what is the halacha today? May one read the Megilah in English to an english speaking congregation and fulfill the obligation? If a sofer wrote a scroll in english would it fulfill the obligation? is there a repsonsa on this subject that directly relates to an english speaking community?
rabbi sh garten, ottawa canada
[This is not meant to be a ruling on the issue, rather it is an exploration of the issues involved.]
This is one of those areas of Halachah where there is room to move away from the normative practice, but the alternatives are fraught with complications, as we shall see.
The Mishnah and Gemara (Megilah 17a, 18a respectively), Rambam (Megilah 2:4) and the Shulchan Aruch (OC, 690:9) tell us that the Megilah can be written and read in any language to people that understand that language. Therefore, the Megilah could be translated into English and read to an English speaking audience.
The first complication, though, is that there is an opinion in Halachah - that of the Ramban - that both the reader and the listeners have to be ignorant of Hebrew. If they understand Hebrew, then it has to be read in Hebrew. Even if the entire congregation doesn't understand Hebrew, but the reader does, nobody in the congregation fulfills their obligation of hearing the Megilah. The Shulchan Aruch (OC, 690:10) brings this opinion and then brings a lenient opinion. The commentaries (Mishnah Berurah, 690:33) on the Shulchan understand that he decides in favor of the stringent opinion.
The second complication is that many Poskim (see Sha'ar ha'Tziyun 690:31) hold that even though the Megilah may be translated into other languages, it must be written in Hebrew letters (similar to written Yiddish).
Finally, there is a problem with all translations of the Megilah. There are certain words in the Megilah that are untranslatable, for example, the word "Achashdarpenim" (Ester 8:9). Therefore, at the very least, one must be careful to say this word in its original and not translate it (Mishnah Berurah, 690:34). The problem is that if he does this, he creates another potential problem: the Megilah cannot be read in two languages (Mishnah Berurah, 690:37).
It should be pointed out that if one hears the Megilah in Hebrew, he has fulfilled his obligation to hear the Megilah, even if he doesn't understand a word of Hebrew (Shulchan Aruch 690:8). If this is not the most satisfying way of fulfilling one's Mitzvah of Megilah, it is surely the safest.
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler