Does hearing the megillah read over the internet fulfill the mitzvah? This is not the first year of Covid restrictions, surely it was considered in 2020 or 2021.
I would imagine this is similar to the question of hearing megillah in a large room where electronic amplification is used, or, more distantly, to the question of one who uses a hearing aid (see Can someone wearing a cochlear implant fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the Shofar?)
During COVID, OU published the following ruling on the topic, allowing it only in the most extreme cases.
- Those who are ill or have had serious exposure and must remain in isolation must not come to shul. To fulfill the Mitzvah, they should have a kosher, hand-written Megillah in hand from which they read audibly, either on their own or assisted by a reading heard electronically.
- The clear majority of Halachic authorities do not consider Halachically adequate a Megillah reading heard over the phone or online. There is however a minority opinion that does allow for this, provided that the reading is live, and not pre-recorded. Following the Halachic principle that we may rely upon minority opinions under extenuating circumstances, when no better option exists this minority opinion can be relied upon.
chabad.org writes similarly
Today, with the benefit of a better understanding of how these technologies work, the majority consensus is that one cannot fulfill one’s halachic obligations through a telephone or microphone
(see there, footnote 2, for sources)
Rabbi Josh Flug wrote an article on this subject.
In a pikuach nefesh-situation like the Covid-19 period, the following applies:
Therefore, in a situation in which it is impossible to have an in person mikra megillah due to pikuach nefesh considerations caused by Coronavirus, it is permissible to hear mikra megillah via a live phone call or video. We follow the rule that sha’as had-chak ke-di'eved dami; in a sha’as had-chak we allow le-chatchila what is usually only accepted bidi'eved.
