The Celebration
The Longest Lie — Part 6 of 11 eFireTemple.com There is a holiday celebrated every year by millions of people. It is one of the most joyful days in the Jewish calendar. Children dress in costumes. Families exchange gifts. The faithful are encouraged to drink until they cannot distinguish between the hero and the villain. The story is read aloud from a scroll while the congregation drowns out the villain's name with noisemakers. The holiday is Purim. And what it celebrates is the killing of 75,000 Persians.
What this resource contributes
The Longest Lie — Part 6 of 11 eFireTemple.com There is a holiday celebrated every year by millions of people. It is one of the most joyful days in the Jewish calendar. Children dress in costumes. Families exchange gifts. The faithful are encouraged to drink until they cannot distinguish between the hero and the villain. The story is read aloud from a scroll while the congregation drowns out the villain's name with noisemakers. The holiday is Purim. And what it celebrates is the killing of 75,000 Persians. The story The Book of Esther tells the following tale. King Ahasuerus — identified with the Persian king Xerxes — rules from Susa. He deposes his queen, Vashti, for refusing to display herself at a banquet. He selects a new queen — Esther, a young Jewish woman who conceals her ethnicity on the advice of her cousin Mordecai.
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Hebrew Bible · Talmud