Purim (פורים)
What is it, how is it observed, what are its historical roots?
Purim is observed throughout the world on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar. Exceptions are in walled cities, such as Jerusalem, where it is observed on the 15th of Adar.
In Hebrew leap years (extra month of Adar entered 7 years out of 19-year cycle)’ Purim is observed the second month of Adar. Many observant Jews observe “Purim Katan (פורים קטן)” during the first month of Adar.
The story of Purim (excerpted from “The Jewish Home” by Daniel Syme)
The story of Purim is found in the Book of Esther. one of books in the Ketuvim (Writings) section the
Bible- it is set in the land of Persia (current day Iran) at the time when Achashverosh was king. King
Achashverosh held o banquet in the capital city of Shushan and ordered his queen, Vashti, to come and dance before his guests. She refused to appear and because of her disobedience lost her royal position (and possibly her head).
Acting on advice from his counselors. Achashverosh held a pageant to choose a new queen. Mordechai, a Jewish man living in Shushan, encouraged his cousin (or possibly she was his niece), Esther, to enter the competition, Esther won, but following the advice of her cousin, did not reveal her Jewish origin to the king.
Mordechai often sat near the gate of the king’s palace. One day he overheard two men, Bigthuri and Teresh, plotting to kill the king. Mordechai reported what he hod heard to Esther. She then reported the information to the king, The matter was investigated and found to be true, and Bjgthüri and Teresh came to an unfortunate end. Mordechai’s deed was recorded in the king’s diary,
Meanwhile, the king’s evil adviser Haman paraded through the streets, demanding that all bow down to him. Because Jews do not bow to anyone but G-cl, Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman. Learning that Mordechai was Jewish, Haman decided to kill all the Jews in the Persian empire. He convinced King Achashverosh to go along with the plan and cast purim (‘Lots” in Akkadian), to determine the day on which he would carry out his evil deed: the 13th of Adar.
However. Mordechai alerted Esther to Human’s evil plot, and Esther, in turn, revealed her Jewish identity to the King, convincing him to save the Jews, foiling Haman’s plot. Haman, along with his ten sons was hanged, Mordechai received his estates and the position of the royal vizier, and the Jews of Persia celebrated their narrow escape on the 14th of Adar. slaying their oppressors, 75.000 in number, the day after they were supposed to be an nihilated.
Thus, the fate Haman had planned for the Jews became his own. The holiday of Purim celebrates the bravery of Esther and Mordechai and the deliverance of the Jewish people from the cruelty of oppression.
How is Purim Observed today?
Purim, like Hanukkah, is a minor holiday, as it is not ordained in the Torah as a holy day. As such, it does not require the cessation of work, business transactions, or other labors that are forbidden on Yomim Tovim (ימים טובים). The primary observance is the evening service where the Book of Esther is read. In orthodox and conservative congregations, it is also read during the morning service.
The conclusion of the Book of Esther enjoins us to commemorate the foiling of the designs of Haman by marking a day of feasting and gladness, exchanging gifts of food and drink, and gifts to the poor in the community. As this is a joyous event, when reading the Book of Esther, congregants, and primarily children have groggers (noisemakers) to drown out the name of Haman each of the 54 times it is mentioned, This custom was added by the 13th-century Tosafists, in accordance with a passage in the Torah instructed: “You will blot out the name of Amalek” (Tradition holds that Haman is a descendent of the Amalaks), In many communities, children dress up in costumes and friends and neighbors send each other baskets of food (mishloach manot) or give gifts to the needy (matanot I’evyonim). Hamantaschen (Yiddish for Haman’s pockets), also called Oznei Haman (Hebrew for Haman’s ears) are pastries eaten on Purim. The Hebrew name possibly derives from a medieval practice to cut off a criminal’s ears before execution.
Purim spiels, humorous skits or parodies, are performed on Purim. In many communities, these are “anything goes” skits and venerated teachers or Rabbis can be satirized, as can be passages of the Bible or Talmud.
On Purim, it is supposedly a mitzvah to drink “until you can’t distinguish between “blessed be Mordechai” and “cursed be Haman”.
While there is no evidence in the Scroll of Esther that either Esther or Mordecai was observant in any way, according to Midrash, Esther was furtively keeping kosher in Achashverosh’s court, abstaining from eating meat. For that reason, some observant Jews eat beans and peas during Purim.
Why is Purim celebrated a day later in Jerusalem? The book or scroll of Esther (מגילת אסתר) explains. won the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews intended to have rule over them, the opposite happened, and the Jews prevailed over their adversaries. “The Jews fought and won on the 13th of Adar and celebrated the following day, However, Megillat Esther continues by explaining that the Jews did not defeat their enemies until the 14th of Adar in the walled city of Shushan. Therefore, Cities that were enclosed by walls during the time or Joshua do not celebrate until the 15th of Adar, which has been appropriately named Shushan Purim, Because of the significance of Jerusalem, Purim there is celebrated on Shushan Purim.
Historical roots of the holiday
Most researchers have concluded that there are no historical roots to the holiday. There are no Persian records of a king called Achashverosh, or even anything close to that. The Persian Empire, even at its height, never stretched “from Ethiopia to India”. A version of the Scroll of Esther as used by the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria connects him with the fifth-century BCE emperor Xerxes, but this is a stretch that does not withstand historical inquiry, not least because Achashverosh was depicted in the Book of Esther as a caricature or buffoon, while Xerxes was anything but.
Many historians connect the origins of Purim with a Babylonian New Year celebration marked with the belief that the gods cast lots to determine the fate of men (puru was an ancient Babylonian term for lots), Further, the Babylonian New Year was marked by the parading of a condemned criminal through the streets. There was even a custom of distribution of gifts.
The events as detailed in the Scroll of Esther are all fantasy. Researchers believe that it was written during the time of the Babylonian exile and raised the spirits of the people living under oppressed foreign rule who longed for revenge.
The names Mordecai and Esther seem to indicate that they were very secularized and assimilated into Babylonian society. Mordecai is probably a corruption of the name Marduk the supreme Babylonian god. Similarly, Esther is possibly a corruption of Ishtar, Babylonian goddess of fertility.
It should be noted that the Scroll of Esther does not mention the name of G-d, any hint of divine intervention, or any religious observances or customs. For those reasons, when the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) was codified (about second century BCE) there was Rabbinic debate as to whether the Scroll of Esther should be included or relegated to the external literature, as the Book of Maccabees was. One reason for its eventual inclusion was that it replaced Nicanor Day, a celebration of a victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian General Nicanor that occurred on the 13th of Adar. The Rabbis of the second temple period disliked the Maccabees who had usurped the roles of both the High Priest and of the king although they were not of the proper lineage for either and by adopting Purim, they squeezed out Nicanor Day.
The Scroll of Esther was not among the books of the Bible as found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The holiday of Purim does appear in the Talmud (Tractate Megillah) and was established by the second century ACE.
Where does Purim get its name:
Purim means “lots” in ancient Akkadian. Haman drew lots to determine on which day to massacre the Jews and the 13th of Adar came up,
Christian criticism of Purim:
Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation wrote in his 1543 book On the Jews and Their Lies: “… and all of the anxious sighings, longing and hoping of their hearts is directed to the time when some day they would like to deal with us gentiles as they dealt with the gentiles of Persia at the time of Esther … Oh, how they love the Scroll of Esther, which so nicely agrees with their bloodthirsty, revengeful and murderous desire and hope.”
Other scholars and religious leaders criticized what they saw as a “spirit of vengeance and hatred’ as well as the omission of any reference to G-d, which to their eyes reflected a secular point of view, seeing Jews as belonging to a race, not a religion.
Another wrote that the Scroll of Esther is characterized by “aggressive fanaticism and fierce hatred of all that lay outside of Judaism”.
Nazi Germany latched upon the Book of Esther, claiming that given the chance, “the Jews would have instituted a new Purim massacre in Germany”.
Cary Hillebrand was born and raised in Brooklyn. After university (Stony Brook University School of Engineering) Cary went on aliya to Israel. Inducted into the IDF, he performed military service in the Israel Air Force followed by countless tours of reserve duty. In civilian life, he worked for many years on operations and control systems for regional and municipal water systems, both in Israel and in the US. Retired, Cary resides in Cherry Hill with his family, remaining active in the Jewish community. In the past, he chaired Adult Education at M’kor Shalom and then Lifelong Learning at Adath Emanuel. Cary’s interests and hobbies include hiking, reading, Jewish studies, and keeping up on current events. A secular humanist Jew, Cary has a passion for Torah study (go figure!).
Cary can be reached at carycnb@outlook.com
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