Purim - Festival of Lots Begins This Saturday

The Jewish holiday of Purim (Festival of Lots) begins the evening of March 23rd (2024) and lasts one full day. It is one of the most joyous of all Jewish holidays, as they celebrate the deliverance of the Jewish people from annihilation in the ancient Persian Empire!

The Story of Purim

The story of Purim is recorded in the Book of Esther with three main characters: Esther, her cousin Mordecai and Haman, the evil man who plotted to destroy the Jewish people. The Jewish people celebrate the fall of Haman, who came close to executing a plot to exterminate the Jewish people. Instead, the people were saved because of the heroic planning of Mordecai and Esther.

Haman was from the nation of Amalek and had authority over all the princes, and the king’s servants bowed down to him. However, Mordecai did not bow because he was a Jew. This was a transgression of the king’s command (Esther 3:3). This angered Haman and he plotted to destroy all the Jews in the entire kingdom (Esther 3:6) The king accepted Haman’s counsel and handed over the fate of the Jewish People to him.  Haman then made plans to exterminate all of the Jews. (Esther 3:8-11).

Esther, an orphan who had been raised in Persia by her cousin Mordecai, was a beautiful, young Jewish woman. When Vashti, the Queen of Persia, fell out of favor with Ahasuerus, King of Persia, Esther became Queen. The king did not know she was Jewish.

Mordecai counseled Esther to save the Jewish people by courageously visiting the king and pleaded on their behalf, telling her that she had probably risen to the position as queen for this very purpose. Esther took a risk and approached the king and planned a banquet for him and Haman. Going into the king, of course, may seem like the logical thing to do, but it actually put Esther’s life in immediate danger. Even though she was queen, she could not come into the king’s presence without his first summoning her. She knew she may have been put to death if she showed up uninvited. She fasted for three days before going to the king, and when she entered his presence, she found his grace instead of his wrath. (Esther 4).

Before the banquet, Haman prepared the gallows to later hang Mordecai for not bowing to him.

The night before the banquet, the king could not sleep and he asked that the “book of records (Chronicles) be read to him. During the reading, he was reminded of some good deeds of Mordecai and realized he had not been rewarded for this. (Esther 6)

The next day at the banquet which Esther had prepared for the king, and in Haman’s presence, the king asked Esther to name anything she wanted. She pleaded with him to save her people from annihilation. The king asked her to expose this evil man who had proposed such a thing, and she named Haman as their enemy. (Esther 7:1-6).

This angered the king and he ordered Haman be executed on the very gallows he prepared for Mordecai. (Esther 7). After that, the king elevated Mordecai to take Haman’s position of authority. Since a decree could not be reversed, the king added a new decree and all the Jews were avenged (Esther 8:1-7).

Today, the Three-Day Fast of Esther is a fast from dawn until dusk on Purim Eve, commemorating the three-day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim. (Esther 9). Purim is a holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the destruction planned by Haman. Although Purim is not included as one of the Biblical Feasts of the Lord, it is a custom mandated by Mordechai in Esther 9.

Purim Festivities

Traditional Purim customs include reading the entire scroll of Esther in the synagogues. Because hidden identities is a strong theme in the Book of Esther, it is traditional to wear costumes on Purim. Feast goers cheer at the mention of the hero and heroine, Mordechai and Esther, and boo the villain, Haman. (Boo!)

After the three-day fast, there is a feast with rejoicing and giving of gifts to one another and to the poor.  “He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:20–22).

In addition to giving gifts, a tradition is to eat triangular cookies called oznei haman (ears of Haman).