Purim

Dear Rabbi Simon I am hoping to travel to Israel around Purim. I wanted to please check if it is acceptable to fly to Israel on the night immediately following Purim, arriving in the morning of so-called Shushan Purim (when the festival is celebrated in Jerusalem). My plan is to go to Jerusalem, but I am not keen on having…

Hi, TY for your Purim 5781 guidelines. Can I ask, for someone who has no possibility to have a “brunch” seudah and the only way is to start before Shabbat and continue into the Friday night meal – how would that work in practice, for instance with davening, etc. Many thanks Celia Dear Celia TY for your question re Purim…

Dear Rabbi Simon, I am disappointed in not being able to attend the “Murder at the Purim Feast” talk at Kesher this week, on the mitzvah of drinking on Purim. Can you please tell me in brief what you had to say specifically about how and how much drinking is allowed/recommended/required? Thank you in advance Mordechai Dear Mordechai, The Talmud…

Dear Rabbi Simon, At a certain point in antiquity, there was extensive deliberation over whether Megillat Esther should be included in the Bible.  Detractors of the idea argued that it could unnecessarily antagonise those not favourably disposed towards Jewry.  However, proponents of its inclusion maintained that the events were already widely known throughout the civilised world; the chronicles of the…