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| Observed by: | Jews | |
| Name | Hebrew: פורים | |
| Meaning: | "Lots" | |
| Begins: | 14th or 15th day of Adar | |
| Occasion | Celebration of Jewish deliverance as told in the Book of Esther. | |
| Symbols: | Grogger, dice, costumes, mask | |
Purim (פורים "Lots," Standard Hebrew Purim, Tiberian Hebrew Pûrîm: plural of פור pûr "Lot," from Akkadian puru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. According to that book the feast was instituted as a national one by the book's protagonists, Mordecai and Esther. Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. (For reasons described below, in a small number of cities that were walled in ancient times, it is also celebrated on the 15th.) In 2005, this falls on March 25, but that day starts on March 24 at sundown.
Like Hanukkah, Purim's status as a holiday is on a lesser level than those of the Biblically ordained holy days. Accordingly business transactions and even manual labor are allowed on Purim, although in certain places restrictions have been imposed on work ( Shulkhan ArukhThe Shulkhan Arukh ( Hebrew: Prepared Table , by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. With its commentaries, it is the main authoratitive source of halakha (Jewish law and custom). Structure The, Orah Hayyim, 696).
Purim has been held in high esteem by the Jewish community at all times; some have held that when all the prophetical and hagiographical works are forgotten the Book of EstherEsther Standard Hebrew Ester Tiberian Hebrew Ester was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus ( Xerxes I), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. The name Ester means "hidden" in Hebrew. According to the rabbis a will still be remembered, and, accordingly, the Feast of Purim will continue to be observed (Talmud Yerushalmi, Meg. i. 5a; Maimonides, "Yad," Megillah)
The Book of EstherEsther Standard Hebrew Ester Tiberian Hebrew Ester was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus ( Xerxes I), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. The name Ester means "hidden" in Hebrew. According to the rabbis a does not prescribe any religious service for Purim; it enjoins only the annual celebration of the feast among the Jews on the 14th and 15th of Adar, commanding that they should "make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor." The siddurThe siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. There is a separate entry on the prayers that appear in the siddur, and when they are said. This entry discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how (Jewish prayer book) has a special prayer to be said on this festival.
The first religious ceremony ordained for the celebration of Purim is the reading of the Book of EstherEsther Standard Hebrew Ester Tiberian Hebrew Ester was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus ( Xerxes I), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. The name Ester means "hidden" in Hebrew. According to the rabbis a in the synagogue, a regulation ascribed in the Talmud (Meg. 2a) to the "Men of the Great Synod," of which Mordecai is reported to have been a member. Originally this enactment was for the 14th of Adar only; later, however, R. Joshua ben Levi (3d cent.) prescribed that the Megillah should be read on the eve of Purim also. Further, he obliged women to attend the reading of the Megillah, inasmuch as it was a woman, Queen Esther, through whom the miraculous deliverance of the Jews was accomplished.
In the Mishnah the recitation of a benediction on the reading of the Megillah is not yet a universally recognized obligation. The Talmud (a later work), however, prescribed three benedictions before and one after the reading. The Talmud added other provisions. For example, the reader is to pronounce the names of the ten sons of Haman (Esth. ix. 7-10) in one breath, to indicate their simultaneous death. The congregation was to recite aloud with the reader the verses ii. 5, viii. 15-16, and x. 3, which relate the origin of Mordecai and his triumph
The Megillah is read with a traditional chant differing from that used in the customary reading of the Torah. In some places, however, it is not chanted, but is read like a letter, because of the name "iggeret" (epistle) which is applied (Esth. ix. 26, 29) to the Book of Esther. It has been also customary since the time of the Geonim (early medieval era) to unroll the whole Megillah before reading it, in order to give it the appearance of an epistle.
According to Jewish law the Megillah may be read in any language intelligible to the audience. According to the Mishnah (Meg. 30b), In addition to the Megillah Ex. xvii. 8-16, the story of the attack on the Jews by Amalek, the progenitor of Haman, is to be read.
Purim gave rise to many religious compositions, some of which were incorporated into the liturgy. For the large number of hymns intended for the public service as well as other writings (dramas, plays, etc.) intended for general edification, both in Hebrew and in other languages.
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