Shushan Purimשׁוּשָׁן פּוּרִים

Shushan Purim falls on Adar 15 and is the day on which Jews in Jerusalem celebrate Purim. Shushan Purim carries the same themes as Purim itself (deliverance, hidden providence, and joy in the face of a threat to Jewish survival), but it also dramatizes a geographic distinction rooted in the Book of Esther. In the unwalled towns of the Persian Empire, the Jews fought their enemies on the 13th of Adar and celebrated their rest on the 14th; in the walled capital of Shushan the fighting extended through the 14th, so its Jews celebrated on the 15th (Esther 9). The Sages extended the 15th-of-Adar observance to all cities that had been walled since the days of Joshua son of Nun, rather than tying it to which cities happened to be walled in the Persian period. This deliberately honored the Land of Israel, and the name "Shushan Purim" preserves the memory that this later celebration mirrors the original one in Shushan. The day thus expresses a unifying idea: wherever Jews lived, walled or open, the same redemption was celebrated, just on the day that fit each community's part in the story.

Shushan Purim falls on the 15th of Adar, the day immediately after Purim (the 14th of Adar). In a Jewish leap year it is observed in Adar II. Unusually, the split here is not by country (Israel versus Diaspora) but by city type: the 15th is the actual Purim only for residents of cities that have been walled since the time of Joshua. Today the only city universally agreed to qualify is Jerusalem (with its immediate surroundings). Several cities of doubtful ancient walled status, such as Jaffa, Tiberias, Hebron, and parts of Beit Shemesh, keep Purim on the 14th but, as a stringency, also read the Megillah on the 15th without reciting the blessings; the exact list and Jerusalem's precise boundaries differ among authorities. When the 15th of Adar falls on Shabbat, Jerusalem keeps Purim Meshulash ("Three-Day Purim"), spreading the observances across Friday, Shabbat, and Sunday.

The readings on Shushan Purim are identical to those of Purim. Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) is read publicly from a kosher parchment scroll both at night and again in the morning. In the morning a Torah scroll is taken out and the Amalek passage "Vayavo Amalek" (Exodus 17:8-16, nine verses) from Parashat Beshalach is read as the order-of-the-day reading. There is no Haftarah, since Purim and Shushan Purim are weekday observances. The Megillah is chanted in its own distinctive Esther cantillation (Megillat Esther ta'amim), used only for the Book of Esther: largely light and joyous, but at moments of foreboding or mourning the reader switches to the somber Eicha (Lamentations) melody for certain verses and for the recital of Haman's sons. Exactly which verses are sung in the Lamentations melody is minhag-dependent and varies by community and nusach (Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemenite, Italian), so consult your community's tikkun. (Parashat Zachor, with its Haftarah about Saul and Agag, is read on the Shabbat before Purim (Shabbat Zachor), not on Purim or Shushan Purim itself.)

The four central mitzvot of Purim apply on one's own Purim day: hearing the Megillah (night and morning), matanot la'evyonim (gifts to the poor), mishloach manot (sending food gifts to friends), and a festive daytime meal (seudah). During the Megillah reading it is customary to make noise with groggers (noisemakers), stamping, or booing whenever Haman's name is read. The Al HaNissim paragraph, thanking God for the Purim miracle, is added to the Amidah and Grace After Meals, and Tachanun (penitential prayers) is omitted. In practice, many communities mark both days in solidarity: residents of unwalled cities often join Jerusalem's festivities on the 15th, and vice versa. When the 15th coincides with Shabbat, Jerusalem's Purim Meshulash distributes these observances across Friday (Megillah and gifts to the poor), Shabbat (Al HaNissim and the special Torah reading), and Sunday (the festive meal and mishloach manot).