A megillah (meh-gee-LAH or meh-GILL-ah) is a scroll. Usually, the term refers to one of five specific scrolls (megillot) read on specific days of the Jewish calendar:
Song of Songs (Shir ha Shirim)- read on the Shabbat during Passover.
Lamentations (Eicha) – read on Tisha B’Av
Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) – read on the Shabbat during Sukkot
The megillot are not merely read, they are chanted to a particular tune or trope for the day of observance. This is not the same tune used for Shabbat Torah readings – it’s quite distinctive. I’ve linked each of the titles above to recordings, so that you can get a little taste of the trope.
Listening to a recording is a poor substitute for the experience of hearing a megillah chanted in person. Each reading takes place in the context of a community, and in the case of Lamentations and Esther the congregation also has a role to play. You’ll get a sense of that, too, from the recordings above.
Have you ever heard a megillah chanted live? What was that experience like for you?