March, 2022
- The ‘Simple’ Question
After maariv last night, a member approached me and wondered, “What is a megilla?”
“What do you mean? What is considered a ‘kosher’ megillas esther from which to read?”
“No, no. I mean, why are sifrei esther, rus, koheles, etc. called ‘megillos’? Why not also, say, sefer shmuel. After all, it too is a ‘story’? And eichah is not even a tale, rather a lament!? What do these five sefarim have in common?”
This is no small question.
Have you ever noticed that one says colloquially on Purim, “When is the megillah?” but on Tisha B’av one would never use that term? No one says on Shavuos either, “What time are they reading the ‘megilla’?”
This is because those seferim are not really called megillos, as we shall see.
- Its Real Title?
Rav Yonsan Eibishitz and others famously posit that the term ‘esther’ is due to the main theme of the megilla being the hester panim (‘hiding’) of Hashem, as chazal famously teach (Chullin 139a; Devarim 31:18)”. Being that this is the main feature of the events of Purim, the megilla is titled ‘esther’ to allude to this, and, for this reason too do we use the name Esther and not Hadassa (Yaaros Devash 2:17).
Going one step further, the sefer Tenufah Chaim adds that the word ‘megilla’ itself holds dual meanings. The root of this word is ‘giluy’, to reveal. In other words, megillas esther means “The revelation of the hidden”! This is a most impeccable description of the events of Purim.
Perhaps, then, for this same reason, is the name of the mesechta on Purim called ‘megillah’.
- The One True ‘Megilla’?
Indeed, the only sefer of tanach to be called a megilla in all of shas is esther!
This is not a trivial point. At the height of Covid -and as we discussed in halachic detail last year -many wanted to be yotzi esther over Zoom. Without getting into the complex halachic details again, suffice it to say that I and other rabbanim discovered that a not insignificant minority of their shuls -especially those without the benefit of a yeshiva education -were under the impression that hearing esther was no different than listening to koheles on Sukkos or rus on Shavous. For this reason alone, it is important to highlight that esther is the one true ‘megilla’ and with halachos and obligatory seriousness all to itself.
While the Talmud Yerushalmi does refer to eichah as ‘megillas’ kinos (Shabbos 16:1), this may simply be due to the fact that in sefer Yirmayahu the navi/author of eichah himself refers to his kinnos as a ‘megillah’ long before it would become part of tanach (Yirmiyahu 36:14).
However, in truth, later in mesechtos soferim, we do find the colloquial term ‘megilla’ hinted at for these four other sifrei tanach (14:3). There it states, “For rus, shir hashirim, eichah, megillas esther (and koheles -Gra) one must say (in the blessing) ‘al mikrah megilla’. Yet from the fact that even in this lone source only esther is given the title ‘megilla’, we may assume the beracha refers either to the fact that these small ‘scrolls’ were taken out to be read on certain days, or, that the beracha was composed for esther and utilized for these other sefarim as well out of a desire to not modify a beracha.
Aside for this source, perhaps our budling of ‘five megillos’ due to the authoritative Midrash Rabbah which was composed by chazal only for/on the chamishei chumsha Torah (i.e. Bereishis Rabbah, Shmos Rabbah, Vayikra Rabbah, Bamidbar Rabbah, and Devarim Rabbah), and, for these five sefarim (i.e. Esther Rabbah, Rus Rabbah, Eichah Rabbah, Shir Hashirim Rabbah, and Koheles Rabbah). It exists for no other sefarim. As to why the midrash was only composed for these other five sifrei tanach, I simply have been able to discover.
Either way, this may have popularized the notion of these five standing apart.
- Two New Approaches
So then what is a true ‘megilla’, and why did only esther get this title?
After not finding this discussed elsewhere, I wish to offer two simple understandings as to how this title was chosen for this one sefer in tanach.
– The first begins with a fascinating midrash that is nothing short of outstanding and perplexing (Yerushalmi 1:5, Rus Rabbah 4:5, Zohar ki sissa 191b). It opens with a question. How is that Mordechai and Esther, along with the sanhedrin, were able to ‘add’ to the Torah by creating a new yom tov along with a new obligatory reading reminiscent of krias haTorah b’rabim (see Ramban to devarim 4:2 for a deeper explanation of this question)? A group of chachamim in the midrash offer the following answer that is nothing short of staggering:
“This megilla was not sanctioned by a beis din, rather it was taught to Moshe at Sinai, but there is no order to the Torah”!
Far from being seen as an enigmatic midrash, many commentators on esther take it at face value, going as far as asking, “If so, Mordechai should’ve known the ending of the story of Purim before it began!”. Some suggest that Moshe passed it down secretly so that Mordechai would not have known (Yad Yosef and Midrash Eliyahu). They bring support from the story of Amalek at the end of bshalach, where the pasuk states, “Hashem said to Moshe, Inscribe this as a zikaron ba’sefer (memorial in the book), and recite it into Yehoshua’s ears, that I will surely obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens”. The pasuk refers to what was written for the world to see(ba’sefer), and, what he privately wrote for Yehoshua’s eyes only (into…ears), to be passed down secretly, i.e. the story of Purim!
Others explain that Mordechai did know the ending but chose to act as if he didn’t so as to bring klal yisroel to teshuva (e.g. Yaaros Devash 1:17; see Halilah D’Mordechai #935 and #1774-1780)!
How does this explain or warrant for the term ‘megilla’ used specifically for the book of esther?
Chazal share (gittin 60a) that while we were taught Torah sh’baal peh for forty years in the desert, the only written Torah was the dibros. So then, when did we get the Torah in writing as we have it today? The gemara offers (one of two approaches) that we received the written Torah ‘megilla, megilla’. Meaning, throughout our time in the midbar, Moshe would speak to Hashem in the ohel moed and often return with a new scroll, adding to it for forty years, until it was completed on the zayin adar of his demise.
Based on the above midrash there was one of these megillos taught to Moshe still in hiding, waiting to be revealed -the story of esther. This may also explain why it will be read -along with the rest of toras moshe -when moshiach comes! This too explains why we view Purim as our final acceptance of the Torah (Shabbos 88)!
A second approach I would offer is based on another midrash (Shmos Rabbah 5:18 with Eitz Yosef et al.). Chazal share that Moshe negotiated a day of respite during our subjection in Mitzraim –Shabbos. What did we do on this day off? Chazal share that we had megillos from which we read. These were scrolls that gave us hope while in galus (see Artscroll Tehillim, #90, where Rav Yaakov Kamanetzky is quoted as suggesting that the Tehillim composed by Moshe was written at that time).
Now it makes sense why we call esther a megillah! This sefer was also written to give us hope in galus, as the story ends still under the authority of Achashveirosh!
May our story also end with the immediate building of the beis hamkidosh!
Wishing everyone a freilichin Purim!
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