1) It is a Mitzvah for all Jewish men, women and children to partake of a festive Seudah, meal, on Purim.
The Purim Seudah needs to be eaten on Purim day, and if it was only eaten on Purim eve, you have not satisfied your obligation.
However, it is a Mitzvah to be joyous and have a small Seudah on Purim eve as well. (Rama Siman 695:1)
The meal should consist of meat (B'Dieved chicken is acceptable too) and wine, and other delicacies as best as one can afford. It is also ideal to wash and eat bread at the Seudah, as according to some opinions you cannot satisfy the obligation of the Seudah without Pas, bread. (See Rosh to Maseches Brachos Perek 7 Siman 23 and Shu"t MaHarshal Siman 48)
It is good to study some Torah before beginning the Seudah, as the Posuk says "Layehudim Haysa Orah V'Simcha..." and Chazal say (Talmud Megilah 16b) Orah is referring to the light of Torah which should precede the Simcha! (Rama Siman 695:2)
It is customary to daven Mincha before beginning the Seudah, as not to end up davening Mincha while drunk. The Seudah should begin when it is still daylight, and not close to sunset, so that most of the meal should be eaten during the day.
The Seudas Purim should not be eaten alone; rather it is good to join with family and friends so it will be joyous.
However, care must be taken that the Seuda should be a Simcha Shel Mitzvah and not simply a wild party, with things Chas V'Shalom happening that are in contradiction to Halacha.
The hands should be properly washed for Netilas Yadayim, Hamotzi should be recited on the bread, Birchas Hamazon should be recited after the Seudah, all Halachos of Tznius must be observed etc.
The table at the Purim Seudah (both by day and night) should have candles on it, to make it a Yom Tov Seudah (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Siman 142:5)
2) Chazal instituted that on Purim one should drink more than his usual share of wine. According to some opinions it is a Mitzvah to actually get intoxicated on Purim.
Others maintain that actual intoxication is not mandatory; rather one should drink until he gets tired, and falls asleep.
This is based on the words of the Talmud (Megilah 7b) "Chayav Inish L'Besumei B'Puraya Ad D'Lo Yada Bein Arur Haman L'Baruch Mordechai- one is obligated to drink on Purim until he cannot distinguish between "cursed is Haman" and "Blessed is Mordechai".
There are various ways to interpret the above Gemara, according to Halacha and Hashkafa as well as Kaballah, and covering all of them is beyond the scope of this forum. (For those who are interested in delving deeper into this, please start with the following sources: Shulchan Aruch, Rama and Mishna Berura Siman 695, Aruch HaShulchan Siman 695:2-5, Yad Ephraim to Shulchan Aruch ibid., MaHarsha Megilah 7b and Chochmas Manoach to Megila 7b)
If by getting drunk, one will come to be lax in Mitzvah observance, or will Chas V'Shalom transgress sins (as is unfortunately the case sometimes, as intoxication in a non Torah environment often leads to promiscuity), he is forbidden from getting drunk. (Meiri Maseches Megilah 7b, quoted in the Biur Halacha, Ran ibid., Shl"a ibid., Bais Yosef Siman 695 and Chayei Adam)
The point of drinking on Purim is to help us reach a higher level of Ahavas Hashem, loving our Father in Heaven. If one drinks in a manner that will bring disgrace to Hashem's name, not only has he not fulfilled the Mitzvah, he will also bear a very grave sin. May Hashem give us all the strength to fulfill the Mitzvos of Purim in the path of the Torah and not allow the Yetzer Hara to intervene.
Although Purim is a Yom Tov on which work is permitted, the prevalent custom is not to work on Purim [day]. One who works on Purim will never see any blessing from the money he/she earns that day. (Some are lenient on Purim eve, in cases of great necessity) (Shulchan Aruch and Rama Siman 696:1. See also Shu"t Chasam Sofer Siman 195)
Although it is customary to dress up in costumes on Purim, care must be taken that men do not don women's clothing, and women do not wear men's clothing as doing so, according to many Poskim, will be a biblical transgression of "Lo Tilbash" as well as being a problem of Pritzus.
This applies to children as well, and G-d fearing people should not treat this lightly. (See Mishna Berura Siman 696:30 and Be'er Heitev Os 13. See also Aruch HaShulchan and Siddur Ya'avetz who are very stringent with this.)
Care should also be taken to ensure that the costumes do not contain Sha'atnez (materials containing wool and linen together) as that is also a biblical transgression, and may not be transgressed even on Purim. (ibid.)
WISHING ALL MY READERS A JOYOUS AND FULFILLING PURIM!
FOR A GLIMPSE OF TRUE GREATNESS, CLICK HERE TO VIEW A VIDEO OF HARAV AVIGDOR MILLER ZATZAL ON PURIM
QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers.
These Q&A are taken from the Q & A pages on the Halacha For Today website.
Although the answers I give to questions are taken directly from the Sifrei HaPoskim, and aren't my own, they are still for study purposes only, NOT for Psak Halacha.
Questions can be emailed to HalachaForToday@Gmail.com
Reader's Question:
Somehow I've never understood how rubbing one's hands in dirt [when no water is available] makes them undirty , could you explain that to me?
Also, is one allowed to forego washing with water in order to catch a minyan when there will be later opportunities to daven with other minyanim, and does it matter if those later minyanim are less convenient than the present one?
Answer:
I would say that besides for cleaning the hands, we are also looking to "purify" them for Tefilah, thus rubbing them in the earth may be satisfactory to release the "impurities".
Another reader, in response to seeing the above Question/Answer emailed me the following good point, which supports my theory:
"Pure earth as purification can be seen from the (milchig/fleishig) procedure of placing cutlery in the ground.."
The Poskim seem to say that if the Minyan you are about to daven in is your minyan Kovua (the minyan you always daven with), or a better minyan (where you will daven better, less rushed etc.) then you may forgo the water to catch the minyan, even if there are other minyanim later on.
But if the later minyan is just as good, it seems that they say to wait for it and wash the hands properly.
CHIZUK CORNER
This section is dedicated L'Ilui Nishmos the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Yaakov Stein Zatzal and the Mir Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Noson Tzvi Finkel Zatzal. May we all strive to follow in their ways and may they both be Melitzei Yosher for all of Klal Yisroel.
We will B'Ezras Hashem post here each day a short inspirational thought to help us all improve our lives and grow in our service of our Father in heaven, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
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THANK YOU AND תזכו למצות!
זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה
Laziness is not always being too slow to do things. A lazy person may sometimes act too quickly because he's too lazy to stop and think about what he is doing!
A Wise Man quoted in Sefer Torah Tavlin
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THE DAVENING CORNER - Part II
This segment was compiled by daily readers, Moshe Weiss, S. Weiss, and E. Willner of Brooklyn, NY, and will be posted in this email once a week B'Ezras Hashem.
For those of you who missed The original "Davening Corner Part I", or the first few weeks of Part II, please e-mail mw@mosheweiss.com for back issues.
GENERAL RULE: Emphasis (shown here by bold and italics) is usually on the last syllable. Look for a vertical line in (most) siddurim if the emphasis is on a different syllable.
WEEK THIRTEEN:
Be careful to pronounce the 'hay' in the word lehachayos so it should not sound like you are saying "lechayos". Not sounding out the 'hay' will cause us to say something terrible, or something that does not make sense:
In Shemoneh Esrei: Vene-eman atah lehachayos meisim - And You are faithful to resurrect the dead. Pronounced incorrectly, the meaning would be that You, Hashem, are faithful to dead animals, C"V.
In Borei Nefashos: Lehachayos bahem nefesh kol chuy - with which to maintain the life of every living thing. Pronounced incorrectly, it simply does not make sense.
Important Numbers
