Army bans public Purim readings, even in shelters; some rabbis back Zoom recitations of the megillah

Public recitations of the Book of Esther for the Purim holiday are forbidden under Home Front Command restrictions on gatherings, including inside bomb shelters, an army spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

Some leading rabbis have endorsed live virtual readings via Zoom or other audiovisual conferencing technology as sufficient to fulfill the religious commandment.

Public readings of the biblical book are traditionally held on the night of Purim,  which begins tonight, and again in the morning. In Jerusalem and a handful of other locales, the holiday will be celebrated tomorrow night and Wednesday, but the restrictions will remain in place. By Jewish law, one must hear the book, known as a megillah, being read in person from a parchment scroll.

According to the Home Front Command’s guidelines, any public gathering, including in synagogues, is prohibited. The prohibition includes Megillat Esther readings in any format outside family settings in private houses.

“All gatherings are prohibited, regardless of their purpose or location,” an army spokesperson states in response to a question by The Times of Israel, citing the primacy of preserving human life over religious observance. “The megillah may be read in a family setting rather than in synagogues.”

The spokesperson adds that public gatherings in shelters are included in the prohibition.

In light of the emergency situation, the moderate Orthodox organization Tzohar, leading Religious Zionist Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, and other leading religious figures say people can fulfill the obligation by joining a live reading over Zoom.

However, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Kalman Ber and Chief Sephardic David Yosef say that Zoom readings do not fulfill the religious commandment.