Purim 2008

The Inspirational Purim Festival

Purim Festival
When is Purim?

One of the mitzvot of the Purim Festival is the reading of the Megillah --
the Scroll of Esther, in which the miracle of the story of Purim is recounted. The Talmud tells us that "whoever reads the Megillah backwards does not fulfill his obligation." Our Sages explain that "backwards" does not only mean in reverse order; it also means that whoever reads the Megillah merely as ancient history has missed the point.

The story of Purim is directly relevant to our contemporary world. As the Megillah itself tells us, that when we celebrate the Purim festival each year, the miraculous events of the Purim holiday are "remembered and reenacted" in our lives.

What is Purim?
The Story of Purim

In the city of Shushan, Vashti, the Queen of Persia, refuses to obey the order of the King of Persia, Ahasuerus, to appear before his guests. The King then searches the country for a new queen. Reluctantly, Esther, cousin of Mordechai the Jew, is chosen as the new queen.

The King's Prime Minister was an evil man named Haman. Haman, a descendant of the tribe of Amalek, hates the Jews and decides to kill them. He convinces King Ahasuerus to issue an edict which orders the destruction of all Jews in the land.

Mordechai pleads with Esther to save the Jewish people by talking to the King.Esther asks the Jews to fast along with her for three days.At the risk of her own life, Esther appears before the King without being summoned by him. She reveals her own Jewish identity to the King and reveals Haman's evil plans.

The King is outraged at Haman, and he issues a decree to make Haman the victim of his own infamous plot. Haman and his sons are killed, and the Jews are saved.

When Haman's name is mentioned, we twirl noisemakers called graggers and stamp our feet to "drown out" his evil name. Tell the children Purim is the only timewhen it's a mitzvah to make noise!

There are so many Purim activities that it is often hard to fit them all in!In addition to the many mitzvot of Purim described below, many people celebrate the Purim festival with a Purim carnival and a Purim play
or a funny "Purim spiel."

Purim Quotes

Passover begins on Purim.

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Thirty days before Passover is the Purim festival.
Thirty days before the Purim holiday we begin to learn the laws of Passover.

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We all struggle:
How much that happens to us is our responsibility
and how much is the will of God?

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I will hide and I will hide.
What is covered is covered.

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Purim 2008 and Miracles

Revealed miracles
Concealed miracles -
Miracles above the natural world
and miracles within the natural world -
Everyday miracles

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While history is going on it is difficult to understand
what is the meaning of what is happening.
Every day Queen Esther sighed for five years and said:
"What am I doing here?"
And yet we know that God placed Esther in the palace
to save the Jewish people.

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The pain we have of life is how we look at it.
The more emunah (faith) we have
that God has planned everything in the world
before the world was even created -
including our own lives!
the more pleasant our lives become.

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Smile Quotes

Things always go wrong,
but if we remember that there is a God in this world
Who is in charge of this world
and Who is in charge of our lives,
we will never be worried.
We will always be smiling.

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The sun is going to set today with or without your smile,
so, why not smile today?

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Adapted from a lecture on Purim 2008 by Rabbi Tauber
speaking at Em Habanim Congregation, Los Angeles
Purim month
© 2008 Rae Ekman Shagalov All rights reserved.

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