Purim Q & A

Shabbat Zahor / Vayikra 5768

Next Thursday evening (March 20 ), we will celebrate Purim. This year being a leap year, in which there are two months of Adar, we celebrate Purim in Adar ll.

Purim is a very joyous and festive holiday. Haman, who wished to destroy the entire Jewish people, influenced Achashveirosh, King of Persia, to decree, "to destroy, slay, and exterminate all Jews, young and old, children and women, in a single day... and to plunder their possessions..." On Purim, this evil decree was reversed. Thus, Purim commemorates one of the greatest miracles in our history when we were saved from total annihilation.

The story of Purim is recorded in Megillat Esther - Scroll of Esther. We read the Megillat Esther on Thursday evening and again during the morning service on Friday morning at approximately 8.30am.

Q. Women are exempt from most mitzvot which apply only from time to time. Yet, although the Megillah is read only on Purim, women are required to hear the Megillah just like men. Why?

A. Haman's decree was to kill all Jewish men, women and children. Since the miracle of Purim affected men and women equally, women are also required to hear the Megillah reading.

Q. Mordechai was involved in the story of Purim together with Esther. Why is the Megillah called "Megillat Esther" - "Scroll of Esther"?

A. The Megillah tells us that Esther's Jewish identity was originally not known, so her life was not affected by Haman's decree. In spite of this, Esther risked death ("whoever approaches the king without permission can be put to death"), to plead for her people revealing her Jewish identity. In tribute to Esther's self-sacrifice, the Megillah is named for her. A second reason is that it was Esther who insisted that the story of Purim be recorded and added to our Holy Scriptures. A third reason: Megillat Esther is the only book in Scriptures that does not mention G-d's name at all! Our sages tell us that the word " Esther" comes from the root "Astir," which means to "hide." The name "                 Esther" alludes to the fact that G-d's presence in the Megillah is "hidden".

Q. Why doesn't G-d's name appear in the Megillah?

A. One reason is that G-d performs miracles in two ways. Sometimes, He "breaks" the laws of nature. The splitting of the Sea at the time of the Exodus from Egypt is an example of this. On other occasions G-d "hides" the miracle within nature. In these cases, we do not see an obvious miracle. Purim was just such a "hidden" miracle - it was wrought through the political intrigues in the Persian palace. Although it often requires great effort to recognize these"natural" events as
G-d's work, they are in a sense more significant than revealed miracles. This is because they demonstrate the power of G-d Who causes Nature to comply with His Will rather than dispensing with it.

On Purim we perform the following six special mitzvot:

1) On the Eve of Purim (Thursday) we give Machatsit HaShekel - a half dollar on behalf of everyone in the family in commemoration of the half-shekel donation to the Temple in ancient times. There are those who have a custom to give three half-dollars because of the three times in which "terumah" - donation - is mentioned in the Torah.

2) Megillat Esther. As mentioned above.

3) Al HaNisim. A prayer in which we thank G-d for the miracle of Purim. We recite it during the Amidah prayer in the middle of the bracha of Modim (evening, morning and afternoon) and in the grace after meals in the middle of the second blessing.

4) Mishloach Manot - sending gifts. On Purim day (Friday), we send gifts of ready-to-eat food to friends. We send at least two kinds of food to at least one other person. By exchanging gifts, we share the joy of Purim with others. Mishloach Manot is also an expression of Jewish unity and friendship.

5) Matanot LaEvyonim - gifts to the needy. On Purim, we must give charity to at least two poor people. Although one fulfills the mitzvah when giving to two poor people, our sages say that on Purim it is preferable to give to "whoever stretches out their hand." Thus, it is customary that on Purim we distribute more charity than usual. This is a time of year in which we ask congregants to remember the needy in our community. There are many people for whom meat is an ill-afforded luxury, others who do not have basic furniture, and still others who require assistance to marry and set up home. Please contribute to our Simchat Yom Tov v Shabbat fund. Although donations should be made through the synagogue office, monies donated to this fund are kept totally separate from general synagogue revenue.

6) Seudat Purim - Purim meal. During the day of Purim (March 21) we eat a sumptuous and festive meal as befitting the celebration of this great miracle. As this year Purim falls on Friday the Purim Meal should be held before 1.00pm.


On behalf of Rebbetzen Henya and all of us at South Head, best wishes for a great Shabbos and a truly happy and joyous Purim,

Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM