Monday, March 09, 2009

Purim Begins Tonight At Sundown



The Story of Purim

From About.com

The story of Purim is a great tale. There is a beautiful, courageous heroine, an all powerful king, a loyal cousin, and a villain who gets foiled by his own evil plans. Read and enjoy!
Once upon a time, between the destruction of the First Temple and the building of the Second Temple, the Jews were almost destroyed. 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. From among hundreds of applicants, Esther, cousin of Mordechai the Jew, is chosen. 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. 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.
To commemorate this miraculous turn of events, Jews celebrate Purim on the 14th of Adar by reading the Megillah (the story of Purim), enjoying a Purim Feast, sending gifts of food to our friends and the needy, and having great fun.
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Debbi
Proud Parent of a U.S. Marine and U.S. Army Soldier
©2006 - 2009 DubiQuilts

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

FOOD?
GIFTS?
GOOD TIME, ALWAYS!

Anonymous said...

This is so interesting. Does one pronounce the word purim as in "pure" or more like in "poor"? I've not known which way. As I have commented previously, I am very interested in the Jewish faith and the traditions. Thank you for the post.