikuah Nefesh<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Saving a life\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As many know,\u00a0Pikuah Nefesh<\/em>\u00a0takes precedence over most of the mitzvot in the Torah. Therefore, it\u2019s clear that if a doctor or the Ministry of Health determine that someone requires quarantine for two weeks, they are required by halakhah to obey.<\/p>\n

II. Reading the Megillah at Home<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s preferable to read the Megillah in public (Orah Hayyim<\/em>\u00a0690:18), but it\u2019s also permissible to read the Megillah at home (ibid.<\/em>). Therefore, if a person has a kosher Megillah on parchment, he\/she may read it at home.<\/p>\n

III. A leniency is preferable to a stringency<\/strong><\/p>\n

In general, I am of the opinion that a leniency is preferable to a stringency, on the basis of our Sages, who said: \u201cAnd you shall live by them \u2013 and not die by them\u201d (Yoma<\/em>\u00a085b); \u201cthe power of a permissive ruling is preferable\u201d (Berakhot<\/em>\u00a060a and parallels); and many other passages.<\/p>\n

IV. The generally lenient attitude towards the Megillah reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the specific case of the Megillah reading, our Sages and the Poskim (halakhic authorities) were very lenient. For example, one may read the Megillah sitting or standing (Megillah\u00a0<\/em>21a in the Mishnah); two may read the Megillah simultaneously, as opposed to the Torah reading which must be read by one reader (ibid.<\/em>, 21a and 21b); after the fact, it is permissible to read from a Megillah where up to half the text is missing (Orah Hayyim<\/em>\u00a0690:3); and one can take long breaks in the middle of the Megillah reading (ibid<\/em>). Therefore, it\u2019s possible to rule leniently in our case as well.<\/p>\n

V. The attitude of modern Poskim to our topic<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the invention of the telephone, radio and microphone, beginning in the late 19th<\/sup>\u00a0century, Jews began to ask the Poskim if it\u2019s permissible to listen to the Megillah reading via telephone, radio, microphone and television.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Those who ruled strictly<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Those who ruled strictly include important Poskim, such as:<\/p>\n

    Yosef Engel;
    \nShlomo Zalman Broin,\u00a0She\u2019arim Hametzutyanim Bahalakhah<\/em>;
    \nShlomo Zalman Auerbach;
    \nOvadiah Yosef;
    \nhis son R. Yitzhak Yosef;
    \nEliezer Waldenberg,\u00a0Tzitz Eliezer<\/em>;
    \nMeshulam Rath (Rata),\u00a0Kol Mevaser<\/em>;
    \nYehoshua Mordechai Feigenbaum;
    \nHalakhot Ketanot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    In general, they claimed that the voice which comes out of a microphone, radio and the like via a \u201cmembrane\u201d is different than the natural voice of a person and therefore the listener has not fulfilled his obligation to hear the Megillah. Even if this is true from a scientific point of view, they did not cite any Talmudic source which forbids this type of voice. As opposed to the Shofar (see below), there is no discussion in the Talmud regarding the nature of the voice for reading the Megillah. Therefore, even if the voice which is transmitted via a microphone, radio and the like is different, this does not mean that it is forbidden.<\/p>\n

    2. Those who ruled leniently<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Those who ruled leniently include important Poskim, such as:<\/p>\n

    Hayyim Elazar Shapira of Munkatch,\u00a0Minhat Elazar<\/em>;
    \nYa\u2019akov Moshe Toledano,\u00a0Yam Hagadol<\/em>;
    \nYehudah Leib Tzirelson,\u00a0Ma\u2019arkhei Lev<\/em>;
    \nTzvi Pesah Frank, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem;
    \nthe\u00a0Hazon Ish<\/em>;
    \nNatan Shlomo Shlisel,\u00a0Yerushat Pleitah<\/em>\u00a0(it\u2019s permissible under special circumstances);
    \nYosef Teomim, Av Bet Din of Detroit;
    \nMinhat Aharon;
    \n<\/em>Mikraei Kodesh;
    \n<\/em>Penei Meivin<\/em>\u00a0(it\u2019s permissible under special circumstances).<\/p>\n

    Some of these Poskim also allow one to listen to the Shofar via microphone, radio and the like.<\/p>\n

    However, many of them differentiate between Shofar, which is forbidden via microphone, radio and the like, and Megillah which is permissible. This is because the Mishnah in\u00a0Rosh Hashanah<\/em>\u00a0(27b) rules that \u201cone who blows [the Shofar] into a water cistern or a cellar\u2026 if he heard the sound of the Shofar, he has fulfilled his obligation, if he heard the sound of the echo, he has not fulfilled his obligation\u201d. The question in our day is whether the sound emanating from a microphone, radio and the like is the sound of the Shofar itself of the sound of the\u00a0echo<\/strong>\u00a0of the Shofar. But, regarding the Megillah, there is no Talmudic source which discusses the nature of the voice reading the Megillah.<\/p>\n

    Therefore, I agree with the Poskim who rule: listening to the Shofar via a microphone, radio and the like is forbidden; but listening to the Megillah is permissible.<\/p>\n

    VI. Practical halakhah<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In light of the above, it\u2019s permissible for a Jew in quarantine or who is afraid to attend synagogue because of the corona virus to listen to the Megillah via telephone, radio, television or Facebook, on condition that the transmission is live and not a recording.<\/p>\n

    May it be God\u2019s will that the doctors will discover both a vaccine and a cure for this dangerous virus in the very near future.<\/p>\n

    Rabbi David Golinkin
    \n9 Adar 5780 [March 8]<\/p>\n

    \n

    Bibliography
    \n<\/strong>(which summarizes most of the important responsa)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Hahashmal Bahalakhah,<\/em>\u00a0Vol. 1, Jerusalem, 5738, Chapter 13<\/p>\n

    Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef,\u00a0Responsa Yabia Omer,<\/em>\u00a0Part 1,\u00a0Orah Hayyim,<\/em>\u00a0No. 19, paragraph 18<\/p>\n

    Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef,\u00a0Responsa Yehaveh Da\u2019at,<\/em>\u00a0Part 3, No. 54<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Question from Dr. Yizhar Hess, Director General of the Masorti Movement:\u00a0In light of the spread of the corona virus, is it permissible to listen to the Megillah reading \u201clive\u201d via telephone, radio, television or Facebook? Responsum:\u00a0I am replying in brief since the matter is urgent, and since I am in the middle of a trip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1764,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[370821,510591,525314],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1764"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1735,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221\/revisions\/1735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}