Purim – Coming Up March 9, 2020
The Jewish holiday known as Purim, or Feast of Lots, is celebrated annually on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar. This year it begins the evening of March 9th on the Gregorian calendar and ends at sunset on the 10th.
This favorite Jewish holiday commemorates the deliverance of the Hebrew people from destruction by the evil Haman. The Purim story is told in the book of Esther: Haman, a vizier in the Persian empire under King Xerxes, created a plan to kill all the Jews in the empire, but Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai foil his evil plot. The book of Esther, chapter 9 verse 24, says, “For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction.” When the King of Persia learned that his queen, Esther, was Jewish and what Haman had devised against them, he ordered Haman to be hanged. The story continues as King Xerxes allows Mordecai and Esther to write a decree to the Jews which allows them to preemptively strike any who oppose them. The Jews were successful in thwarting their enemies and instituted a feast, confirmed by Queen Esther and Mordecai, to commemorate their triumph. Hence, the day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing.
Today, the Purim holiday is joyously celebrated by Jews in Israel and around the world by exchanging gifts of food, donating to charities, reading the book of Esther, and dressing up in costumes much like Americans do on Halloween.
A traditional Jewish treat eaten during Purim, called Hamantashen, has three corners and is said to represent Haman’s hat. Here’s a great Cannoli Hamantashen recipe with an Italian twist. Enjoy and Happy Purim!
