Q. The Mishna (Meg. 6b.) states: "The only difference between the first (month of) Adar and the second Adar consists in reading the scroll of Esther and giving presents to the poor." Does this statement mean that we ought to celebrate Purim on the fourteenth of the first Adar (in a leap-year) and fast on the thirteenth of this month? A. No, the above cited statement means that the reading of the scroll of Esther on the fourteenth of the first Adar, even though it was so read before the leap-year was decided on, does not free one from the obligation of reading the scroll on the second Adar. The statement does not mean that all other laws connected with Purim apply to the first Adar. SOURCES: L. 195; Tashbetz 178.