Across the world, Jews will celebrate the holiday of Purim this year from the eve of March 11 through March 12 with much fanfare and excitement. Families will go from door to door sporting costumes while delivering candy and other foods, and sit down to a lavish meal with friends and relatives later in the day to celebrate the holiday. But far beyond the food and costumes, Purim has a much deeper purpose to it, a lesson applicable to each and every one of our lives.
Purim, one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar, is a fun and enjoyable holiday for celebrants all ages. The holiday commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from a royal decree issued in a plot by Haman, one of the king’s ministers, to annihilate the entire Jewish nation. The plot was foiled by Mordechai and Queen …show more content…
To counteract the decree, the Jews of that time got together in unity to plead God to inhibit the decree and save the nation. When God saw their unity, he realized they were worthy of salvation, as they were unified together as one nation.
To commemorate the unity exhibited which resulted in the deliverance of the Jewish nation, it became customary to give gifts of food to friends and neighbors as a display of unity. The purpose of mishloach manot is to facilitate friendships and strengthen relationships between individuals through the giving and receiving of gifts. It is that same showing of achdut (unity) — one of the central themes of the Jewish religion — for which the salvation of the Jewish people in the Purim era can be attributed to. Only when the Jews united together as one community did God have mercy upon them and spare their
Purim, one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar, is a fun and enjoyable holiday for celebrants all ages. The holiday commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from a royal decree issued in a plot by Haman, one of the king’s ministers, to annihilate the entire Jewish nation. The plot was foiled by Mordechai and Queen …show more content…
To counteract the decree, the Jews of that time got together in unity to plead God to inhibit the decree and save the nation. When God saw their unity, he realized they were worthy of salvation, as they were unified together as one nation.
To commemorate the unity exhibited which resulted in the deliverance of the Jewish nation, it became customary to give gifts of food to friends and neighbors as a display of unity. The purpose of mishloach manot is to facilitate friendships and strengthen relationships between individuals through the giving and receiving of gifts. It is that same showing of achdut (unity) — one of the central themes of the Jewish religion — for which the salvation of the Jewish people in the Purim era can be attributed to. Only when the Jews united together as one community did God have mercy upon them and spare their