Purim is a Jewish holiday, which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, and Achaemenid Persian Empire official who was planning to kill all the Jews, as recounted in the Book of Esther…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim
Have you read the book of Esther? It is a great book of the Bible with beauty, espionage, tension, and a murder plot.
Hadassah/Esther
“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.”
Esther 2:7 (NIV)
“Why was she called Hadassah? Because the righteous are called myrtles. As it states (Zechariah 1:8) , “And he was standing among the myrtles [the righteous prophets Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah].”
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1769366/jewish/What-Does-the-Name-Hadassah-Mean.htm
The Beauty Treatments
Here is one of my favorite parts:
“she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.”
Esther 2:!2 (NIV)
I’ll take that spa! She soaked every day in oils and perfumes so that it would get in to her skin.
I won’t ruin the story for you, but run, don’t walk and read it. At the end of the Book of Esther it says:
“Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.”
Esther 9:20-22
The Celebration
The four main (obligations) of the day are:
- Listening to the public reading, usually in synagogue, of the Book of Esther in the evening and again in the following morning
- Sending food gifts to friends
- Giving charity to the poor
- Eating a festive meal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim#cite_note-8
This is one of the Blessings that are recited:
“Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us and brought us to this season.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim#cite_note-8
“Hashem is a Hebrew term for God. Literally, it means ‘the name.'”
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hashem/#:~:text=Hashem%20is%20a%20Hebrew%20term%20for%20God.%20Literally%2C,pronounced%20on%20Yom%20Kippur%20by%20the%20High%20Priest.
Additional Reading
There are a lot of books and Bible study books about Esther, but these are a few I am familiar with. I listened to Tommy Tenny’s book on audiobook.
Chuck Swindoll also has a book on Esther.
Although I don’t celebrate Purim, I will remember Esther on this day. She is an inspiration and a Bible heroine!
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