ק׳ ק׳ שׁערי תפילה
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Taanit Esther
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2nd Reading of the Megila
for
Men & Ladies
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Zecher Lemachatzit Hashekel
1) One who did not give the Zecher Lemahatzit Hashekel before Purim should give it before the Megila reading.
2) One should be careful not to refer to the Zecher Lemahatzit Hashekel as mahatzit hashekel.
3) One should give an amount of money equal to the value of 9 grams, or about 1/3 of an ounce, of pure silver.
4) Ideally one should give the zecher lemahatzit hashekel using three coins since in Parshat Shekalim it says “terumat Hashem” three times.
5) Someone who can't afford to give the value of the silver can give an actual half shekel coin.
6) Anyone over twenty is required to give the zecher lemahatzit hashekel.
7) Some Poskim maintain that once a child reaches bar mitzvah he is also required to give it.
8) One should ideally also give a separate one for each child in the household.
Therefore the father of a family of five should ideally give five times the value of 9 grams of pure silver.
One for himself, one for his wife, and one for each of the children.
9) If he is not able to do so he should give the half shekel for himself and he should give a little more (even just a few coins) for the rest of his household.
The appropriate sum that one should donate in commemoration of the Half-Shekel this year (5785) is approximately $10 (USD) per person. (For those residing in Israel, based on the recent USD to NIS conversion rate, the sum this year is approximately 35-40 NIS per person.) The great Rishon Le’Zion, Hagaon Rabbeinu Yitzchak Yosef Shlit”a, writes that it is best to add the value of sales tax in order to cover all of the opinions.
The way to calculate this sum is as follows: A troy ounce of silver consists of 31.1 grams. Thus, the price of one troy ounce of silver [recently approximately $24 USD] must be divided by 31.1 and then multiplied by nine in order to find the updated price of nine grams of silver, which is the value of actual Half-Shekel coin, as we have mentioned in past years. There is a disagreement among the Poskim whether the price per ounce of silver should be calculated including applicable sales tax. Halachically speaking, Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l has instructed us that one may be lenient and calculate this sum excluding tax. However, if one acts stringently and donates a larger sum to charity, one shall surely be blessed from above.
The minimum amount of the donation for the commemoration of the Half-Shekel for small children is the value of a coin which is half of the local currency. Example: In the United States this would be a half-dollar coin, hence, the donation would equal fifty cents. (In Israel, this would be the Half-Shekel [NIS] coin.)
This Year 5784
Zecher Lemahatzit Hashekel
is around
£ 6.90
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Purim Fund 2025 – Charity Extra
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Mitzvot On Purim
מקרא מגילה
& It’s aמצוה to read theמגילה from a כשר scroll once at night & once during the day – פעם בלילה ופעם ביום.
& Even though there’s aמנהג to make noise at the name of המן, we have to hear EVERY WORD of the קריאה
משלוח מנות איש לרעיהו
& It is a מצוה to give / send 2 foods to 1 friend.
However theמנהג is to give to many people to make שלום ושמחה.
& Theמתנה must be at least 2 types of food that are ready for eating.
טוב “לשלוח” את המנות – It is good to send your משלוח מנות with a “messenger” (שליח)
מתנות לאביונים
& It’s a מצוה to make sure the poor people have what they need for the חג.
& We give 2 poor people enough that each one could buy 2 things.
& It’s important to make the poor person feel good – give בלב טוב!!
משתה
& It is a מצוה to have a party meal, full of words of תורה and זמירות to ה׳.
& Some people drink wine because so many of the things that happened in the מגילה involved wine parties.
& If a person is drinking they
MUST MAKE SURE NOT TO MESS UP ANY Mitzvot
& Don’t forget to say על הניסים in ברכת המזון.
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🗓️
לוח זמני תפילה לחורף תשפ״ה
Winter Timetable 5785 – 2024/25
מוצאי שבת | ערבית | שקיעה | מנחה שבת | סוף זמן קריאת שמע | הדלקת נרות | מנחה וקבלת שבת | תאריך | שבת פרשת |
Shabbat Ends | Arbit | Sunset | Minha | Shema before | Candle Lighting | Minha & Kabbalat Shabbat | Date | Parasha |
PM | PM | PM | PM | AM | PM | PM |
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7:02 | 6:58 | 6:12 | 5:35 | 9:20 | 5:56 | 5:56 | 14/15 Mar | כי תשא (שושן |
שבת
קרבנות
8:45 am
הודו
9:00 am
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Moshe conducts a census by counting each silver half-shekel donated by all men age twenty and over. Moshe is commanded to make a copper laver for the Mishkan. The women donate the necessary metal. The formula of the anointing oil is specified, and G-d instructs Moshe to use this oil only for dedicating the Mishkan, its vessels and Aharon and his sons. G-d selects Betzalel and Oholiav as master craftsmen for the Mishkan and its vessels.
The Jewish People are commanded to keep the Shabbat, an eternal sign that G-d made the world. Moshe receives the two Tablets of Testimony on which are written the Ten Commandments.
The mixed multitude who left Egypt with the Jewish People panic when Moshe's descent seems to be delayed, and so they force Aharon to make a golden calf for them to worship. Aharon stalls, trying to delay them. Hashem tells Moshe to return to the people immediately, threatening to destroy everyone and build a new nation from Moshe. When Moshe sees the camp of idol-worship, he smashes the Tablets and destroys the golden calf. The sons of Levi volunteer to punish the transgressors, executing 3,000 men.
Moshe ascends the mountain again to pray for forgiveness for the people, and G-d accepts his prayer. Moshe sets up the Mishkan and G-d's clouds of glory return. Moshe asks G-d to show him the rules by which he conducts the world, but he is granted only a small portion of this request. G-d tells Moshe to hew new Tablets, and reveals to him the text of the prayer that will invoke Divine mercy.
Idol worship, intermarriage and the combination of milk and meat are prohibited. The laws of Pesach, the first-born, the first-fruits, Shabbat, Shavuot and Succot are taught. When Moshe descends with the second set of Tablets, his face is luminous as a result of contact with the Divine.
Ohr Somayach Institutions www.ohr.edu
קריאת המגילה
כל אדם מישראל, בין אנשים ובין נשים, חייבים בקריאת המגילה ביום הפורים, וצריך לקרותה בלילה ולשוב ולקרותה ביום, שנאמר “אֱלֹקַי, אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה וְלַיְלָה וְלֹא דֽוּמִיָּה לִי”. ופסוק זה נאמר בספר תהילים בפרק “למנצח על אילת השחר”, ואמרו בגמרא (יומא כט.) שאסתר נמשלה לאיילת השחר. ולכן מפרק זה אנו למדים לענין המגילה שנכתבה על ידי אסתר המלכה יחד עם מרדכי היהודי, והם שתקנו לנו לקרותה בימי הפורים.
צריך לדקדק היטב בקריאת המגילה, ובפרט יש להזהר בזה בזמן ששומעים את השליח ציבור קורא במגילה, שלא לאבד אף מילה אחת מן הקריאה במגילה, משום שלדעת רבים מהפוסקים, (ומהם הרשב”א והר”ן ועוד), אם חיסר תיבה (מילה) אחת מהמגילה לא יצא ידי חובתו.
ולאחר קריאת המגילה, גוללים את המגילה, ומברכים את ברכת “הרב את ריבנו” כפי שמודפס במגילות ובחומשים, (בסוף חומש שמות מודפסת בדרך כלל המגילה). אבל אדם הקורא את המגילה ביחיד, בלי ציבור, אינו מברך את הברכה שאחרי קריאת המגילה, כי לא תיקנו לברך את ברכת “הרב את ריבנו” אלא בציבור. ומכל מקום כתב מרן רבינו עובדיה יוסף זצ”ל (חזון עובדיה עמוד צא), שאין צורך דוקא בעשרה אנשים מישראל, אלא אפילו אם יש שם עשר נשים, גם כן רשאי לברך את ברכת “הרב את ריבנו”.
Every member of the Jewish nation is obligated to read the Megillah on the day of Purim. One must read it during the night and once again the next day, as the verse states, “My G-d, I call out to you during the day, and you do not answer; during the night I have no rest.” This verse is written in the chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) called “Lamnatze’ach al Ayelet Ha’Shachar” and the Gemara in Yoma (29a) refers to Queen Esther as the “Ayelet Ha’Shachar”. Therefore, we derive laws from this chapter regarding the Megillah which was co-authored by Mordechai and Queen Esther since they were the ones to institute the reading of the Megillah on the day of Purim.
Listening is Like Reading
However, since not everyone is an expert in Megillah reading along with the fact that not everyone owns a kosher Megillah written on parchment, we customarily fulfill our obligation of Megillah reading through the law of “one who hears is tantamount to one who recites.” This means that one who hears another person reading from a kosher Megillah fulfills one’s obligation and it is as though one has read the Megillah himself. Therefore, when the Chazzan reads from a kosher Megillah while having in mind to read on behalf of the congregation and the congregation has in mind to fulfill their own obligation as well by listening, it is considered as if they have actually read the Megillah on their own.
Speaking During Megillah Reading
During the time when the Megillah is being read, one may not interrupt by speaking at all until after the blessing at the conclusion of the Megillah reading has been recited. One who did indeed speak during Megillah reading while the Chazzan carries on with the reading of the Megillah does not fulfill his obligation and his status is like one who missed a portion of the Megillah reading, as will be explained later on.
One should listen carefully to the reading of the Megillah and one should exercise special care not to miss hearing even one word from the reading of the Megillah, for according to many Poskim (including the Rashba, Ran, and others), if one misses hearing even one word of the Megillah, one has not fulfilled one’s obligation.
One Who Misses a Portion of the Megillah Reading
However, if it happens that one missed hearing a few words of the Megillah because of noise and the like, one may read those words from within the Megillah one is holding, even if it is not a kosher Megillah; rather, even if it is a printed one, one should quickly read the words one missed until one reaches the place where the Chazzan is currently reading, at which point one should once again remain silent and listen to the Chazzan’s reading. (One will fulfill one’s obligation as long as one has heard most of the Megillah reading from the Chazzan and has only read a minority of it on his own from the printed Megillah in one’s hands).
One Who Arrives Late to the Synagogue
If one arrives late to the synagogue and realizes that the Chazzan has already recited the blessing preceding the reading of the Megillah, the great Rishon Le’Zion, Hagaon Rabbeinu Yitzchak Yosef Shlit”a, writes (in his Yalkut Yosef-Chapter 687) that it is preferable for one to go home and read the Megillah with its appropriate blessings as opposed to hearing the Megillah being read with the congregation but without its blessings. Certainly though, this ruling applies only when one is capable of reading the Megillah at home; however, if one cannot, one should merely hear the Megillah being read by the Chazzan. If the Chazzan is already several verses into the Megillah by the time one arrives at the synagogue, one should read these verses quickly to himself until one catches up to the place where the Chazzan is at which point, one should be silent and listen to the Chazzan. However, this is likewise contingent upon the fact that one hears most of the Megillah being read by the Chazzan, as we have explained above.
Firecrackers
Some customarily bang on tables and the like when the evil Haman’s name is mentioned during the reading of the Megillah as a form of obliterating the name of Amalek. In the past generation, this custom has been grossly exaggerated with all manners of loud noises, including setting off firecrackers and other things which can truly scare people. This causes several problems, including the fact that as a result, many people cannot listen to the Megillah reading properly. If the need arises, the Gabbai should announce that the congregation should only bang during the reading of the first and last “Haman,” at which point the Chazzan should pause for a few moments until the noise dies down and he should then proceed with the reading of the Megillah. Maran zt”l was very particular about this, even in his younger years, and there was banging in the synagogue only during the first and last “Haman” in order to prevent mass disturbance during the Megillah reading.