Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, which occurs in February or March of the Gregorian calendar.

* In leap years on the Hebrew calendar, Purim is observed in the Second Adar ( Adar Sheni ).

more use of Hebrew, more wearing of tallit and kippot, more enjoyment of Purim and other traditional minor festivals.

Purim ( Hebrew: Pûrîm " lots ", from the word pur, related to Akkadian pūru ) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther ( Megillat Esther ).

Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar ( Adar II in leap years ), the day following the victory of the Jews over their enemies.

It is common to greet one another on Purim in Hebrew Chag Purim Sameach or in Yiddish Freilichin Purim.

The Hebrew greeting loosely translates to " Happy Purim Holiday " and the Yiddish translates to " A Festive Purim ".

Traditional Purim songs include Mishenichnas Adar marbim be-simcha (" When Hebrew month of Adar enters, we have a lot of joy "— Mishnah Taanith 4: 1 ) and LaYehudim haitah orah ve-simchah ve-sasson ve-yakar (" The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor "— Esther 8: 16 ).

During leap years on the Hebrew calendar, Purim is celebrated in the second month of Adar.

) The 14th of the first Adar is then called Purim Katan (" Little Purim " in Hebrew ) and the 15th is Shushan Purim Katan, for which there no set observances but have a minor holiday aspect to it.

The Book of Esther ( Hebrew אסתר ) is read in all Jewish communities on Purim.

Queen Vashti ( Hebrew: ושתי, Persian: و َ شتی, Koine Greek: Αστιν, Astin ) is the first wife of King Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included in the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible ) and read on the Jewish holiday of Purim.

At the founders ' meeting, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Purim, the group chose the name Hadassah, the Hebrew name of the biblical heroine Esther, central figure in the celebration of Purim.

In some Jewish communities there is a tradition to get drunk on Purim until they forget the difference between the Hebrew phrases " Cursed is Haman " and " Blessed is Mordechai ", which signified reaching the spiritual world Atzilut where all opposites unite.

Esther sends a letter instituting an annual commemoration of the Jewish people's redemption, in a holiday called Purim ( lots ).

In memory of the deliverance thus wrought for them, the Jews to this day celebrate the feast of Purim or " Lots " because of the lots that were drawn by Haman to decide whom he would first murder among the Jewish elders in Persia.

* In the Book of Esther, Haman casts lots to decide the date on which to exterminate the Jews of Shushan ; the Jewish festival of Purim is a remembrance of the subsequent chain of events.

These were not targums (" translations ") in the true sense but like the Greek Esther are retellings of events and include additional legends relating to Purim.

The first religious ceremony ordained for the celebration of Purim is the reading of the Book of Esther ( the " Megillah ") in the synagogue, a regulation ascribed in the Talmud ( Megillah 2a ) to the Sages of the Great Assembly, of which Mordecai is reported to have been a member.

On Purim, triangular pastries called Hamantaschen (" Haman's pockets ") or Oznei Haman (" Haman's ears ") are served.

# Megillah: ( מגילה ) (" Scroll ") contains chiefly regulations and prescriptions regarding the reading of the scroll of Esther at Purim, and the reading of other passages from the Torah and Neviim in the synagogue.

The jovial character of this feast is illustrated in the saying of the Talmud ( Megilla 7b ) stating that one should drink on Purim until he can no longer distinguish between the phrases, arur Haman (" Cursed is Haman ") and baruch Mordechai (" Blessed is Mordechai ").

Also called the Megillah, the book is the basis and an integral part of the Jewish celebration of Purim.

* The primary source relating to the origin of Purim is the Megillat Esther ( Book of Esther ), which became the last of the 24 books of the Tanakh to be canonized by the Sages of the Great Assembly.

That is, while the events may not be historically accurate the book itself was written to tell a story of a time in history, in this case the origin of the Jewish holiday of Purim.

In Judaism, a common practice is to dress up on Purim.

The Great Assembly is credited with establishing numerous features of contemporary traditional Judaism in something like their present form, including Torah reading, the Amidah, and establishing the feast of Purim.

Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.

It is also used to describe Hanukkah and Purim, as well as Yom Ha ' atzma ' ut ( Israeli Independence Day ) and Yom Yerushalayim ( Jerusalem Day ).

On Purim it is a tradition to masquerade in costumes and to give Mishloakh Manot ( gifts of food and drink ) to friends, as well as Matanot La ' evyonim ( gifts to the poor and the needy ).

The Special Shabbats are the Shabbats that precede important Jewish holidays: e. g. Shabbat ha-Gadol is the Shabbat preceding Passover, Shabbat Zachor is the Shabbat preceding Purim, and Shabbat Teshuva is the Shabbat preceding Yom Kippur.

Based on a line in the Mishnah declaring that Purim must be celebrated in Adar II in a leap year ( Megillah 1: 4 ), Adar I is considered the " extra " month.

To this day, Adar 28th is considered the Purim of Cairo, with festivities including a special Megilah reading.

17-19 ), is read in the synagogue on the Sabbath preceding Purim, and the story of Saul and Agag in chapter 15 of I Samuel is read as the Haftarah.

Because the Lord promised to " blot out the name " of Amalek ( Exodus 17: 14 ), it is customary when the book of Esther is read at the Purim festival, for the audience to make noise whenever " Haman " is mentioned, so that his name is not heard.

Purim is celebrated by giving mutual gifts of food and drink ( mishloach manot ), giving charity to the poor ( mattanot la-evyonim ), a celebratory meal ( se ' udat Purim ), and public recitation of the Scroll of Esther ( keriat ha-megillah ), additions to the prayers and the grace after meals ( al hannisim ).

* Webberley, Helen Rembrandt and The Purim Story, in The Jewish Magazine, Feb 2008,

As a general rule, the four days above, the Biblical Jewish holidays ( Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Three Pilgrimage Festivals ) and Purim are observed as holidays in Israel.

Two Temporary International Presence in Hebron observers were killed by Palestinian gunmen in a shooting attack on the road to Hebron On March 27, 2001, 16 days after settlers had celebrated Purim with a march through the city in which some settler children were dressed up as Baruch Goldstein, a Palestinian sniper targeted and killed the Jewish baby Shalhevet Pass.

An account of the origins of Purim is also included in chapter 4 of the tenth century CE compilation of Jewish history, the Josippon.

Other reasons given for the custom: It is a way of emulating God who " disguised " his presence behind the natural events described in the Purim story, and has remained concealed ( yet ever-present ) in Jewish history since the times of the destruction of the first Temple.

In Moroccan Jewish communities, a Purim bread called Ojos de Haman or Eyes of Haman is sometimes baked in the shape of Haman's head, and the eyes which are made of eggs are plucked out to demonstrate the destruction of Haman.

On Purim eve that same year, over 100 Jewish doctors and their families were shot by the Nazis in Częstochowa.

* Haman ( Bible ), appears in the Book of Esther and is the main antagonist in the Jewish holiday of Purim

Holon also plays host each year to a street carnival in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim, the Adloyada.

Special acts of tzedakah are performed on significant days ; at weddings, Jewish brides and bridegrooms would traditionally give to charity, to symbolise the sacred character of the marriage ; at Passover, a major holiday in Jewish tradition, it is traditional to be welcoming towards hungry strangers, and feed them at the table ; at Purim it is considered obligatory for every Jew to give food one other person, and gifts to at least 2 poor people, in an amount that would equate to a meal each, for the purpose of increasing the total happiness during the month.

As indicated above, however, only two of the megillot are traditionally read in all Jewish communities, Esther on Purim and Lamentations on the Ninth of Av.

Almost all Jewish holidays, especially the Passover Seder where all present drink four cups of wine, on Purim for the festive meal, and on the Shabbat require obligatory blessings ( Kiddush ) over filled cups of kosher wine that are then drunk.