...Purim Celebrations: The Jewish Holy Day Introduction The Jewish culture considers its holy day’s as very scared days. The Jewish people are a people of celebration. The entire year long there are many holy days that the Jewish people love to celebrate. Seven of the major Jewish holy days are Shabbat, Purim, Passover, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and Shavuot. Each holiday has its own customs, presentations, and services that make it different from the other Jewish holidays. Out of these days, Purim is the greatest day of the year. It is not only a day of happiness and merriment, but it also has within it a tremendous opportunity to come close to Hashem. In celebrating Purim it is in the twelfth month, Adar, at sundown on the thirteenth day (Sasson, 2005). It is a fun holiday, full of parties, drinking, and other celebratory observances. People give baskets of food to friends and the needy persons, and drink wine with the loved ones. Discussion Purim is the holiday that the Jewish nation was saved from Haman's evil decree of annihilation. This is a Rabbinical holiday as it took place thousands of years after the giving of the Torah. What is not exactly known is the strong connection between this glorious holiday and the Torah. The Jews say they have arranged a mass massacre of the Persians in these spring days, Jews celebrate an important Jewish holiday, Purim. It is celebrated for two days: 14th and 15th of the month of Adar on the Jewish...
Words: 1208 - Pages: 5
...Purim is a joyous Jewish holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies in the biblical Book of Esther. Purim is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Adar, which usually falls sometime in February or March. Purim is such a popular holiday that the ancient rabbis declared that it alone would continue to be celebrated after the Messiah comes (Midrash Mishlei 9). All other holidays will not be celebrated in the messianic days. The Purim Holiday received its name because Haman was angered by Mordechai when he would not kneel down to Haman. Haman then sets out to destroy the Jewish people. A pur or lottery is then placed in front of Haman to choose which day and month this would occur. When Mordecai discovered Haman’s plan to destroy the Jewish people he persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. Knowing she would be put to death for being in the king’s presence without being summoned Esther fasted for three day to prepare herself. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself. The king welcomed Esther and she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai. Reading the Megillah on Purim Reading the Purim Story from the...
Words: 660 - Pages: 3
...Deuteronomy The genre of this book is law. The key themes of the book of Deuteronomy are love and obedience. It teaches man to love and obey God. This is shown perfectly in Det. 6:4, 5 where we also have the greatest doctrinal statement of the Old Testament: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is on Lord.” Deuteronomy means “second law”, but this does not means a repetition of the Law given by God to Moses. The law interprets the experience of the wilderness in the 38 years in the dessert. It is a commentary on the Mosaic Law that emphasizes specific laws and enlarged some of them. Deuteronomy brings the Law of Moses to the new generation that entered the Promised Land. The book gives us amendments on new situations and problems that arose and that were not covered by the Law specifically. The main purpose of the book was to remind the people of what God had done during the 38 years in the dessert and encourage them to come back to God again. The book starts with Israel arriving on the bank of the Jordan River one month before entering the Promised Land. In Hebrew, the book is divided into eight orations in which Moses give Israel the final instructions from the Lord. The generation whom had left Egypt was now dead because of their unbelief and disobedience. They committed sins of commission by breaking God’s law and sins of omission by failing to believe God. The book addresses the following issues: It reviews the dessert experiences, reinstates the law of love and obedience...
Words: 1647 - Pages: 7
...Information Literacy Assignment: Esther David Laylock Humanities 102 Dr. Meng April 16, 2014 Intro Esther is about the girl who came to be the queen of Persia. It is a book that gives her story of how she became sovereign, starting out during a banquet that lasted one hundred and eighty days. This banquet was put on by the wealthy King Xerxes to show off to people the power and fortune that he held. The queen, at the time, denied to appear at this banquet and was ordered to be put to death, because of how angry the King was at this. The pursuit for a new queen is now on. This is where Esther comes into play. Esther was in a Beauty pageant put on by King Xerxes, and the king chose her to be queen. During this time, Mordecai stops an attempt to murder King Xerxes. Recorded in the kings’ book of chronicles is Mordecai’s endeavor, but does not get compensated though. Haman becomes the kings’ viceroy, and Haman is a very selfish individual, always putting himself first. Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman when all inhabitants of Shushan have to, and this enrages Haman so he issues a decree to execute all Jews, including Mordecai. After all this, Haman then misleads the king into issuing an edict to sentence all Jews. Mordecai tells Esther about the edict, and convinces her to put her life in jeopardy so that she may protect all her people from this. Esther develops a strategy to get the job done. She prepared a fancy banquet for King Xerxes and Haman. The king tells...
Words: 2436 - Pages: 10
...Esther: Strength in Submission Shirley Johnson and Jessica Bogart MidAmerica Nazarene University: Biblical Leadership Perspectives January 19, 2016 Introduction Great leadership takes the form of many different characteristics—courage, wisdom, confidence, determination, faithful, persuasive, and patience. Several of these characteristics become a common theme across great leaders. However, submission is rarely upheld as a competency of outstanding leadership. Esther showed strength in her submission, subtlety, and humility, which led to saving her cousin and the rest of her people. The story of Esther begins with the displacement of Queen Vashti. King Xerxes became displeased with the bold actions of Queen Vashti when she refused a summons of the King. At this point, King Xerxes chooses Esther among many other beautiful women to be Queen. However, Esther does not disclose the fact that she is a Jew to King Xerxes. During Esther’s rise to queen, Mordecai, Esther’s guardian/cousin, uncovers a plot to assassinate the king. Mordecai promptly reports this to Esther, who informs the King, giving credit to Mordecai for sharing the information with her. Shortly after this, a man in King Xerxes service named Haman was given a seat of honor in the King’s court. When all were paying their respects to Haman, Mordecai refuses to bow down before him due to his Jewish heritage. This incited Haman to punish not just Mordecai, but kill all Jews. However, when Mordecai informs Esther...
Words: 684 - Pages: 3
...Barbara Barton 25406682 BIBL 104-B34 210240 LUO September 20, 2012 Summary of Old Testament Books LEVITICUS The book of Leviticus is a genre of the law. Moses is the author of this book and it is often referred to as the holiness code. “Do this because I the Lord your God am holy” is often mentioned in the book. Three different sacrificial offerings are presented to the Israelites as well. They consist of Consecratory, Expiatory and Communal. Consecratory being offerings of dedication of people or things to God. Expiatory were acknowledgements of sin and Communal were communities expressing thankfulness to God. God also wanted to establish the fact that the laws were not merely arbitrary but was indeed intended to help them understand the holiness nature of God. No longer would the Israelites be known as a group of former slaves they had become an established nation. This is also where we see the priesthood being established and thus creating a mediator between the people and their God. They now had rules and laws of which to live their lives on a daily basis. Joshua The book of Joshua is written in the style of a narrative. In this book we learn how Joshua led the people into the land of Canaan. We see two very well-known battles such as the battle of Jericho and the battle of Ai. The first battle of Jericho the city seemed impossible for man to conquer but with God we would soon learn that it was indeed possible. The next battle in the city of Ai was not as successful...
Words: 831 - Pages: 4
...Esther: Passive Coward or Wise Leader? The Persian name Esther means “star”. Throughout the book of Esther, we see several “star” qualities that reflect the strength and courage of the main character. At the beginning of the book, Esther seems to be a passive, compliant girl, however, as we see throughout the text, she moves from being an object, to a leader, and ultimately, savior of the Jewish people. The name and story of Esther evoke countless thoughts of beauty, strength, character, and courage, which bring her to a leadership role. Although the word “God” is not used a single time throughout this story, God’s hand is clearly over Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews. The story of Esther is set in the Persian Empire, and primarily occurs in Susa, the winter capital of the Persian Court. Esther’s story takes place between 486 and 465 BCE, during the reign of king Ahasuerus, or Xerxes. Prior to the entrance of Esther, King Xerxes had been planning to invade Greece and was having a six month long banquet with his princes and nobles to strategize. Not only was he working on a plan for invasion, he was also demonstrating the fact that he possessed the resources and wealth to wage war (George 13). At the end of this six month period, Xerxes held a seven day long feast. On the seventh and final day, King Xerxes summoned Queen Vashti to appear in her crown, and only her crown, for the people and nobles to witness her beauty. Queen Vashti refused. Xerxes viewed Queen Vashti’s...
Words: 2517 - Pages: 11
...Hannah Keller Professor Thompson REL 2013 31 October 2013 Esther The book of Esther is a beautifully written piece of biblical literature that tells a story of faith and trust. It shows that when you put your faith in The Lord, He will see you through according to His plan. This story is an exciting account of an unlikely hero named Esther, who with amazing bravery saves her people. The story takes place in a huge Persian empire ruled by King Ahasuerus. The capital city of Susa in particular. The king held a feast for all of his officials and servants to show them his riches and glory. This continued for 180 days. Once these days were over the king held a small feast for those present in Susa, which lasted seven days. The queen at this time was Vashti, and she held a feast for the women in the palace. At the end of the seven days, King Ahasuerus sent for Queen Vashti to be shown to the princes since she was so beautiful. After Queen Vashti refused to comply with the king’s wishes, he got angry and took the crown away from her. He then sent officers to gather beautiful women so they could come before the king. One of these women was a Jew named Esther. When Esther’s mother died, a Jew named Mordecai took her as his own daughter. Esther was very beautiful. She quickly won the king’s favor and eventually was made queen. Meanwhile, there was a man named Haman who was promoted by King Ahasuerus to sit on the throne above all of the officials. Everybody bowed down to Hamas...
Words: 922 - Pages: 4
...Have you ever thought of how one person can save a whole nation? In your mind you may think that it is not possible, but it is possible. Not in the natural but in the supernatural. This is essay is about the one of the most important Jewish holiday titled Purim. The whole holiday was based on one person who saved the whole tribe with the power of GOD. First all of we are going to look of the meaning of Purim. In Hebrew the meaning of Purim it means the salvation of the Jews in the hand of Haman. Haman was the kings prime minister who did not believe in GOD. Under him was Mordechai who was a Jew who believed in GOD. The kind Xerxes had a wife for a while who was by the name of Vashti. While being in the kingdom she started being very rebellious. While she was being rebellious, one day the kind planned a great meal and invited her. Because of her rebellious attitudes and pride she refuses to go for the meal. So it upsets the king and the kind ordered for her to be kicked out of the kingdom. For a while the kind was reigning in the kingdom single. Then he made a chose to go find a wife. So the kind ordered to his servants to go and bring lots of single girls and he will chose one from them. So they did like a few days preparation so they can meet the king. The servants were checking what they eat and keeping them healthy and...
Words: 1203 - Pages: 5
...practices that are found meaningful. Therefore, this branch embraces individual choice rather than observance of beliefs and practices. Third, Conservative Judaism supports observance of Jewish tradition while at the same time embracing any adaptations to fit into modern society (Morrison, et al., 2009). In addition, the branch supports the use of Jewish texts to determine ethics and best practices. Lastly, Reconstructionist Judaism does not treat Judaism as just a religion but an evolving civilization that is always accompanied by religious components (Morrison, et al., 2009). The branch emphasizes non-binding compliance to the Jewish Law. But it also points out that it should be followed in required to strengthen the community. Purim Purim is one of the most important days in the Jewish calendar. It has been marked to commemorate a time when the Jewish people who were living in Persian were protected from total destruction (Rich, 2011). It is celebrated to mark the story that is told in the book of Esther. In the book, Esther was a young Jewish woman whom the King...
Words: 670 - Pages: 3
...MY PROJECT ON JUDAISM FESTIVAL NAME: SANATEA BRYCE AND KHIMARELY WHITE SCHOOL: CAMPERDOWN HIGH SCHOOL TITLE:JUDAISM FESTIVALS SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHER’S NAME: MRS TREASURE- SMITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all I would like to thank god my creator who has given me the knowledge to understand this project that My religious education teacher Mrs Treasure smith has given to me, I also thank Aunty Donna for putting a little effort in helping me With this project. Once again a big thank you all……………………………………………………!! INTRODUCTION This project is base on Judaism festivals or festivals in Judaism. it plays a very important role in our life because it helps you to know more about religious education. Many children nowadays take religious education for granted the important of other religions and our religion which is Christianity. Without thinking about how important it would be to know about other religions and ower own religion. Understanding how ower religion and other religions operate, the good ideas that lies behind reading and knowing more about what happening in different part of the world and what type of rules do some Caribbean places followed by like for example India which is where you can go and find Hinduism let their young ones married at an early age but like we Jamaica ower children start that at the latest 18 years of age. This is what religious education set for us to learn. TABLE OF CONTENT ROSH HASHANAH……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5 ...
Words: 4751 - Pages: 20
...Jewish Holy Days Paper REL/134 June 12, 2013 Hanukkah Hanukkah is an eight day and night celebration. That begins in the Jewish month called Kislev, occurring in November or December of a secular calendar. The word Hanukkah means dedication. The holiday is rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem (165 B.C). The event was established when Jewish victory over the Syrian Greeks. Hanukkah is a holiday that has significance like Christmas. The celebration has a meaningful history, traditions practices, and cultural differences in the various branches of Judaism. The story is in 168 B.C. the Jewish temple was seized by the Syrian Greek soldiers. The Jewish people were afraid to fight back. After the Syrian Greek Emperor ordered all Jews to worship Greek gods. The Jews began to resistance and join together to retake their land from the Greeks. The rebels were called Maccabees. Maccabees got control of their land and returned to the temple of Jerusalem. The Jews were forced to eat swine and worship ideal gods. So to cleanse their selves they burned ritual oils in the temple of Jerusalem for eight days. The significant thing was there was only enough oil for one day but, the oil surprised the Jews and lasted eight days. That was the miracle of Hanukkah. There are many traditions when it comes to celebrating Hanukkah. The celebration involves games, the songs, and foods. One of the games is called dreidel. It’s the spinning of the four side toy. The songs are like...
Words: 775 - Pages: 4
...Name Instructor Subject Date Comparing between Ashkenazic and Sephardic in Judaism The world has a very big population and 14 million people are from the Jewish religion. Judaism has been in place from the time of Abraham (Rubenstein 54). The modern history of Jewish in many cases deals with the social, economic and political advancements. The 14 million Jews are further split into two separate groups. The Sephardic and Ashkenazic (Rubenstein 54). The origin of Ashkenazic can be traced be traced back to Germany, Eastern Europe and France while the origin of Sephardic can be traced back to the middle east, North Africa, Portugal and Spain (Rubenstein 54). Both Ashkenazi and Sephardic are Jews but they have some differences (Rubenstein 54). The differences between the two movements is found majorly in the traditional laws more than the written laws. The difference in these two groups is in terms of history, backgrounds and the traditions these groups used to celebrate (Rubenstein 54). According to Eilberg (54) both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi have different histories because they have been around since the time of Abraham this even means that they have a lot of history (Rubenstein 54). Ashkenazic, Yiddish can be defined as a mixture of German and Hebrew. Ashkenazi Judaism can be dated back to the 10th century and still exists up to date (Rubenstein 54). Most Jews were merchants in Germany and France and later stayed there (Rubenstein 54). These Jews started forming some small...
Words: 1826 - Pages: 8
...It is important to keep in mind that in order to make a film enjoyable and flow better, filmmakers have to add and detract stories and characters from the actual book of Esther. As an audience member, watching One Night with the King gives an accurate and dramatic picture as to what the book of Esther is about. Filmmakers did an exceptional job to make sure the film followed the guidelines of the book of Esther, located in the Old Testament and the Greek additions in The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Historical topics such as Esther and Purim can be difficult to portray, but with the help of Biblical references and interpretation, One Night with the King creates a helpful film in order to assist Christian audiences’ understanding of the book of Esther and the Persian...
Words: 1175 - Pages: 5
...Slide 1 (title) - Huh? That’s what some of you might be saying to yourselves right now. What’s that word? How do you say it? What is Judaism? Well let us talk about Judaism. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. Just like some of you may have a certain religion such as Christian, Catholic, Baptist, etc. there are others, including children like you, that practice Judaism and are thus Jews or Jewish. Judaism is the first recorded, meaning first written down, faith or religion that believes in only one God. This makes it the oldest religious tradition still in practice today! Slide 1 (bottom section) - Jews believe in a single God who knows everything, is very, very powerful, and is in all places at all times – no one or nothing can hide from Him. Jewish people also believe that God is always kind and that He created the universe and continues to manage it. This God is fair and forgiving and has no human form or representation. Slide 2 - According to traditional Jewish belief, a Covenant, an agreement between God and the Jewish people was made when God gave his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of the Torah. The Torah has 613 commandments from God which are known as “sacred obligations”. In other words these are all the things the Jewish people have to do to make God happy. These are kind of like instructions given by God to the Jewish people that teach them how to act, think, and understand life and death, as well as God’s...
Words: 4555 - Pages: 19
