Which locations in the world are required to read the megillah on 15 adar? Which places are a sofek?
Thank you
The only two cities in the world that celebrate Purim - without Safek - on the fifteenth of Adar, are Yerushalayim and Shushan (modern day Susa in Iran).
There are a number of cities inside and outside of Eretz Yisrael that have the status of Safek Mukaf. I quote from the Sefer, Hilchos Chag b'Chag (8:2) by Rav Mordechai Karp: "In our day these are the cities that have the status of Safek: Teveria, Yaffo, Tzfas, Chevron, Shchem, Lod, Beis Shean, Be'er Sheva, Azza, Acco, and Chaifa. Outside of Eretz Yisrael, the following cities are Noheg as a Safek: Damesek, Tzor (Tyre), Baghdad, and - according to some - Pragh. In Bnei Brak the custom follows the ruling of the Chazon Ish that it is a Safek because of its proximity (Samuch) to Yaffo. There are those that add the following towns to the list of Safek Mukaf: Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gush Chalav, and Ramlah."
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler
Isn't the application of the halacha, ir mukaf choma miyamos yehoshua, so why isnt yericho part of the list of walled cities where you would celebrate purim on the fifteenth?
I was thinking, after I sent my first response, that someone might ask your question. Presumably, the reason that Rav Karp left Yericho off the list is that there is no Jewish settlement there, but, yes, when the Jews one day return to Yericho, they will celebrate Purim on the fifteenth. (see the Sefer Piskei Teshuvos which lists Yericho among the Sefeikos).
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler
Rebbe,
What is the status of new towns that are within visual distance of Yerushalayim such as Mevasseret Yerushalayim, Mevasseret Tziyon, Telshe Stone/Givat Yearim, Maale Adumim, Kfar Adumim etc.?
Sam Kosofsky
The Shulchan Aruch (OC 688:2) holds that if a town can be seen from a walled city (Nireh) it reads on the fifteenth, even if it is more than a Mil (roughly a kilometer) away. This ruling would potentially include the towns you mentioned. The Rambam, though, holds that a Nireh must be within a Mil from a walled city. This would certainly eliminate Telshe Stone, perhaps others. The Mishnah Berurah (688:6) includes this opinion as a Yesh Omrim (second opinion) and therefore it would make such a town at least a Safek. Furthermore, the Ran (quoted by the Mishnah Berurah (Sha'ar ha'Tzion 688:5) says that a Nireh must be part of the municipality of the walled city. This would certainly eliminate places like Mevasseret Tzion which are independent of Yerushalayim. Finally, most Poskim hold that a Nireh must be visible from the walled part of the city and not from the outskirts of the city that were built later outside the walled area (and according to many Poskim it has to be visible from the ground (assuming there were no buildings blocking your view) and not from the top of the walls or any other tall building). This would eliminate many outlying areas (probably the only place you can see Telshe Stone is from Har Nof (on a good day)). This is also the normative Halachah regarding whether a town is considered Samuch (next to) to a wall city. That is, anything within a Mil of the city walls is considered Samuch; outside of a Mil, if it is separated from the last buildings by more than 141 Amos it is no longer considered Samuch. In other words, we don't say Samuch l'Samuch. For this reason Ramot does not read on the fifteenth (Minchas Yitzchak 8:62).
Practically speaking, people in Telshe Stone, Meveserret Tzion, and Maale Adumim read on the fourteenth of Adar.
Purim Sameach,
Yonasan Sigler