Purim holiday - what is it? Jewish holiday Purim. History and features of the holiday

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Jewish holidays for people who are not connected with the culture of this people seem to be something incomprehensible, mysterious and at the same time attractive. What are these people happy about? Why are they having so much fun? For example, the Purim holiday - what is it? From the outside, it seems that the participants in the celebration are so happy, as if they had just escaped some kind of big misfortune. And this is true, only this history is already 2500 years old.

Purim is a holiday of feasting and fun

Purim is a spring holiday. Most often it is celebrated in March. Some even believe that Purim is a Jewish holiday on March 8th. However, this is a big misconception.

Like all Jewish holidays, it is celebrated according to the lunar calendar and corresponds to the 14th day of the month Aidar. Therefore, not everyone knows when Purim is celebrated in a given year.

Purim is a holiday on which Jews are commanded to feast and be merry. And have funas if the events to which this day is dedicated happened yesterday.

The actions that marked the beginning of the holiday are associated with the salvation of a large part of the Jewish people from inevitable death in Persian captivity. Thanks to the ingenuity of the Jewish leader Mordechai and the self-sacrifice of the beautiful Esther, the Jewish people escaped a terrible massacre, since then it has been remembered for about 2500 years. And all the participants in the feast are commanded to rejoice and rejoice in this salvation every year.

The celebration begins with the reading of the scroll of Esther (Esther), a book that details the events that became the prologue of Purim. Then the celebration itself begins. This is the only Jewish holiday in which fun and feasting are not just a tradition, but also a commandment. That is why it remains the most cheerful day of the Jewish calendar. So what is Purim? How do people spend this day?

Purim: the story of a prophecy

The events leading up to the history of Purim began in 586 BC. e. In this year, the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, took thousands of Jews into captivity. The Babylonian captivity lasted 47 years, after which, by decree of King Cyrus II, the Jews were able to return to Jerusalem and begin the restoration of the temple. However, just over 40,000 people took advantage of this opportunity.

This story, starting from the Babylonian captivity and ending with the events described in the scroll of Esther, is connected with the prophecy of Jeremiah, who predicted the restoration of Jerusalem 70 years after the destruction and destructionBabylonian kingdom. These events help to understand that the Purim holiday is very important for Jews, that this is a special day for them.

Practically all Babylonian and Persian kings lived in fear of this prophecy and hoped it would turn out to be false. The prophecy protected the Jews for a long time, since none of the rulers dared to harm them in fear of the unseen Jewish god.

Everything changed with the coming to power of the Persian king Artaxerxes, one of the most powerful and wayward rulers of Persia, who created one of the greatest empires in the ancient world. Deciding that the time of the prophecy had expired, he arranged a feast lasting 180 days as a sign of his superiority over the god of the Jews, who did not fulfill the prophecy. Jewish sources say that the king of Persia made a mistake in his calculations and died a few years later.

Machines of Oman

The story begins with Xerxes exiling his wife for refusing to dance naked in the presence of the king's entourage. He is looking for a new wife. After a long viewing, Xerxes chooses Esther, the niece of the Jewish sage Mardechai, the man who saved Xerxes from a conspiracy.

At the same time, Haman the Amilikite becomes the second person of Persia, close to the king. One day he ran into Mardechai, who refused to bow to the nobleman. This "impudence" became the reason for the terrible revenge that Haman decided to prepare for the entire Jewish people.

Haman came to Xerxes and said that the captive Jewish people live in the empire, who do not obey the laws of Persia and do not honor the king, but only honortheir god and their traditions. The enraged ruler ordered to write a decree on the destruction of all Jews living in Persia. Haman decided to cast lots to determine on which day he would exterminate the Jews. After that, he sent messengers throughout the empire with a message about the beginning of the massacre on 12 and 13 Aidar.

However Esther got wind of the conspiracy and gave the disturbing news to Mardechai.

Esther's feat

The only person who can save the Jews is Esther, who can influence the decision of the king. However, even this enterprise is associated with great risk, since she needs to turn to Xerxes with a request for a violation of the established order. This could lead to her death.

Mordechai comes up with a risky plan to get Athraxerxes' attention rather than anger. Everything else depends entirely on the charm and fearlessness of the queen.

Risking her life, Esther held several feasts for Xerxes. During long conversations, she was able to convince her husband of the loy alty of the Jewish people, reminding him of who exactly saved him from the conspiracy. As a result, the king believed in the treachery and betrayal of Haman. Upon learning what was the true reason for the attacks on the chosen people, the formidable ruler of Persia brought down all his anger on Haman and his family, turning all his decrees against him.

Saving the Jewish people

The first thing the formidable king commanded was to hang Haman on the gallows prepared for Mardechai. Since the Persian ruler could not revoke his own decrees, he allowed the Jews to defend theirlives and lives of their children in arms from all who raise their hand against them.

Thus, on Aidar 12 and 13, the Jewish people met their killers face to face. For two days the battle continued throughout Persia, as a result of which all the attackers were destroyed or fled. A total of 70,000 dead are spoken of, including 10 sons of Haman, who led the failed genocide.

14 Aydar Jews learned that the danger was over and they escaped death. A great feast began, which lasted all day. Mardechai commanded to make this day special, so that it would be a reminder to future generations of fatal events. In the book of Esther, the holiday is called days of feasting and merriment.

The Jewish Purim got its name from the word "pur" (lot). Thus, the name symbolizes that they tried to decide the fate of the people by casting lots.

When is Purim celebrated?

As noted above, Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Aidar. But what does this day mean? Purim almost always falls in March or the end of February. This date falls on a different date each year, as the lunar year is 10 days shorter than the solar year. So, in 2014, the celebration fell on March 15 and 16, in 2015 - on March 4 and 5, and in 2016 - on March 23 and 24.

Purim is traditionally celebrated a day later in Jerusalem, allowing many Israelis to celebrate Purim twice.

During the period of Jewish dispersion, the holiday had its negative impact on the attitude of Christians towards Jews. First of all, due to the fact that its celebration almost always coincided withGreat Lent. Often this provoked pogroms by Christian communities. Bright fun, dissonant with the days of fasting, gave rise to a superstition that the holiday carries an anti-Christian meaning.

In our time, there is a prejudice that Purim is a Jewish holiday on March 8th. However, on this day it falls only once every 25-30 years. In every national or religious tradition there is a holiday that falls at the end of winter, the beginning of spring. So, in Russia it is Maslenitsa, in the Islamic tradition it is Novruz and so on.

How is Purim celebrated?

There are four unshakable traditions of celebrating Purim. Chief among them is the reading of the Scroll of Esther. And the word "scroll" is understood literally. The book is read in the synagogue during evening and morning prayers. During the reading of the scroll, at the moment of reading the name of Haman, visitors to the synagogue begin to make noise, stomp their feet and use special rattles, expressing contempt for the memory of the villain.

Festive meal is an obligatory part of Purim. It has always been the busiest and richest of the year. Of the special traditions that have developed on this day, one can recall the obligatory treat in the form of "Aman's ears" - open triangular pies with sweet or meat filling. In addition, it is prescribed to drink wine until the participants in the fun no longer distinguish between the names of Haman and Mardechai. However, this tradition is performed at will.

An obligatory part of the holiday are gifts to relatives and friends in the form of treats. Along with the gift, they say congratulations on Purim and wishes for a happy holiday. In addition, all memberscommunities are sure to help the poor.

And the fourth tradition of the holiday is the carnival. In different communities, the tradition has a completely different manifestation. For example, in Russia they usually limit themselves to a small theatrical production. In European countries, there was a tradition of street performances for which tickets were sold. Also in the Old World, full-fledged carnival processions began to be held, which especially blossomed in Israel.

As for the rest, complete freedom can be shown, since this is also the most democratic Jewish holiday, in which the main commandment is fun and joy. Everyone sings songs on Purim, dances and enjoys the holiday.

Traditional dishes for Purim

Culinary traditions on the day of Purim are quite arbitrary. However, in every source describing the festive table, there are common dishes.

Among them is lamb baked in a pot, which is cooked with green beans and herbs. Chicken soup with dumplings, which are not made from traditional flour, but from ground matzah. In addition, beef tongue dishes cooked with various sauces are very popular. Also, baked or stewed zucchini or eggplants are not uncommon on the festive table.

Pies with different fillings remain an obligatory dish: with meat, potatoes, cabbage, cottage cheese or jam.

Tsimes (a dish of prunes and carrots) and stuffed fish, without which you can’t live withoutnot a single holiday table gets by.

Purim Carnival

This is one of the most interesting parts of the holiday, which has only been a tradition for the last couple of centuries. In the old tradition, a small theatrical production of several actors was enough. However, over time on Purim, the script became more complicated, more voluminous and lengthy productions were created with a large number of actors.

Now an integral part of the holiday are large Jewish performances dedicated to the dramatic history of the holiday. In addition, theatrical performances are created by each community. However, the theatrical performance is only part of the feast.

Full-fledged carnival processions can be called the freshest stream of the holiday, which is gaining momentum. First of all, this tradition took root in Israel, where Purim acquired a truly grandiose scope. But the communities of other countries are not far behind, where carnivals and processions are also beginning to gain popularity.

Purim in Israel

Purim is a holiday in Israel comparable in scope only to the Russian New Year. The brightness of this celebration is associated with the beginning of spring. Carnivals and colorful processions are held in every city. A huge number of theatrical concert venues operate throughout the country. People take to the streets, congratulate each other on Purim, saying the phrase "Chag Purim Sameach" (happy Purim holiday) to everyone they know and just meet on the way.

Purim is widely celebrated in Israel, its history, in fact, began anew. In all countries of the world in times of dispersionJewish people this important day was celebrated semi-underground. Now it has spilled onto the streets of the country and has become one of the brightest holidays. Visiting Israel on this day means getting a lot more positive emotions than you could expect.

It is worth visiting this country just to see Purim with your own eyes. What's this? And why is he so loved by everyone, young and old?

The most joyful holiday

How is Purim celebrated? And how would you celebrate it if you survived the threat of death and escaped from it at the last moment? This day would surely be remembered as one of the most important in life. But for some reason, this holiday seems strange and incomprehensible to many.

But in fact, every person needs at least one day a year when he could forget about all his problems and troubles in life and be glad only that you live. This is the whole philosophy and meaning of this slightly crazy and very cheerful holiday. At least, this is the conclusion that a person from another country can draw from this identity.

Purim is such a bright and positive holiday that it begins to seep into other cultures, more and more people of other nationalities mark it in their calendars in red and send each other congratulations on Purim.