THE BASICS

WHAT IS PURIM?

Purim (Adar 14th) celebrates the victory of Mordechai and Esther over the evil Haman. The story can be found in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible), in the Book of Esther, and it is read every year during the holiday. The word Purim means lots, becasue Haman cast lots to decide on what day he will destroy the hated Jews. Fate fell on the month of Adar, which is why, according to the Rabbis, "Mi schenichnas Adar, marbin b'simcha", When we enter the month of Adar, we increase our joy. There is nothing sacred in our celebration of victory. It is not accompanied by prohibitions as is usual with our pilgrimage holidays and although it is found in the Bible, it is not part of the Torah, thus it is a rabbinic holiday and not a Torah-based one.

The holiday is concentrated around the reading of the Megilah, The Scroll of Esther. Every time we hear the name of Haman we need to make loud noises to eradicate his evil name. The remaining mitzvot (Commandments) are a festive meal on the afternoon of the holiday, the sending of food gifts for friends (Misloach Manot), and giving to the needy (Matanot LeEvyonim). On Purim it is customary to hold a costume ball or a costume parade, to perform Purim parodies and performances, and to drink a lot of alcohol. All of these traditions are there to celebrate this day as a kind of upside-down, inverted day when everything is different than it seems. It’s a kind of Jewish Mardi Gras in which even the best-behaved members of the Jewish community let loose a little.

The story described in the Book of Esther is the melodrama of court intrigue.

In the first part of the story the stage is set. The king expels his proud queen, Vashti, and picks Esther as the new queen after she wins a beauty peagent. He makes Haman his chief advisor but Mordechai, the protector and uncle of Esther, does not bow down to the chief advisor. Haman decides to extend his anger to all Jews and he manages to persuade the silly King Ahasuerus to sign a decree that allows for all the Jews within the empire to be killed. Mordechai and Esther begin planning to prevent the bloodhsed. Esther asks for permission to enter the king's quarters for dinner. They eat and drink together after which Esther reveals her Jewish identity to the king and asks for her people to be saved. Haman is hanged and the Jews receive permission to protect themselves. Mordecai and Esther live happily ever after until Purim is declared an annual festival to be celebrated.

Good, no? Did it happen?

Hmm. This question has sparked massive debates amongst scholars and there were and are some who question its authenticity. Certain facts in the story contradict other facts. For example, it is a known fact that Persian rules only chose wives for themselves from the seven ruling families of Persia. As a result, it would not have been possible to make Esther queen. For all these reasons, there are those who say Purim is a Jewish version of an ancient pagan holiday. As proof of this, they point out, for example, that the non-Jewish names of the two protagonists in the story bear a close resemblance to the two important pagan gods of the Middle East at the time: Marduk and Ishtar.

The satire

Did it happen? Or is it just a product of our imagination? Esetleg a megtörtént események eltúlzott változata? The point is that the Book of Esther has become part of the Jewish festive cycle and the lightness of the book interweaves the holiday with its joyful, cheerful character. We don’t take the story seriously at all. At the same time, however, we also see the history of the Jewish people in exile as Haman said, “there are a people scattered in your empire...” and this is meaningful and reasonates with all generations of Jews. The fact that the Jews awaited their fate in exile, at the mercy of a ruler, has happened to us many times throughout history. We were faced with Hamans too often and more often than not, the end of the story was not happy and hilarious. Purim is reminiscent of the rare and bright moments of victory versus the centuries of persecution.

So the holiday is a time when we feel good and let loose, when we can disguise ourselves as someone we are not. The spirit of the holiday is perhaps best reflected in the Talmudic passage: “One is obligated to drink on Purim until one doesn't know the difference between 'cursed be Haman' and 'blessed be Mordechai." Even though later scholars tried to explain this passage differently so as to not refer to drunkenness, it would still be difficult.

A lot of rabbis tried giving varying interpretations to this passage, such as, it is not a commandment but rather a recommendation, or that it means that one must drink until they fall asleep, or one must drink a little more than usual, or perhaps that one must drink until they cannot cite a a complex verse from the Bible.

Traditions

TA'ANIT ESTHER

Purim is preceded by Ta'anit Esther: the Fast of Esther. This was institutionalized in memory of the three-day fast that Esther ordained through Mordecai to the Jews in Persia before she went before the king.

Previously, this day was known as Yom Nicanor. It was a small celebration on which we commemorated the victory of Judah Maccabi over the Syrian army led by Nicanor.

READING AND LISTENING TO THE MEGILLAH

Purim begins at sunset on Adar 14th. Following the evening prayer, the Megillah of Esther (The Book of Esther) from a handwritten scroll.

Whenever the name of Haman is read in the story, everyone makes a loud noise to fulfill the Yimakh Shemo commandment (may his name be erased). Any noise generation is good, but it is customary to use graggers made for this holiday.

SUSHAN PURIM

The Jews living in Sushan, the capital of Persia, fought the enemy for one extra day and did not rest until the 15th of Adar, so instead of the 14th, they celebrated Purim that day. The rabbis ordered that Purim be celebrated on the 15th of Adar in every city surrounded by a wall during the time of Joshua. This only applies to Jerusalem, where Purim is celebrated on the 15th of Adar.

All other purim costums can be read in chapter 9, verse 22 in the Book of esther:

“As the days when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into celebration. These were to be days of feasting, celebration and sending presents of food to one another and giving gifts to the poor.”

The feast that we enjoy in the afternoon is filled with eating, drinking, which is encouraged, and loads of fun. The misloach manot and the giving of charity is a no-brainer.

MISHLOACH MANOT

OR SHALACH MANOS

We send care packages to our friends. This is usually a small package, which includes hamantaschen, fruits, nuts, and a small bottle of wine. The packages can be small and simple or bigger with a lot of food.

COMPLETE THE MITZVAH WITH BÁLINT HÁZ THIS YEAR! :)

MATANOT L'EVYONIM

DONATIONS TO THE NEEDY

The charitable donations are in addition to the traditional misloach manot that we give. We must give donations to at least two people in need and it is customary to donate through organizations of the community, which work to help those in need.

SEUDAH

The feast is towards the end of the day and it is the second most important feast according to tradition (after Passover). It has no other traditions, perhaps just that in some places Purim plays are performed.

Based on the Purim Torah, (the Torah that makes the traditions humorous and satirical, the one that makes fun of the Talmud and other traditional texts) there are some who even have a kiddush. In some Yeshivas they chose Purim Rabbis who would perform plays and make a mockery out of other scholars.