gragger

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Pronounced: GROGG-er, Origin: Yiddish, a noisemaker used during the communal reading of the megillah, the Book of Esther, on the holiday of Purim. When the reader speaks the name of Haman, the congregation tries to drown out the evil name using noisemakers and booing.

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Ask the Expert: Reading the Megillah From a Scroll

Of the five biblical books identified as megillot (scrolls), why is only Esther read from an actual one?