Joan S. Friedman
5. Shulhan Arukh OH 690:17
“It is the custom of all Israel that the[megilla] reader spreads the scroll out as he reads, like a letter, in order to show the miracle. And when he finishes, then he goes back and rolls it all up and recites the blessing.[Isserles :] Some have written that people are accustomed to say the four verses of redemption aloud[with the reader], namely: Esther 2:5, 8:15, 8:16, 10:3, and such is the custom in these lands(Hagahot Maimuniot 8; Kol Bo; Abudharam), and then the chazan repeats them. They have also written that the children are accustomed to draw the likeness of Haman , or write his name, on pieces of wood and stones, and to strike them against each other in order that the name of Haman be blotted out, as in“You shall wipe out the memory of Amalek ’(Deut. 25:19)17 and‘the name of the wicked will rot.”(Prov. 10:7) From this the custom got mixed up and turned into the practice of striking Haman when they read the megilla in the synagogue (Abudharam). But one should not abrogate a single custom or mock it, for they were not established for nothing(Bet Yosef in the name of Orhot Hayim).”
In the enumeration of the many and varied customs associated with the reading of the megillah, we do, indeed, see an example in which the people’s creativity leads to the diffusion of practices which are then recognized as halakhah and codified by the rabbinic authorities, who explicitly acknowledge that what they are recognizing is minhag. The same is true in the following passage.
6. Shulhan Arukh YD 376:4
“At present it is the custom that after the grave is filled with earth(or after the mourner turns his face from the grave), they remove their shoes and sandals, go some little distance away from the cemetery, and recite the burial Kaddish. After that they pull up dirt and grasses and throw them behind their backs, and wash their hands with water.[Isserles :] Some say that they sit down seven times, because the spirits are accompanying him, and each time they sit, the spirits flee(Maharil , resp. No.23, in the name of“some say”). But in these provinces they are only accustomed to sit three times, after they wash their hands, and each time they say[Ps. 90:17 and Ps. 91:1]. When the deceased is