The Five Scrolls or the Five Megillot ( , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the

Ketuvim The (; ) is the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, after the ("instruction") and the "Prophets". In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually titled "Writings" or "Hagiographa". In the Ketuvim, 1–2 Books ...

("Writings"), the third major section of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

, the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...

, the

Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible, it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ("Five Scroll ...

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

and the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther (; ; ), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the Five Megillot, Five Scrolls () in the Hebr ...

. These five relatively short biblical books are grouped together in Jewish tradition.

History

An early testimony that these five scrolls were grouped together is in the ''

Midrash Rabba Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midra ...

''. This ''

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

'' was compiled on the Pentateuch and on the Five Scrolls.

Liturgical use

All five of these ''megillot'' ("scrolls") are traditionally read publicly in the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

over the course of the year in many Jewish communities. In common printed editions of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

( ''Shir ha-Shirim'') is read publicly in some communities, especially by

Ashkenazim Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

, on the Sabbath of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

. In most

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews (), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () in plural and ''Mizrahi'' () in singular, and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jews, Jewish c ...

communities it is read publicly each week at the onset of the

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

(Sabbath). There is also a widespread custom to read it at the end of the

Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...

. In the Sephardi ritual it is read before the Mincha service on the afternoon of the seventh day of Passover (eighth day outside Israel).

Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

read it at the ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'' (Evening Prayer) of the first and second day of

Ruth

The

() is read in some communities, especially by Ashkenazim, before the reading of the Torah on the morning of ''

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

''. Others read it in the '' Tikkun'' at night, or not at all.

Lamentations

The

( ''Eikhah'' or ''Kinnot'') is read on the night of

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...

in all Jewish communities.

Ecclesiastes

( ''Kohelet'') is read publicly in some communities, especially by Ashkenazim, on the Sabbath of

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

. In other communities it is not read at all.

Esther

The

() is read in all Jewish communities on

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

. The public reading is done twice, on the evening of Purim and once again the next morning.

Common practice

When read in the synagogue, these five books are sung with cantillation (see below). In most communities, Esther is the only book accompanied by blessings before and after, but certain communities adopted the custom of the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...

to recite blessings before the other four ''megillot'' as well. As indicated above, however, only two of the ''megillot'' are traditionally read in all Jewish communities, Esther on Purim and Lamentations on Tisha B'Av. The practice of reading the other three books on the

Three Pilgrimage Festivals The Three Pilgrimage Festivals or Three Pilgrim Festivals, sometimes known in English by their Hebrew name ''Shalosh Regalim'' (, or ), are three major festivals in Judaism—two in spring; Passover, 49 days later Shavuot (literally 'weeks', or ...

is widespread but by no means universal. To read them is a venerable custom among Ashkenazim, but some

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jews do not associate the three books with the three festivals.

Cantillation

The

cantillation marks Hebrew cantillation, trope, trop, or ''te'amim'' is the manner of chanting ritual readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic ...

which guide the singing of the text written in the printed texts of the Five Scrolls are drawn from the same set of markings as the notes in the Humash (Pentateuch). However, the tune in which they are read varies depending on the scroll. Esther is read in a happier tune than the sad tune of Lamentations. Traditionally, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, and Song of Songs are read with the same festive tune.

Other uses

The term ''megillah'' is most widely used for the book of Esther, even though it is applied to the rest as well. The term ''megillah'' is also used in a joking way, in reference to any lengthy story.

Eugene H. Peterson Eugene Hoiland Peterson (November 6, 1932 – October 22, 2018) was an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet. He wrote over 30 books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award–winner ''The Message (Bible), The ...

's ''Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work'' examines the application of the Megillot to Christian

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as ...

.. p.21.