The scroll of the Book of Esther read aloud during Purim is called the Megillah.
More precisely, it is the Megillat Esther, meaning the Scroll of Esther. It tells how Esther, a Jewish queen of Persia, and her cousin Mordecai thwarted Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews. The public reading is central to Purim and is traditionally heard once in the evening and once during the day.
Listeners often make noise when Haman’s name is read, using graggers or other sounds, although the details differ by community. The term megillah can refer to any of the five scrolls in the Hebrew Bible, but in everyday Purim usage it normally means Esther’s scroll. A kosher Megillah is handwritten on parchment by a trained Jewish scribe, rather than printed like an ordinary book.