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What is Megillat Esther?

"Megillat Esther" is Hebrew for "The Scroll of Esther". Traditionally, the book of Esther is scribed on its own scroll (separate from the other books of the Bible) and usually is affixed to a single post (aytz chayim, or "tree of life"). Megillat Esther is read on the biblical festival of Purim ("Lots"), which occurs in February or March every year. Purim is kept on the fourteenth of the biblical month Adar in remembrance of the L-rd's saving intervention, when Haman the Agagite plotted to destroy all the Jews in the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

There are four other books of the Bible which are written in the form of "megillot" (like Esther, each on its own scroll):
-Shir ha Shirim (Song of Songs, read on Pesach/Passover);
-Megillat Rut (Ruth, read on Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost);
-Megillat Aycha (Lamentations, read on Tisha B'av, the anniversary of the destruction of the temples);
-and Megillat Kohelet (Ecclesiastes, read on Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles).
The contents of each megillah is meant to remind the congregants of the significance of the time of year in G-d's calendar cycle.

In the case of Megillat Esther, the scroll is read to remind us that the L-rd, the King of the Universe, is always in control of all that happens. The feast is called Purim (lots) rather than "salvation" or "demise of the enemy" for a reason: to demonstrate the contrast between those who put their faith in the gods of fate or chance (like the Amalekites), and those who put their trust in the L-rd. A person who believes in fate also believes he can and must master his own fate; therefore, he has no fear of judgment from the L-rd, and his casting of the lot becomes a vehicle for bringing about his own will. But he who fears the L-rd as Master of the Universe subjects his will to that of G-d. These two basic beliefs of man will always be at war with each other, and the "Amalekite" will always attack G-d's people who are reminders of G-d's kingship. (In fact, Hitler, a modern-day Haman, commanded that all copies of the book of Esther be destroyed). But our just and merciful G-d intervenes when the "Amalekite" seeks to destroy G-d's people. That is the lesson of Purim, and that is why the story of Esther is so important to be remembered on a yearly basis.