February 27th is Purim

[Leila Raven]

Need a reason to celebrate today? I've always been interested in what holidays or holy days are being celebrated and by who and why on a given day. I discovered that today is Purim in the Jewish tradition, and thought I would share an article from: The Jewish Holiday of Purim - Squidoo

The Jewish Festival of Purim

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

Jews celebrate Purim by reliving the Purim story through reading of the Megillah scroll, dressing up in Purim costumes, and eating foods related to the Purim story, hamentaschen or ozney haman (in Hebrew).

Purim is a holiday where Jews are told to "eat, drink, and be merry." It is celebrated every spring from sundown to sunset the next day (as all Jewish holidays are) on the 14th of Adar in the Hebrew calendar. This date usually falls in March on the Gregorian calendar.

This year Purim falls on the * Jewish Year 5770: sunset February 27, 2010 - nightfall February 28, 2010

The Megillah scroll:

The Story of Purim 

Book of Esther

The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

Blessings for Reading the Megillah 

Before reading the the Megillah, the reader recites the following three blessings:

Book of Esther 

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of God. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to God. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning God. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that God often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, which is usually in March. The 13th of Adar is the day that Haman chose for the extermination of the Jews, and the day that the Jews battled their enemies for their lives. On the day afterwards, the 14th, they celebrated their survival. In leap years, when there are two months of Adar, Purim is celebrated in the second month of Adar, so it is always one month before Passover. The word "Purim" means "lots" and refers to the lottery that Haman used to choose the date for the massacre.

Purim Customs 

The Purim holiday is preceded by a minor fast, the Fast of Esther, which commemorates Esther's three days of fasting in preparation for her meeting with the king.

The primary commandment related to Purim is to hear the reading of the book of Esther. The book of Esther is commonly known as the Megillah, which means scroll. Although there are five books of Jewish scripture that are properly referred to as megillahs (Esther, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations), this is the one people usually mean when they speak of The Megillah. It is customary to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle gragers (noisemakers) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the service. The purpose of this custom is to "blot out the name of Haman."

We are also commanded to eat, drink and be merry. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai," though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is. A person certainly should not become so drunk that he might violate other commandments or get seriously ill. In addition, recovering alcoholics or others who might suffer serious harm from alcohol are exempt from this obligation.

We are also commanded to send out gifts of food or drink, and to make gifts to charity. The sending of gifts of food and drink is referred to as shalach manot.

It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests.

Give to the Needy (Matanot La'evyonim) 

Concern for the needy is a year-round responsibility; but on Purim it is a special mitzvah to remember the poor.

Give charity to at least two needy individuals on Purim day.

The mitzvah is best fulfilled by giving directly to the needy. If, however, you cannot find poor people, place at least two coins into a charity box.

 

Send Food Portions to Friends (Mishloach Manot) 

On Purim we emphasize the importance of Jewish unity and friendship by sending gifts of food to friends.

On Purim day, send a gift of at least two kinds of ready-to-eat foods to at least one friend. It is preferable that the gifts are delivered via a third party. Children, in addition to sending their own gifts of food to their friends, make enthusiastic messengers.

 

An Illuminated Megillah Scroll