PURIM EVENTS
If you are in need of a Megillah reading at home, please be in contact with Gabe Wintner.
Click here to download a printable version of the above flyer.
MATANOT L'EVYONIM & MISHLOACH MANOT
Matanot L'Evyonim donations through BDJ are now closed. You can still give directly to Tomchei Shabbos here.
Mishloach Manot for IDF Soldiers: BDJ has partnered with Yashar LaChayal to help donate towards Mishloach Manot for chayalim. Please contribute here.
Mishloach Manot: The deadline to order was February 23rd at noon. The order form is now CLOSED.
Delivery Volunteers: We are looking for volunteers to help with delivering Mishloach Manot. Click here to sign up.
Please Note: BDJ Mishloach Manot are very meaningful and convey the spiritual value of warmth that we as a shul family hold dear. But they do not officially fulfill the mitzvah of Mishloach Manot. It is essential that in addition to the BDJ Mishloach Manot that you send, that you also deliver at least one Mishloach Manot gift to another Jew on Purim day. This package should contain at least two types of food that are ready to be eaten. The reason for this is because Mishloach Manot must be sent איש אל רעהו, 'one person to another'-- meaning not through an organization or in partnership with others. Thank you for bringing joy to our BDJ friends both through our communal shul Mishloach Manot and through the mitzvah of Mishloach Manot.
PURIM HALACHA HOW-TOS
Ta'anit Esther - Monday, March 2:
The fast will begin at 5:08 AM.
Shacharit with Selichot and Torah reading will be at 6:30 AM
Mincha will be at 5:20 PM and Maariv at 6:15 PM. Megilla Reading will be at 6:25 PM.
The fast ends at 6:18 PM, though we do not break our fast until after megillah reading. (Consult with Rav Yosef if your circumstances make this difficult.)
The Custom of Machazit Hashekel: It is customary, prior to (or on) Purim, to remember the mitzvah of the half-shekel that was performed at this time of year when the Temple stood in Jerusalem. The half-shekel was the annual contribution for the purchase of the communal offerings. We will have “Machatzit HaShekel plates” at varous locations in the shul. The customary procedure is as follows: First, place (at least) $1.50 on the plate. Then, lift 3 of the half-dollar coins, symbolically purchasing them. Finally, return the 3 half-dollar coins to the plate. This final step symbolizes the giving of the half-shekel. Many have the custom of giving the half-shekel for each one of the members of their families.
Purim - Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3:
There are four special Mitzvot that we perform on Purim:
1) Megillah: Hearing the Reading of the Megillah in the evening and during the day:
- Monday Evening Readings: We’ll begin at 6:25 PM sharp with the family-friendly Megillah reading in the main shul, and a parallel reading in the social hall. As men and women alike are obliged to hear Megillah, we will also have additional readings at 7:30 PM and 8:15 PM to allow parents to switch off. Please see the special Halachik note below about the 7:30 PM reading.
- Tuesday Daytime Readings: We have multiple options to hear Megillah during the day: 6:30 AM Shacharit and Megillah is open to all, 8:00 AM is Shirat Chana Shacharit and Megillah for women and girls, and 9:30 AM Teen Shacharit and Megillah is open to all. In addition, there will be an afternoon Megillah Reading preceding the YP Mincha and Potluck Seudah starting at 4:00 PM.
2) Delivering Mishloach Manot: Mishloach Manot is specifically a daytime Mitzvah, thematically connected to the Purim Seudah (festive meal). If you need, for reasons of convenience, to deliver some of your Mishloach Manot earlier in the week or on the night of Purim, please ensure that you deliver at least ONE on Tuesday itself, to properly fulfill the Mitzvah. Mishloach Manot needs to include at least two foods that are ready-to-eat.
The collective BDJ Mishloach Manot that we send are very meaningful and convey the spiritual value of warmth that we as a shul family hold dear. But they do not technically fulfill the mitzvah of Mishloach Manot as they are being sent by multiple givers. This is the reason that they may be delivered to you during the week preceding Purim, depending upon the schedules of our volunteer drivers. In addition to the BDJ Mishloach Manot that you send, you also need to deliver at least one Mishloach Manot on Purim day.
3) Giving Gifts to the Poor / Matanot L’evyonim: Halacha calls for these funds to be distributed to the poor on Purim day itself. To facilitate this, we will again be sending the Matanot L’evyonim contributions that you have made (through the online form) to Yad Eliezer in Israel, which will distribute these funds in Israel on Purim day.
4) Enjoying a Purim Seudah (festive meal): The Purim Seudah does not need to be completed before sundown on Tuesday, but it does need to be significantly underway by then (best to start at least a half hour before sundown – 5:20 PM this year). If you fear that you will get stuck late at work, be sure to have at least a small afternoon meal which includes bread (and meat if you are a meat eater) at the office.
Mincha/Maariv: Anticipating that many people will be starting their Seudah somewhere around 4:45 PM, we have adjusted the Mincha and Ma'ariv times for Purim day. Mincha will be at 4:15 PM, and Ma'ariv will be at 7:30 PM.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE FROM RAV YOSEF REGARDING MEGILLAH
As you will notice on the Purim night schedule, one of the three scheduled readings will be done by our dear friend Sara Smith. A word of halachik background is appropriate.
The Shulchan Aruch rules that men may fulfill their obligation through a women’s reading of the Megillah. This is based upon the Talmud (Megillah 19b and Arachin 2a-b) which rules that women and men are equally obligated in the reading of the Megillah, and that women may therefore discharge the obligation of men in this regard. Among the Rishonim (medieval authorities), this is the halachik position endorsed by Rashi, Rambam, Meiri, and Or Zarua. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef endorses this position as well.
The Shulchan Aruch also cites an alternative opinion which holds that a man cannot fulfill his obligation through a woman’s reading. This opinion is based on a Tosefta which doesn’t explain the basis of its ruling. Some understand the Tosefta as being uncomfortable with the propriety of such an arrangement, and others posit that the Tosefta is assuming that while a man is obligated to read the Megillah, woman are only obligated to hear it being read.
This disparity in obligation would preclude a woman being able to read Megillah for a man. Tosafot, Mordechai and others rule in accordance with the Tosefta. And while this difference of opinion persists, leading to a general practice that men are the readers when there are men among the listeners, there is a substantial group of Achronim (later authorities) who rule that the Tosefta’ s position only pertains to the daytime reading of the Megillah, through which the essential Mitzvah of Megillah is fulfilled. The nighttime reading, according to these Achronim, is done in order to achieve “pirsumai nissa” (publicly declaring the miracle), which is an obligation that falls equally upon men and women (as is does, for example, regarding Chanukah lighting). These Achronim therefore rule that even according to the second opinion cited in the Shulchan Aruch, men may fulfill their obligation at night through a woman’s reading.
Needless to say, there are those who disagree with the position of these Achronim as well, and men should make their own decision as to which of the readings they would like to attend. To be clear though, I feel very comfortable offering Sara’s reading as a valid halachik option.
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