Purim - Who, what, when, why, when, what!

Purim is one of the most fun holidays of the Jewish year. In a hurry? Here, the shortest history of the party mentioned above:

"They wanted to kill us, we won, helped God, Let's Eat!"

Want to know more? Here you find the facts below!

Who:

Jews around the world annually celebrate Purim. It celebrates the survival of a plan, all the Jews of Persia to kill. Of course there was a divine intervention, on the road.

The mainCharacters in the story of Purim are:

Achashverosh king who ruled Persia 2,300 years ago.

His first wife Vashti, who did not last long.

Haman, chief advisor of the king, who hated the Jewish people.

Mordechai - a holy man and leader of the Jewish people at the moment.

Esther - cousin Mordecai and the Jewish woman who has captured the hearts of the King and risked their lives to save their people.

What:

Purim celebrates the events recounted in the bookEsther. The book of Esther has been canonized by the last book in the Tanach. The Tanakh includes the first five books of the Torah, the book of "prophet" (including Joshua, Samuel, Kings, etc.) and "Writings" (including Job, Proverbs, Ruth, and others).

In the story the king of Persia Achashverosh Vashti, married, "divorce" (with the old method that has killed) after publicly refused to come to him during a party. The leader of the Jewish community, has Mordechaia cousin named Esther. Esther is chosen to be the new king's wife, but nobody really knows that she is Jewish. Achashverosh chief advisor Haman hated the Jews, especially Mordecai refused to bow to him.

Haman prepared a plan for genocide and received permission from the king to kill all Jews in the Reich. Mordechai learned of the plot and asked Esther, the Jewish people by approaching the king and reveals his true identity as a Jew to save. At first Esther is cautiousas the king approaches invoked without punishable by death. Mordechai, however, believe that action to save his people. If desired, Esther, pray and fast for the entire Jewish community as they prepare to approach the king.

Esther invites Haman and Achashverosh both for a meal and this meal Esther revealed her identity and asks the king to save them and their people. The king is furious with him and Haman hanging on the gallows that he uses to kill at willMordechai. Since the edict decreeing the murder of Jews Achashverosh can not be canceled, he issues another edict allowing the Jews to take up arms and kill their enemies, they do. Then the day after the battle has been described as Purim, a day of celebration and joy. After his victory, he also says that the Jews of Persia to study themselves to improve their Torah and recommitted observance of Jewish law.

When:

The events of the story of Purim took place on2300 years ago.
Purim is celebrated annually on 14 of the Hebrew month of Adar. (In cities with a wall that surrounded Jerusalem is celebrated on Adar 15.) As with all Jewish holidays, Purim begins at sundown the previous day. For example, this year (2007), Purim will be the evening of March 3 and celebrated as the day on March 4 at dusk.

Where:

The story of Purim took place in ancient Persia, the reign of King Achashverosh. HebrewPeople celebrate Purim in their homes, synagogues and communities each year. You go to synagogue to hear the Meghillà (the story of Purim in the Hebrew text on a scroll) once wrote in the evening and once during the day. They also eat a festive meal to celebrate the day, usually in their homes. Sometimes, synagogues and Jewish organizations such as Chabad Purim is to provide a meal for the whole community.

Why:

The Jewish people celebrate Purim for several reasons:

1)A story of survival - Persia under the reign of King Achashverosh was big enough. Haman had succeeded in his plot to kill all Jews in the empire, would the Jewish people was to have all but eradicated completely.

2) Divine Intervention in natural events - The miracle of Purim is that the facts as they happened, not everyone looks like a miracle. And 'only in retrospect, only the events of history as a whole, we can see God's hand spun together a seeminglyseries of independent events, to save the Jewish people from destruction.

3) eternal optimism - When Rabbi Shraga Simmons Aish.com than once wrote "History teaches us that the challenges in the life of Esther, working for the better, because what looks like obstacles are really opportunities to evolve better. And that all depends on the invisible hand of God guides our destiny, every step of the way. "

4) 's funny! - Purim is one of the most joyous holidays of the year. It 's a dayFestivities, fun and joke is in the synagogue and at home!

How:

Now the fun part! The real celebration! Go hear the Megillah tzedukah give (charity), send gifts shaloch Manot, and enjoy the traditional meal.
Now you know everything you need for a great holiday Purim! Enjoy!