Tuesday, February 27, 2018

minhag - Why doesn't Chabad read Ruth on Shavuot?


I was at Chabad this Shavuot and they did not read Ruth. Everywhere else I've been (all Nusach Ashkenaz) has read it claiming that it's appropriate since this is the time of the wheat harvest.



Are there other groups who do not read Ruth on Shavuot? Are Ashkenazim the only ones who do? Where did the custom originate?


Also (and maybe this should be a separate question), does Chabad (and other groups who omit Ruth) read Kohelet on Sukkot?



Answer



Only Ashkenazic communities read all five megillos in a public setting over the course of the year. Sefardic and Chassidic communities generally will only read Eicha on Tisha B'av and (of course) Esther on Purim, but not the other three on the shalosh regalim.


The custom to read Ruth on Shavuos (as well as Shir Hashirim on Pesach, I think) is mentioned earliest in Maseches Sofrim (14:18) (although the custom of exactly when during the holiday to say it is not the same). Many reasons are given for each megilla for why it is read on its corresponding holiday, but as far as I know, those are found in more recent works.


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