Jewish Feasts - Purim

Group,

OK, before you say anything, yes, I am aware that Purim is not part of the seven major Jewish holidays. But since it is occurring so soon after my initial email, I want to include it.

Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month Adar and is believed to have started around the 5th century BC. It is the celebration of the story of Queen Esther found in the Book of Esther. The first reference to Purim is in Maccabees II. It has been highly debated if the Jews should really be celebrating this holiday since it was based on a book that some thought shouldn’t be included in the canon of scripture. Some say this since Esther is the only book not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the fact that God is not mentioned at all in it. However, there is enough evidence that it was highly regarded and read regularly early on based on outside historians like Josephus.

Anyway, this is a very joyful holiday for the Jews. It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people during the ancient Persian empire. During this time, Haman, who was promoted by the king to be over all the princes, had plotted to annihilate all the Jews (young and old, infants and women), in a single day. Haman had thrown lots to determine when he would carry out his plans. Hence the name Purim, because it means “lots”.

Side note: It is pronounced Poo-REEM, not PYOO-rim.

Back to the story. Esther, a Jewish girl, who became Queen by winning a beauty pageant, foiled mean Haman’s plans by telling her husband, the king, at a banquet that she was Jewish. The king was furious with Haman and had a rope tied around his neck and then taken care of. There’s a bit more to this story and I highly recommend that you read the Book of Esther.

So how is Purim celebrated? Glad you asked.

They read through the Book of Esther twice during this time. Once on the eve of Purim, and then again on the following day.
They give money/gifts to at least two poor people
They send gifts of two kinds of food to at least one person
They have a big Purim feast
It is customary for children, and adults if they choose, to dress up in costumes. That’s why Purim is also considered the Jewish Halloween.
Now, lets go back to something I referenced at the top. Some find it very odd that God is not mentioned one time in the Book of Ester. To the Jews, the lesson they receive is that even if God doesn't seem to be there, He is always there working. He was there in the story:

He put Ester, a Jewish woman, as Queen in a Persian empire
He protected the Jews from a tyrant who wanted them completely gone. (we have seen this a time or two throughout history)