IndigoChild5559
Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Last night, March 23, Purim began. To all those Jews who celebrate it, chag Purim sameach!
Purim is a celebration of the deliverance of the Jews in the book of Esther. If you don't know the story, here is a horribly simplified version.
King Ahasuerus, a Persian monarch, demands that his wife appear for him and his drunken friends. When she refuses (go Vashti!), he gets rid of her. He then has all the virgins in the Kingdom come before him, and out of all of them, he chooses Esther (yay!). Esther is Jewish, but the King does not know this. Meanwhile, Esther's uncle Mordecai (yay!) is a mover and shaker in the employment of the King. Another official named Haman (boooo!) hates Mordecai (yay!) because Mordecai, being a Jew, bows to no one but God, and refuses to bow to Haman (boooo!). Skipping forward, Haman (booo!) decides to kill not only Mordecai (yay!!!), but all the Jews. He convinces the King to sign into law that all the Jews are to be killed on a certain day. Now there was a rule that anyone who interrupts the King will be killed if the interruption annoys the King. Esther(yay!) decides to risk her very life and interrupts the King to invite him to dinner. Fortunately the King accepts. At the dinner, Esther (yay!) reveals that she is a Jew, and that his new law will mean her death, and she explains Haman's (booo!) evil plot. The King cannot undo the law he already signed, but he passes a new law saying that on that day, Jews can defend themselves. Haman (boo!) is then executed on the very same gallows that he had built to hang Mordecai. The day becomes a holiday to remember what happened.
Although opinions vary, most Jewish historians tell us that Esther is not historical, but a work of fiction. It was meant to be a sort of melodrama, which is why one of the customs of Purim is to have a musical melodrama performed creatively retelling the story, called Purim spiels.. The audience uses noise makers and yells "boo" every time Haman is mentioned, and "Yay" every time Esther or Mordechai is mentioned. One of the ideas of the story is that even when God seems far away (God is never mentioned in Esther) there is still hope. It emphasizes our responsibility to intervene against evil, rather than depending on God alone. It is the only book that authorized a new holy day besides the Torah.
It is common for synagogues to have some sort of carnival in addition to the Purim spiel. Children (and also some adults) dress up in costumes. The cookie of the day is a triangular on with some sort of filling in the middle, typically fruit jellies -- these are called Hamantaschen
For those concerned about Kol Isha, the following Purim spiel is done by a Reform synagogue.
Purim is a celebration of the deliverance of the Jews in the book of Esther. If you don't know the story, here is a horribly simplified version.
King Ahasuerus, a Persian monarch, demands that his wife appear for him and his drunken friends. When she refuses (go Vashti!), he gets rid of her. He then has all the virgins in the Kingdom come before him, and out of all of them, he chooses Esther (yay!). Esther is Jewish, but the King does not know this. Meanwhile, Esther's uncle Mordecai (yay!) is a mover and shaker in the employment of the King. Another official named Haman (boooo!) hates Mordecai (yay!) because Mordecai, being a Jew, bows to no one but God, and refuses to bow to Haman (boooo!). Skipping forward, Haman (booo!) decides to kill not only Mordecai (yay!!!), but all the Jews. He convinces the King to sign into law that all the Jews are to be killed on a certain day. Now there was a rule that anyone who interrupts the King will be killed if the interruption annoys the King. Esther(yay!) decides to risk her very life and interrupts the King to invite him to dinner. Fortunately the King accepts. At the dinner, Esther (yay!) reveals that she is a Jew, and that his new law will mean her death, and she explains Haman's (booo!) evil plot. The King cannot undo the law he already signed, but he passes a new law saying that on that day, Jews can defend themselves. Haman (boo!) is then executed on the very same gallows that he had built to hang Mordecai. The day becomes a holiday to remember what happened.
Although opinions vary, most Jewish historians tell us that Esther is not historical, but a work of fiction. It was meant to be a sort of melodrama, which is why one of the customs of Purim is to have a musical melodrama performed creatively retelling the story, called Purim spiels.. The audience uses noise makers and yells "boo" every time Haman is mentioned, and "Yay" every time Esther or Mordechai is mentioned. One of the ideas of the story is that even when God seems far away (God is never mentioned in Esther) there is still hope. It emphasizes our responsibility to intervene against evil, rather than depending on God alone. It is the only book that authorized a new holy day besides the Torah.
It is common for synagogues to have some sort of carnival in addition to the Purim spiel. Children (and also some adults) dress up in costumes. The cookie of the day is a triangular on with some sort of filling in the middle, typically fruit jellies -- these are called Hamantaschen
For those concerned about Kol Isha, the following Purim spiel is done by a Reform synagogue.
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