Megillah ( he, מְגִילָּה, "scroll") is the tenth
Tractate
A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise.
One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term '' masekhet'' () is used ...
of
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
in the Order
Moed
Moed ( he, מועד, "Festivals") is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people (also the Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of ...
. It and its
Gemara deal with the laws of
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...
and offers
exegetical
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
understandings to the
Book of Esther. It also includes
laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
concerning the public
reading of the Torah and other communal
synagogue practices. There is also a segment in the first chapter which details certain miscellaneous laws. A megillah is a finely detailed account or book but the term by itself commonly refers to the Book of Esther.
Sources
*
Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud
The ''Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud'' is a 20th-century, 73-volume edition of the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) featuring an elucidated translation and commentary, and published by ArtScroll, a division of Mesorah Publicati ...
: ''Talmud Bavli: The Gemara, Schottenstein Edition - Tractate Megillah'', 1991, Artscroll
External links
Mishnah Megillah text in Hebrew Full Hebrew and English text of the Mishnah for tractate Megillahon
SefariaFull Hebrew and English text of the Talmud Bavli for tractate Megillahon
SefariaFull Hebrew text of the Talmud Yerushalmi for tractate Megillahon
SefariaFull Hebrew and English text of the Tosefta for tractate Megillahon
Sefaria
Book of Esther
Talmud
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