Feasts, Festivals and Holidays

PURIM

Sunday, February 24, 2013 is the 14th of Adar on the Hebrew calendar and is also the celebration of Purim.      This special holiday is a joyous occasion.  It is associated with the book of Megillah, better known to Westerners as the book of Esther.  It is the celebration of how God, through Esther, delivered His people from a man named Haman.  Haman was Prime Minister of the Persian empire during the reign of King Ahasuerus during the 4th century BCE and he plotted the destruction of the entire Jewish population.  By reading the book of Esther one can grasp the story from beginning to end.  

The day before Purim is spent fasting to represent the day of fasting by the Jewish people in the Purim story. 

The following things are done on Purim:

1. The book of Esther is read twice on Purim, once on the eve of Purim and again on Purim Day.  To properly fulfill the mitzvah (commandment), a person must listen very closely to every word of the reading.  It is customary for those present to twirl noisemakers and stamp their feet each time the name "Haman" is mentioned in the reading, in order to eradicate his evil name.   

2. Give charity to at least two or more needy people.  It is not done through an agency, but to the people directly if at all possible.  

3.  Send a gift of ready-to-eat food to a friend (men to men and women to women) using a third party to deliver them.  (Children are to do the same and CAN be the delivery person.)

4.  Eat, drink and be merry on Purim Day!  It is a mitzvah to drink wine or other strong drinks on this day along with a special festival meal.

5.  Special Prayers are said and Torah readings are read.  A prayer known as the Al-HaNissim prayer, which describes the Purim miracle, is included in the evening (remember the day begins at 6 p.m.), morning and afternoon prayers as well as in the Grace after Meals.  There is also a special reading from the Torah scroll from Exodus 17:8-16.

6.  It is customary for children to dress up and disguise themselves, an allusion to the fact that the Purim miracle disguised itself in natural garments.  

7.  Hamantash - a traditional Purim food whose filling is hidden within a three-cornered crust.

Why not spend this Sunday reading the book of Esther celebrating God's deliverance of His people from the hands of an evil man while at the same time remembering how He delivers you daily from the hands of evil!  Shalom!