Purim (Holiday)
Jewish calendar has many various holidays. Some of them are happy, some of them are sad, some are more religious, and some are more cultural, but they all have a story behind them, and they all play a big role in the observance of Jewish religion and complying with the commitments of every day’s life cycle.
The holiday, I want to tell you about, is by far the most joyful and happiest of all the Jewish holidays. It is called Purim, and we celebrate it on the 14th day of Adar by the Jewish calendar, or on March, 4th by the western calendar. What is Purim? It is the day of the Miracles, the day of Survival. In Israel people say, that all the Jewish holidays can be described by the same definition:” They wanted to kill us, but we won! Lets eat!” Purim is a perfect example of such understanding. Let me give you a short introduction to Purim.
Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people, in the year 3405 from Creation (356 bce), from Haman's plot "to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day." Haman was prime minister to the Persian emperor Achashverosh. Enraged that Mordechai the Jew "would not bow or prostate himself before him," Haman argued before Achashverosh that "one people, scattered and divided in all provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of all peoples" ought not be allowed to exist. After receiving a permission from the king, Haman selected the day for the execution of his plan by throwing the “purim” (craps, Persian). After a series of events, the roles have switched and Haman was punished by the king, and Jewish people were saved.
The story of Purim is written in one of the books of Torah, which is called the Book of Ester. And although Purim, as we said, can be described by the general definition of a Jewish holiday, it is very different from anything else. The Book of Ester is called “Maghilat Ester” in Hebrew, and these words have another meaning: “to reveal the hidden”. Purim is all about the revealing of the hidden. For example, the Book of Ester is the only book of Torah, where the name of God is not used once; however the Torah scholars tell us, that behind all the “coincidences” that help to save Jewish people from Haman is indeed nothing but the Divine Presence of God. Consequently, one of the traditions that we have for celebrating Purim is to dress up in costumes and hide our faces behind masks. Also, on Purim we eat “Hamentashi”, cookies with the stuffing inside, to symbolize the revelation.
When we celebrate Purim, we come to the synagogue to listen to the reading of the Book of Esther, and afterwards, we have a feast when we invite friends and family, and we sit together at the table and sing happy song about the holiday. Additionally, Purim is the day when we give presents. We give at least two food presents to our friends and also money to the charities and to the people in need.
No doubt, in every country, for every social, national, or religious group of people, holidays are much more than just a day off from work. Holidays remind us about our history, our culture, our heritage. They are that common subject that helps people get together and realize how close they really are to each other. My hope is that in the future we will only have joyful happy holidays, because there will be no sad things to remember.
The quotations were taken from the “Magilat Ester”, the book of Torah.
The holiday, I want to tell you about, is by far the most joyful and happiest of all the Jewish holidays. It is called Purim, and we celebrate it on the 14th day of Adar by the Jewish calendar, or on March, 4th by the western calendar. What is Purim? It is the day of the Miracles, the day of Survival. In Israel people say, that all the Jewish holidays can be described by the same definition:” They wanted to kill us, but we won! Lets eat!” Purim is a perfect example of such understanding. Let me give you a short introduction to Purim.
Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people, in the year 3405 from Creation (356 bce), from Haman's plot "to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day." Haman was prime minister to the Persian emperor Achashverosh. Enraged that Mordechai the Jew "would not bow or prostate himself before him," Haman argued before Achashverosh that "one people, scattered and divided in all provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of all peoples" ought not be allowed to exist. After receiving a permission from the king, Haman selected the day for the execution of his plan by throwing the “purim” (craps, Persian). After a series of events, the roles have switched and Haman was punished by the king, and Jewish people were saved.
The story of Purim is written in one of the books of Torah, which is called the Book of Ester. And although Purim, as we said, can be described by the general definition of a Jewish holiday, it is very different from anything else. The Book of Ester is called “Maghilat Ester” in Hebrew, and these words have another meaning: “to reveal the hidden”. Purim is all about the revealing of the hidden. For example, the Book of Ester is the only book of Torah, where the name of God is not used once; however the Torah scholars tell us, that behind all the “coincidences” that help to save Jewish people from Haman is indeed nothing but the Divine Presence of God. Consequently, one of the traditions that we have for celebrating Purim is to dress up in costumes and hide our faces behind masks. Also, on Purim we eat “Hamentashi”, cookies with the stuffing inside, to symbolize the revelation.
When we celebrate Purim, we come to the synagogue to listen to the reading of the Book of Esther, and afterwards, we have a feast when we invite friends and family, and we sit together at the table and sing happy song about the holiday. Additionally, Purim is the day when we give presents. We give at least two food presents to our friends and also money to the charities and to the people in need.
No doubt, in every country, for every social, national, or religious group of people, holidays are much more than just a day off from work. Holidays remind us about our history, our culture, our heritage. They are that common subject that helps people get together and realize how close they really are to each other. My hope is that in the future we will only have joyful happy holidays, because there will be no sad things to remember.
The quotations were taken from the “Magilat Ester”, the book of Torah.
Labels: Alexander Makedonsky
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