Esther

Reading the Scroll of Esther (Megillat Esther) is the centerpiece of the joyous holiday of Purim. This app adds to your holiday experience by bringing you the entire Hebrew text of Esther, fully pointed (all vowels and cantillation marks) with a choice of eight fonts sizes, a verse-by-verse English translation, and a noisemaker (grogger) to drown out the name of the evildoer Haman during the reading. The Purim Service (seder Purim) is also included, with separate texts for four different traditions: Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Nusach Ari and Nusach Sefard. The noisemaker comes with a choice of noisy sound effects. To play a sound effect while reading, touch a grogger image at the bottom of any chapter. Use the menu to change the font size, display mode, and grogger sound.

The text of Megillat Esther can be viewed with Hebrew and English side-by-side (in either portrait or landscape mode), or in Hebrew or English only. You can view any chapter by using the scrolling navigation bar at the bottom of the screen; in any chapter, scroll through the text to find a particular verse. When both Hebrew and English are displayed together, the scrolling stays synchronized verse by verse.

The English translation is based on the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version. The English text has been updated to replace "thee" and "thou," "hast" and "didst," and similar archaisms.