Ask Rabbi LJ -- Purim Edition

[gnomi]

OK, so. Purim starts immediately after Shabbat ends. That means that I cannot carry my Megillat Esther (and/or gragger) to shul for mincha/ma'ariv because it would mean that I'm carrying in the eiruv something I don't need for Shabbat, right?

Comments

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

More information, please?

As always, I'm intrigued.

[sdelmonte]

This is correct. Things must be brought before Shabbos or after.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

The holiday of Purim, which commemorates the events of the book of Esther (the story of Mordechai and Esther thwarting the plans of Haman to destroy the Jews of Persia), begins Saturday night.

One of the rules of the Sabbath is that you cannot carry items from the private domain (say, your house) to the public domain (say, the street) unless an eiruv (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv#Eruv_for_carrying) exists surrounding the area you need to carry in. However, even with an eiruv, there are restrictions on what you can carry. For instance, you cannot carry things that are not necessary for the Sabbath. So now I have a dilemma -- I need things for immediately after the Sabbath (in this case, my Book of Esther and noisemaker), and I will not have time to go home and retrieve them between the Sabbath and the beginning of the holiday. So I was just checking that I am correct that I cannot carry them on the Sabbath and that either I'll have to bring them to the synagogue before the Sabbath starts, or I'll have to do without (which is not a big problem, actually).

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's what I thought. And since the Megillah reading is called for 6:45, I don't see how I would have time to go home and come back. So either I'll bring before or I'll use the shul's books/graggers.

[cellio]

Are you planning to do any communal studying of the megillah on Shabbat? (I can't help with the grogger, but presumably the shul has.)

[angwantibo.livejournal.com]

This is a fascinating situation. We are not allowed to celebrate Purim on Shabbat because a person might carry the Megillah to a knowledgable person on Shabbat to have it read to them. Now you raise an interesting situation not covered in the gemara. The possibility that people might bring the Megilla to shul on Shabbat so that it could be read AFTER Shabbat.

Maybe that's why most synagogues provide a break between Shabbat and Maariv/megillah reading. Anyway, for those of us with kinder, we need that break time to feed and costume them.

There are many similar situations covered by the gemara and it seems that the trend was to provide rulings regarding people's actions towards the current situation (Shabbat on Purim) but not towards future situations (Purim Motzei Shabbat).

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

You are correct. You'll have to bring them before Shabbos, or do without.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

And you probably shouldn't show up in costume on Sat. night either... but you already knew that.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Are there any later megillah readings?

[autotruezone.livejournal.com]

This may just be a quibble, since it doesn't really change your behavior, but I thought that not being able to take your Purim stuff to shul before Shabbat is over has less to do with the laws of eiruvim and more to do with the rule that you're not allowed to prepare for after Shabbat while it is still Shabbat.

If I'm correct, then if you had a megilla upstairs, and you were going to read it on Purim downstairs, you wouldn't be able to take the megilla downstairs as a preparation for your purim megilla reading until after Shabbat. This, despite the fact that you are normally allowed to carry things within a building.

On the other hand, there may be an out. It is both permissible and encouraged to study holy books on Shabbat. If you are planning to arrive at shul while it's still Shabbat, and you plan that as soon as you get to shul, you'll read a bit of your megilla (for the sake of learning Torah, not for the mitzva of megilla on purim), then I don't see anything wrong with carrying your megilla to shul (within the eruv) under those circumstances. However, a gragger (noisemaker) is almost certainly muktze (i.e. something that's not allowed to be used at all on Shabbat), and you shouldn't even move it within your own house while it's still Shabbat.

IANAR, so you should check with your Rav before following any of the above.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

This is where it's convenient that I don't go to ma'ariv. :) I'll be bringing our megillot and groggers with me (okay, my "grogger" is my keys, but I don't have them with me on Shabbat, either.)

But, yeah. No costumes for the evening reading.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

You're right on both counts, as far as I know. It's both an eiruvin issue and a preparing-on-Shabbat-for-after-Shabbat issue.

The gragger is a no-go either way. :-)

[zsero.livejournal.com]

Um, why not? No reason not to wear costumes on Shabbat (assuming they don't involve things like bells or blinkenlights, etc). Especially Shabbat Zachor, right before Purim, when people are already in the Purim spirit (and generally the Purim spirits...).

Speaking of Shabbat Zachor (the Shabbat before Purim), here's a custom I first heard of just a few years ago: eating four kugels: Epple, Mehl (flour), Lokshn, and Kartofl (potato), which stands for AMaLeK. I've no idea of the origin, but it sounds like a fun custom anyway.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

I have heard of rabbis who don't allow it since the kavod of shabbos would demand you wear your "shabbos best" until motzaei. Preparation for a chol day wouldn't be proper on shabbos. Although the response of my rabbi, when I asked about this, was to say that some people have too much time on their hands. :-)

[zsero.livejournal.com]

Are these the same people who insist that there's a Law Handed Down To Moses From Sinai that men must wear white shirts on Shabbat? And that the same Law prescribed the Sacred Shabbat Menu, from which one must not deviate on pain of not being able to marry off ones children?

If I decide that my "shabbat best" on the afternoon of Shabbat Zachor is my Purim costume, then that is the appropriate thing to wear. And I'm not sure I'd want my children to marry those people's children anyway.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

What, you mean you didn't know about the 815th Commandment? Thou Shalt Wear White Dress Shirts To Shul.(?) You should *see* the Rabbinic commentary on that. It's what led to modern dress shirts in the first place. The Button Collar vs No Button Collar debate is vociferous and bitter.

:P