Jewish Life Digital Edition February 2013 | Page 12

PURIM 5773

UNDERSTAND

PURIM
IN 5 MINUTES
OR LESS

THE QUICK SCOOP ON JUDAISM’S
MOST ENIGMATIC HOLIDAY

T

WO GENERATIONS AGO, A NATION ATTEMPTED
to wipe the Jews off the face of
the earth. Purim is a holiday that
takes us back to the first time in
history such a genocide against
the Jews had been attempted – some 2 300
years ago.
The holiday of Purim marks the Jews’
salvation from the plot of Haman, a high
officer of the Persian Empire, an advisor to
King Achashveirosh. Haman’s
rage against the Jews
was incited by the
failure of a single
Jew, Mordechai, to bow
before him as he passed
by. Rather than seeking to
do away with Mordechai
alone for this slight,
Haman plotted revenge
against Mordechai’s
entire people. Haman
sought, and gained,
permission from King
Achashveirosh to do as
he pleased against the
Jews, and Haman

10 JEWIS Q