Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Purim

Ok, I went ahead and found out what the story of Purim is; I was curious after talking to the bakery shop owner yesterday. Here's what I found:

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.

For Purim, the children dress up like they do on Hallowe'en back home. It's basically like carnival time for a couple days so everyone reallys seems to get into it, kids and adults!

Merry Purim everyone! :)

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