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

Jewish holidays for people that are not connected with the culture of this people seem to be something incomprehensible, mysterious and at the same time attractive. What do these people rejoice? Why so recklessly have fun? Here, for example, the holiday of Purim - what is it? From the side it seems that the participants in the celebration are so happy that they have just escaped some great misfortune. And this is true, only the history of this is 2500 years old.

Purim is a feast 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 8. However, this is a big mistake.

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

Purim is a holiday in which Jews are commanded to feast and rejoice. And have fun as if the events on which this day is dedicated occurred yesterday.

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

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

Feast of Purim: the Story of a Prophecy

Events that preceded the history of Purim began in 586 BC. E. This year the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, took thousands of Jews to captivity. The Babylonian captivity lasted 47 years, after which, under the decree of King Cyrus II, Jews were given the opportunity to return to Jerusalem and begin the restoration of the temple. However, more than 40 thousand people took advantage of this opportunity.

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

Almost all the Babylonian and Persian kings lived in fear of this prophecy and hoped that it would turn out to be false. Prophecy for a long time defended the Jews, since none of the rulers did not dare to harm them in fear of the unprecedented 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 prophecy had expired, he arranged a feast of 180 days as a sign of his superiority over the god of the Jews, who did not fulfill the prophecy. It is noted in Jewish sources that the king of Persia made a mistake in the calculations and died several years later.

The machinations of Oman

The story begins with the fact that Xerxes expels his wife for refusing to dance nude in the presence of the approximate king. He is looking for a new wife. After long looks Xerxes chooses Esther, the niece of the Jewish sage Mardegai, the man who saved Xerxes from the plot.

At the same time Aman the Amilitite becomes the second person of Persia, close to the king. One day he encountered Mardechai, who refused to bow to the nobleman. This "arrogance" was the occasion for the terrible revenge that Haman decided to prepare for the entire Jewish people.

Aman came to Xerxes and told that in the empire there lives a captive Jewish people who do not obey the laws of Persia and do not respect the king, but only honor their god and their traditions. The enraged ruler ordered to write a decree on the destruction of all Jews living in Persia. Aman decided to throw lots to determine on which day he would exterminate the Jews. After this, he sent out messengers throughout the empire with a report of the beginning of the massacre of 12 and 13 of the Aidar.

However, Esther became aware of the secret conspiracy and she relayed disturbing news to Mardechai.

Feat of Esther

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

Mordechai comes up with a risky plan about how to get Attaxxerx's attention, and not cause anger. Everything else depends entirely on the charm and fearlessness of the queen.

At the risk of life, Esther held several feasts for Xerxes. During long conversations, she was able to convince her husband of the devotion of the Jewish people, reminding him of who had saved him from the conspiracy. As a result, the king believed in treachery and betrayal of Haman. Learning what became the true cause of the attacks on the chosen people, the formidable ruler of Persia brought down all the wrath on Haman and his family, wrapping all their decrees against him.

Salvation of the Jewish people

The first thing the terrible king ordered was to hang Haman on the gallows, prepared for Mardechai. Since the Persian ruler could not abolish his own decrees, he allowed the Jews to protect their lives and the lives of their children with weapons in their hands from everyone who would raise their hand.

Thus, on 12 and 13 of Aydar, 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. In total, about 70 thousand dead, including 10 sons of Haman, who led the failed genocide.

14 Jews learned that the danger had passed and they had escaped death. A great festival began, which lasted all day. Mardechai ordered this day to be special, so that it would be a reminder to future generations of fatal events. In the book of Esther the holiday is called the days of feasting and fun.

His name is the Jewish Purim received from the word "pur" (lot). Thus, the name symbolizes that the destiny of the people was tried to solve by casting lots.

When are they celebrating Purim?

As noted above, Purim celebrates 14 aydars. However, what corresponds to this day? Virtually always Purim falls on March or the end of February. Each year this date falls on a different number, since the lunar year is shorter than the solar year for 10 days. So, in 2014 the celebration fell on March 15 and 16, in 2015 - on 4 and 5, and in 2016 - on 23 and 24 numbers.

In Jerusalem, Purim is traditionally celebrated a day later, which allows many Israelis to celebrate the holiday twice.

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

In our time there is a prejudice that Purim is a Jewish holiday on March 8. However, on this day, it falls only once in 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 Pancake week, in the Islamic tradition - Novruz and so on.

How is Purim celebrated?

There are four unshakable traditions of celebrating Purim. The main one is the reading of the Scroll of Esther. And the word "scroll" is understood literally. The book is read in the synagogue during the evening and morning prayer. In the process of reading the scroll at the time of reading the name of Haman, the synagogue's visitors begin to make noise, stamp their feet and use special ratchets, expressing contempt for the memory of the villain.

Festive meal is an obligatory part of Purim. She was always the most rich and rich for the whole year. From special traditions that have developed on this day, you can recall the obligatory treat in the form of "Aman's ears" - open triangular pies with sweet or meat stuffing. In addition, it is prescribed to drink wine until the participants of the fun will not cease to distinguish the name 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. Simultaneously with the gift they say congratulations with Purim and wishes for a happy holiday. In addition, all members of the community are necessarily assisted by the poor.

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

In other respects, complete freedom can be shown, since it is also the most democratic Jewish holiday, in which the main precept is fun and joy. All sing songs on Purim, dance and enjoy the holiday.

Traditional dishes on Purim

Culinary traditions on the day of Purim are rather conditional. However, in every source that describes the festive table, there are general dishes.

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

Mandible dishes are pies with different fillings: with meat, potatoes, cabbage, cottage cheese or jam.

From the traditional Jewish dishes for Russia, it is worth adding to this list of cymes (a dish of prunes and carrots) and stuffed fish, without which no festive table can do.

Carnival on Purim

This is one of the most interesting parts of the holiday, which is a tradition only the last couple of centuries. In the old tradition, it was enough to have a small theatrical performance of several actors. However, over time the Purim script became more complicated, more lengthy and lengthy performances were created with a large number of actors.

Now an integral part of the holiday is the big Jewish performances devoted 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 most recent 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, where carnivals and processions are also beginning to gain popularity, are not lagging behind.

Purim in Israel

Purim is a holiday in Israel, comparable in scope only to the Russian New Year. The brightness of this celebration is connected with the beginning of spring. In each city carnivals and bright processions are held. A huge number of theatrical concert venues are running all over the country. People take to the streets, congratulate each other with Purim, saying the phrase "Hag Purim Sameah" (the happy holiday of Purim) to all the familiar and just oncoming.

The holiday of Purim is widely celebrated in Israel, its history, in fact, began anew. In all countries of the world during the dispersal of the Jewish people this important day was celebrated semi-underground. Now he splashed out onto the streets of the country, became one of the brightest holidays. To visit Israel on this day is to get a lot more positive emotions than you could count on.

It's worth visiting this country just to see the Purim holiday with your own eyes. What is it? And why is it so loved by everyone from small to large?

The most joyful holiday

How is Purim celebrated? And how would you celebrate it if you survived the threat of death and were saved 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 in the year, when he could forget about all his problems and life troubles and rejoice only if he lives. This is the whole philosophy and meaning of this slightly crazy and very cheerful holiday. At least, such a conclusion can make a person from another country, who fell on this identity.

Purim is so bright and positive a holiday that it starts to leak into other cultures, more often representatives of other nationalities mark it in their calendar in red and send each other congratulations with Purim.