Purim

Purim
Arthur Szyk · Public domain · source
Name	Purim
Observedby	Jewish diaspora; Israel
Significance	Commemoration of the deliverance recounted in the Book of Esther; celebration of survival after threatened massacre
Date	14th of Adar (15th in walled cities)
Frequency	Annual
Relatedto	Passover, Hanukkah, Tenth of Tevet

Purim Purim is a Jewish festival commemorating the events narrated in the Book of Esther, celebrated annually on the 14th of Adar (and on the 15th in certain walled cities such as Jerusalem, Hebron, Ploërmel), marked by feasting, gift-giving, charity, and public reading of the Megillah. The holiday connects to historical figures and settings such as Ahasuerus, Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and the Persian imperial milieu including Susa and the Achaemenid Empire, and it has inspired literary, musical, and artistic works across communities from Babylonian Jewry to Sephardi Jews and Ashkenazi Jews. Over time Purim has been shaped by rabbinic rulings from sources like the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Shulchan Aruch, and responsa by authorities including Rambam and Rabbi Joseph Caro, and it remains a focal point in modern Jewish communal life in places such as New York City, Jerusalem, Moscow, Buenos Aires, and London.

Etymology and Origins

Scholars debate the etymology of the festival’s name, tracing it to Old Iranian and Semitic terms related to lots and divination, with proposed cognates in Old Persian language, Avestan language, and names attested in inscriptions from the Achaemenid Empire and the Elamite record; researchers cite comparative studies linking the term to practices documented by Herodotus, Ctesias, and archaeological findings from Persepolis and Susa, while philologists reference the Hebrew language and Aramaic language textual history in the Masoretic Text and Septuagint translations. Academic debate engages specialists from disciplines associated with institutions such as University of Oxford, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harvard University, and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, who analyze paleographic evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls period, inscriptions from Elephantine (Egypt), and parallels in Near Eastern mythology.

Biblical and Historical Background

The canonical account appears in the Book of Esther, a text preserved in the Hebrew Bible and included in the Septuagint and Vulgate, which situates events in the Persian imperial capitals such as Susa under a monarch identified as Ahasuerus; protagonists include Esther, Mordecai, and antagonist Haman son of Hammedatha. Rabbinic exegesis in the Talmud and the Midrash offers expansions and theological interpretations that connect the narrative to the deliverance of Jews in the diaspora communities of Babylonian Jewry and Persian Jews, while historians compare the story to inscriptions and histories by Herodotus, Xenophon, and administrative documents from the Achaemenid Empire to assess historicity and dating. Modern scholarship from Israel Finkelstein, Martin Noth, Robert Alter, and Michael V. Fox situates the book within Persian-period Jewish literature and explores its literary genre, court satire, and functions within the corpus of Ketuvim.

Customs and Observances

Traditional observances include public reading of the Megillah (the scroll of the Book of Esther), giving mishloach manot (food gifts), providing matanot la'evyonim (charity to the poor), and a festive meal called a seudah; communities also practice masked processions, carnivalesque dress, and theatrical retellings such as Purim spiel in Ashkenazi settings and Purimshpil performances influenced by Yiddish theater and folk traditions. Liturgical and communal patterns are regulated by authorities like the Rabbinate of Israel, the decisions in the Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Joseph Caro, and local customs codified by figures including Jacob Emden and The Vilna Gaon. Public celebrations often intersect with civic life in cities like Tel Aviv, New York City, Buenos Aires, and Moscow, where parades, costumed processions, and cultural festivals take place in synagogues, community centers, and municipal streets.

Liturgical Elements and Prayers

The central liturgical act is the twice-nightly public reading of the Megillah, accompanied by cantorical melodies drawn from traditions such as Sephardic liturgy, Ashkenazi nusach, and Yemenite Jewish‎ chant; congregational responses and ritual noise-making at the mention of Haman are customary and vary by rite. Additional prayers and liturgical inserts include special Al hanissim passages in the Amidah and Birkat Hamazon, penitential readings in some communities linked to the Talmud Bavli rulings, and recitation of psalms and hymns by poets like Yehuda Halevi and Shlomo ibn Gabirol in certain medieval cycles. Rabbinic authorities such as Maimonides, Rabbi Solomon Luria, and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef have issued guidance on Megillah reading, ritual purity of scrolls, and the validity of megillot produced under different conditions.

Cultural Practices and Variations

Distinct cultural expressions include the Masquerade tradition in European communities linked to carnival practices of Venice and Germany, the Iranian-Jewish culinary repertoire featuring sweets and pastries in Tehran and Isfahan, and the development of dramatic and musical forms in Yiddish theater and Hebrew theater in Vilnius, Warsaw, Petah Tikva, and Tel Aviv. Sephardi and Mizrahi communities preserve alternative melodies, local costume customs, and regional liturgical variants recorded by ethnographers at institutions such as the Jewish Music Research Centre and museums like the Israel Museum. Diaspora adaptations appear in places as diverse as Calcutta, Shanghai, Cape Town, and Buenos Aires, where local histories and intercultural contact have produced unique rituals, foods, and performances.

Historical and Modern Controversies

Controversies encompass scholarly debates on the historicity of the Book of Esther raised by historians like S. M. Bohak and Martin Noth, polemics over antisemitic readings of characters in Christian receptions during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and modern disputes regarding public observance, freedom of expression, and political uses of Purim imagery in contexts such as Israel–Palestine conflict public demonstrations and municipal regulations in cities like Jerusalem and New York City. Legal and halakhic disputes have involved authorities including the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and rabbinic courts over issues of calendrical determination, interdenominational practices, and the permissibility of certain satirical or profane performances; artistic controversies have arisen in museums and theaters when representations intersect with histories of antisemitism and communal memory.

Category:Jewish holidays