So here’s the lowdown on Purim as interpreted by me. Esther, a beautiful young Jewish girl, was chosen to be a part of King Ahasuerus’s (King of Persia) harem. However, the King loved her more than the other women and made her his queen. Esther, who had been raised by her Uncle Mordecai as his own daughter had been advised not to tell anyone she was Jewish.
Meanwhile, one of the King’s advisors, Haman, hated the Jews. The only real explanation I could find for this was that he hated Mordecai because Mordecai wouldn’t bow to him and thus hated all Jews. Haman advised the King that the Jews should be killed and the King gave Haman permission to do whatever he wanted (of course not knowing that his wife the queen was Jewish). Esther learned of Haman’s plan and managed to convince the King to save the Jews and as a result Haman was hung.
This is a one day, festive celebration. Many temples have festivals and the children dress up as the King and Queen. I found reference of cross-dressing in celebration of Purim but when I brought it up with my husband he had never witnessed such activity and thought I was making that part up.
As for eating traditions- hamentaschen is the way to go. They are little triangular shaped cookies filled with jelly or fruit preserve. They are shaped that way to imitate the shape of the hat that Haman wore. This is also a very “festive” occasion in the drinking department and you are encouraged to drink until you can’t tell the difference between, “cursed be Haman,” and “blessed be Mordecai.” Really- I am not making this up- this comes directly from Judaism 101- www.jewfaq.org.
We’ll talk more later this week about the service and specific activities you can do to celebrate Purim. Until then, get your costumes ready and your liquor cabinet stocked.
No comments:
Post a Comment