Background Information: The Story of Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the deliverance of Persian Jewry by Queen Esther. The Bible tells us that Ahasuerus, the King of Persia, selected Esther, a Jewish girl, from amongst the most beautiful maidens of his kingdom to be his new wife. But Esther keeps her ethnicity a secret. She had been raised by her cousin Mordecai, who later got wind of a plot to assassinate the king. Mordecai told Esther of the conspiracy, and she, in turn, informed the king.In the meantime, the mood in the Persian Empire was turning against the Jews living within its borders. Cruel Haman became the king’s closest advisor. Haman then demanded that all subjects bow down to him, whereby Mordecai’s refusal to obey is used by Haman as grounds to petition the king to allow him to murder all the Jews living in the kingdom. The king agrees. Once again, Mordecai dispatches Esther to persuade the king to revoke this decree. Esther goes before her husband and tells him the truth: of how Mordecai alone was responsible for thwarting the assassination plot, as well as of her own Jewish descent. Recognizing that Esther risked her life to make this revelation and that he owed his own life to Mordecai, the king became convinced of their loyalty.
The plan to murder the Jews was foiled. Instead, Haman himself was executed and Mordecai became the king’s new advisor. The Persian Empire’s Jews were subsequently granted additional rights. The story of Purim as related in the Biblical Book of Esther is retold every year—traditionally in Yiddish. Even in concentration camps, Jews tried to carry on this tradition. The name Purim (Hebrew: lots) refers to the date on which the murder of the Jews was to take place, which was determined by lot. The megillah—a scroll containing the Book of Esther—is read aloud on Purim. Whenever Haman is mentioned, the assembled children use noisemakers to literally drown out the name of the evildoer who planned to commit genocide. His name has thus become synonymous with hostility towards the Jews.
