BE HAPPY, IT’S PURIM

BE HAPPY, IT’S PURIM

For the uninitiated Purim might not seem like a big deal and it’s actually a 

pretty minor holiday in the Jewish calendar. But from a celebration perspective, 

it’s huge! My younger son categorizes it as another “they tried to kill us, we 

survived, let’s eat” holidays. However, delving deeper beyond the surfacethere 

is a lot to celebrate. If you know the basic story—King Ahashverosh becomes 

annoyed with his queen and decides to seek a new one. Mordechai encourages 

his niece Esther to participate in the pageant and she is selected as the new 

Queen, but doesn’t tell anyone she is Jewish. Haman, the king’s prime minister, 

plots to exterminate all the Jews of Persia. His plan is foiled when Queen Esther 

confides in the king that she is Jewish and tells him what Haman is up to and a 

counter plot is created.

CELEBRATING PURIM

As with all Jewish holidays, Purim begins at sundown, so this year, it begins on 

Wednesday, March 4. It is a festive evening of song, food, and the reading of 

the story of Esther which is found in the Hebrew Bible. This is one reading that 

is read from a scroll, much like the Torah, except it is called a megillah (story). 

(Other megillah readings are Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Ruth and 

Lamentations.) This is also one loud, raucous reading. If you are looking for a 

decorous, sedate introduction to Jewish life, Purim is not the time for your first 

synagogue visit. People dress up as characters from the story and the play is 

acted out as characters from the Esther story appear in popular fictional 

stories. Some of the recent productions I have seen are Lion King, Grease, and 

Mary Poppins, pretty much any popular movie or TV show. This year our 

congregation is doing a take-off on Hell’s Kitchen—should be interesting!  

Purim is one of the more unusual holidays: Esther is the only biblical book in 

which God is not mentioned. Purim, as has already been mentioned, is, like 

Chanukah, traditionally viewed as a minor festival, but has been elevated to the 

status of a major holiday due to the Jewish historical experience. Finally,Haman 

became the embodiment of every anti-Semite everywhere Jews ever lived and 

experienced oppression. The significance of Purim has less to do with its 

historical roots as it does with the hope and affirmation it rekindles each year 

as we are reminded of Jewish survival despite persecution and Antisemitism 

over the course of so many centuries. The real miracle of Purim is the 

continuous survival of the Jewish people despite insurmountable odds and that 

is reason enough for celebration.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

So, let’s go back to some basics….you might be wondering what the word Purim 

actually means. The word is of Persian origin which makes sense considering

the story takes place in Persia which was actually an ancient kingdom within 

Iran. Pur means “lot” and purim is the plural form meaning “lots”. Haman, the 

evil prime minister, drew lots to decide what month would be most 

advantageous for an attack against the Jews. The festival of Purim falls in the

middle of the Jewish month of .You may be wondering why 

that is important and that’s a good question. It wasn't significant for Jews, but 

it was significant for Persians because ancient Persians believed that the signs 

of the Zodiac affected their destiny, and therefore, accorded great honor to 

magicians and astrologers. Many scholars believe that Haman chose the lot to 

fall in the middle of Adar because an important festival of the goddess Anahita 

was celebrated then and he wished to turn the people against the Jews during 

that time of celebration. And, it almost worked.

Except for two things: Esther was now queen and her cousin Mordechai wasn't 

about to let this happen. So, they did they own conniving and eventually, it 

was Haman who ended up hanging for his crimes and the Jews of Shushan City

were saved. Purim is celebrated today with much 

merriment and rejoicing in synagogues and community centers all over the 

world. The story is read from the megillah, special foods are prepared (of 

course!), people dress in costumes, games are played; it is the ultimate 

triumphant carnival experience. 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

By now you may be thinking, this is all well and good, but how do we actually 

do this? Ah, well, here’s a list of what you need for the ultimate Purim 

experience:

A rendition of the Purim story usually read from a scroll

                                                                                                    

Groggers—noise makers of some sort

                                                                 

Hamentaschen--three corner cookies that represent Haman’s pockets

                                                                                                                 

Costumes—generally relating to characters from story

Assortment of games—school carnival type

Wine—for the adults 

Lots of food—for everyone

Mishloach Manot—gift baskets for friends, neighbors, shut-ins, anyone you wish 

to share them with

                                                                                  

Once you have everything arranged, the fun begins. If you are a first-timer, I 

suggest you attend a Purim celebration at a local synagogue or community 

center or with friends who have done this before. Generally on the evening 

before the story is read with much merriment and noise every time Haman’s 

name is mentioned. The idea is to make enough noise to blot out the sound of 

his name from memory. Of course, his name continues to be remembered since 

this is done every year, but you get the idea. 

HOW TO CELEBRATE

Purim is a perfect opportunity for interfaith families to experience together. The 

story of the Jewish people overcoming the evil of one person is a tale that is 

timeless and one that resonates with so many cultures. In addition to baking 

hamentaschen together you can explore opportunities to teach about social 

justice by engaging in the custom of sharing mishloach manot. You can easily 

extend the idea of mishloach manot beyond making gift baskets filled with 

hamentaschen to filling bags of toiletries for a homeless shelter, stocking the 

pantry in your local social service agency, collecting books for a domestic 

violence shelter—anything that brings your family together and turns the 

activity into a social action project.

    Baking hamentaschen is as easy as baking sugar cookies. There are 

numerous recipes online, just put “hamentaschen recipe” in your favorite 

search engine and see what pops up. Traditional hamentaschen are filled either 

with prunes or poppy seeds, but use your imagination. My favorites, besides 

poppy seed, are raspberry, chocolate chip and almond paste. Try a variety of 

fillings and decide what you like best. My grandmother made hers with soft 

yeast dough and filled the pocket with jelly; I have never found anyone else 

who made them like hers. If you find a source, please let me know; I get very 

nostalgic at Purim for Bubbies’ hamentaschen although I haven’t had them for 

many years.

    

    You may be wondering about the wine. There was a tradition that one should 

drink so much that you can’t tell the difference between ‘cursed be Haman’ and 

‘blessed be Mordechai’. At the same time, Judaism frowns on excessive drinking 

and encourages moderation. However, these are unusual circumstances, so the 

rabbis of the Talmudic era tended to relax their usual standards and authorize 

the excessive drinking in the spirit of merriment and unrestrained joyful 

celebration. Today we would add, if you are driving, don’t drink, and certainly 

don’t serve alcohol to minors, but please do celebrate with unrestrained joy!

If you would like to learn more about Purim, Judaism, other holidays and how 

you can enjoy them with your interfaith family please contact me at 

interfaithlifecoaching@gmail.com or go to my website, 

www.interfaithlifecoaching.com. Happy Purim!