Holidays and Observances | What Does The Jewish Holiday Of Purim Commemorate?
What does the Jewish holiday of Purim commemorate?
Purim, which takes place in February or March each year, commemorates the Jews' escaping a massacre as a result of efforts by the brave Jewish Queen Esther. In ancient Persia (now Iran), King Xerxes (519–465 B.C.) fell in love with a Jewish woman named Esther and made her his queen. When the Jewish leader Mordechai would not bow before the king (Jews bow only to God), the prime minister Haman tricked the king into issuing a decree that all Jews should be killed. When Esther told her husband the king that she too was Jewish (he did not know), the king had Haman killed instead, thus sparing the Jews.
Although this story is thought to be an allegory (a story in which people, things, and events have hidden meanings), it reminds the Jewish people that God cares about their welfare despite the persecution they have suffered throughout the ages. Purim is...
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