The Book of Esther

The next Jewish holiday this calendar year is Purim and it is considered a minor holiday. it is a very festive time for kids of all ages to enjoy. The entire book of Esther (Hadassah in Hebrew meaning myrtle, but her Persian name is Esther-derived after the goddess Ishtar where the name Easter comes from) is read from a scroll known in Hebrew as megillah (a small scroll of parchment on one roller). As the story is read, at every mention of the name of Haman people start booing and making noises with groggers or anything else just to drown out his name. The reason for this comes from Exodus 17:14 where it reads: “…I will utterly blot out the remembrance of the Amalek from under heaven.” Haman’s descendants were believed to be of the Amalekites.

The Story
In the story Haman cast his pur, or lot, to determine on which day the Jewish massacre was to take place. This is where we get the name Purim (Esther 9:18-28) because it is the plural form of pur meaning lots.

The festival occurs on the 14th of Adar, which usually occurs around February-March.  In Jerusalem it is celebrated on the 15th of Adar. This is because the story takes place in the walled city of Shushan, located in Persia, and according to the Mishna (Megilla 1:1) all walled cities are to celebrate it on this day instead. This is why the day after Purim. When there is a leap year, there is a second month of Adar added to the calendar and the Purim is always celebrated in the second month of Adar.

The main event of the story is set in Persia no earlier than 465BC. The story recounts how a seemingly unrelated series of events spun together to save the Jewish people from annihilation. This was all because of Esther’s bravery and faith to speak before the king to save her own people.

God's Hand
Esther is the only book in the Bible where the name of God is never mentioned. Yet, we see His hand working through the entire book, as Mordecai (Esther's Uncle) believes God till the very end. If we look at the Hebrew the name of God is found in four places as an acrostic. Two of these occurrences are written backward in 1:20 and 5:13 quoted by gentiles (Memucan and Haman). The other two are written forward, and are spoken by Jewish people in 5:4 and 7:7 (Esther and the author of the book). There is one more acrostic which mentions the Lord's name as I Am, and is spoken by King Ahasuerus in 7:5.

What We Eat

One of the most enjoyable foods that we have are what are known as Hamantaschen cookies.  These three-sided cookies are named after Haman and the most common belief is that it represents his hat.  Another thought is that it is his ears.  Either way, they are very tasty and can be filled with pretty much any kind of fruit you like.  My wife buys different jellies each year for them.

Also, because this is such an enjoyable time of year, we have a large celebration with various snacks.  Another thing that we personally enjoy is making what is known as Esther's Fruit Punch.  It is various fruits filled with sparkling grape juice and is very delicious.

How We Celebrate It
Finally, we reenact out the story of Esther.  So we have someone narrate the story (actually ours is a play that someone put together for me, and is the Reader's Digest version of the book of Esther) while we have everyone play different characters, each wearing masks and/or costumes for their appropriate parts.

We try to make it funny and enjoyable.  When Esther is mentioned sometimes we have people bow or curtsy, or we even had them say "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" like a breath of fresh air has entered the room.   At the name of Mordecai we cheer, but at the name of Haman we do anything and everything we can to drown out his name. This is because he was so ant-semitic.

Hope that you can enjoy it yourself.  Have fun with either some friends or your kids.  Either way, just have fun.

Until next time, Shalom.

Keeping the Feasts

Like the farmer who has a yearly cycle of sowing and reaping, the same is true with the biblical feasts that God has set into place. In Leviticus 23 it clearly lays out for us the 7 feasts that the Lord wants us to continually celebrate. According to verses 14, 21, 30 and 41 the Lord mentions that these feasts are to be kept throughout all generations. Not only does he tell us to keep it ongoing, but he also tells us when he wants us to celebrate it.

There are 4 words that the Lord uses when talking about these times in reference to the feasts:

1. Appointed (Mo-ahd)
2. Convocations or gatherings (Mik-rah)
3. Feast or festival (Chag)
4. Holy (Ko-desh)

Mo-ahd: an appointment or a meeting at a set time. Yet however, its root meaning is to repeat. In other words, it is a meeting that is to be repeated every time that appointment comes up at a set time.

Mik-rah: a calling together for a meeting as an assembly. The root meaning is to call together for an event or a reading such as from a scroll. The King James describes it as a dress rehearsal.

Chag: an outside gathering together for a festival. This is usually in the form of a circle for dancing and feasting. It can also represent that the festival is to be cyclic as if to be kept yearly.

Ko-desh: to be set apart for a special purpose. It is also translated as holy and precedes the word convocation throughout the 23rd chapter.

Putting these four words together in context with the scriptures, they reveal to us that God wants us to come together and meet at the same time every year for a holy gathering. We are to have lots of feasting, rejoicing and dancing at them. Then, when Yehshua returns we will know how to celebrate the great Passover meal with him in a very festive way.

In Daniel 7:25 the Lord is talking about how the devil wants to change these appointed times. Which we see has already happened with Christmas and Easter. If we keep the yearly cycles of celebrating the biblical feasts then there are blessings for us in doing so. The other feasts only give us the blessing of seeing family and friends. In Zechariah 14:17-19 we see how the blessings will not follow the people if they do not honor God on His holy appointments. This was not just for the Jewish people, but He said nations. The Hebrew word for nations is goyim, which refers to the gentiles, or the non-Jewish people.

In Deuteronomy 28 we see the blessings and the cursings. If we diligently obey His voice and His commandments then all the blessings shall follow us.

Until next time shalom.