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What should I do if I can't be in a synagogue for the megillah reading?

by Rabbi Simcha Bart

  

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Question:

I am in the middle of nowhere with no Jews for about a 50 mile radius. I have with me a book which contains the text of the Megillah in Hebrew with the vowels. Can I read it to myself to fulfill the obligation? I am over the age of Bat Mitzvah if that makes a difference...

Answer:

If it is absolutely impossible to travel to the closest megillah reading, you are obligated to read the megillah without reciting the blessings. This is done as a remembrance of the mitzvah; you will have not actually fulfilled your obligation itself unless you read the megillah (or hear it read) from a Kosher parchment megillah scroll.

Perhaps a nearby Chabad Center might know of a traveling Megillah reader who goes to outlying communities to read the Megillah.

For a worldwide listing of Chabad Centers go to www.Chabad.org/centers.


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Kosher
Literally means "fit." Commonly used to describe foods which are permitted by Jewish dietary laws, but is also used to describe religious articles (such as a Torah scroll or Sukkah) which meet the requirements of Jewish law.
Chabad
Chabad, an acronym for Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding, is the name of a Chassidic Group founded in the 1770s. Two of the most fundamental teachings of Chabad are the intellectual pursuit of understanding the divine and the willingness to help every Jew who has a spiritual or material need.
Megillah
A scroll. Usually a reference to the Book of Esther, one of the books of the "Written Torah", which is read--from a scroll--on the holiday of Purim.
Bat Mitzvah
The twelvth birthday of a Jewish female. On this day -- customarily celebrated with a lavish party -- the adolescent reaches adulthood and is responsible to observe all the commandments of the Torah.