What is Purim…
Purim starts tonight as sunset and ends tomorrow night at sunset. It is a spring holiday that commemorates the Jewish
community's narrow escape from collective destruction in the ancient Persian
Empire. The word itself, purim, comes from
the Persian word for "lots" and is a reference to the fact that the
date set for the Jews' annihilation was chosen by casting lots.
There
are several major components of the Purim holiday, including public readings of
the Book of Esther, giving charity to the poor and delivering
gifts to friends. But Purim is most obviously characterized by a boisterous
feast during which participants dress in costumes and drink to excess. Jews are instructed to revel until they cannot tell the
difference between Mordecai and Haman. A fool's errand, it would seem.
In
the Book of Esther, Mordecai and Haman are portrayed as the embodiments of good
and evil, respectively. In the story, Haman, the right-hand man of the Persian
king, feels personally insulted when Mordecai will not bow to him. Discovering
that Mordecai is Jewish, he decides to punish the entire community, decreeing
that all Jews will be killed. The king approves, and Mordecai declares a time
of mourning and penitence for the Jews. Meanwhile, Esther, the wife of the king
and the niece of Mordecai, asks all the Jews to fast with her for three days
(this part of the story is honored every year on the eve of Purim and is known
as the Fast of Esther). The king does not know that Esther is Jewish.
The king also does not know that Mordecai has foiled an attempt on his life. At
the end of the fast, Esther arranges a succession of feasts, inviting both
Haman and the king. Esther reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman wishes to
kill her and her people. The king decrees that Haman should be hanged instead,
and Mordecai eventually takes Haman's place alongside the king.
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