The Jewish festival of Purim celebrates the story of which woman in the Bible?
"Purim spiel A Purim spiel (also spelled ""Purimshpil"", , see also spiel) or Purim play is the term used to describe an ensemble of festive practices, usually a comic dramatization of the Book of Esther, the central text and narrative that describes what transpired on Purim and why it has become an important Jewish holiday. It may be an informal theatrical production, with costumed participants, often including children. In modern use, a Purim Spiel is also the use of satire or humor in publishing a ""fake"" newspaper article, blog post, television news segment, etc. during the Hebrew month of Adar."
"three regalim, it was customary for the Israelites to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple. The High Holidays (""Yamim Noraim"" or ""Days of Awe"") revolve around judgment and forgiveness. Purim (Hebrew: ""Pûrîm"" ""lots"") is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman, who sought to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. It is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, mutual gifts of food and drink, charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22). Other customs include"
"Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan. Some women pray there in the belief that Esther can work miracles. Shushan Purim falls on Adar 15 and is the day on which Jews in Jerusalem celebrate Purim. The day is also universally observed by omitting the Tachanun prayer and having a more elaborate meal than on ordinary days. Purim is celebrated on Adar 14 because the Jews in unwalled cities fought their enemies on Adar 13 and rested the following day. However, in Shushan, the capital city of the Persian Empire, the Jews were involved in defeating their enemies on Adar 13–14 and"
"Esther Esther is described in the Book of Esther as a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. In the narrative, Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, refuses to obey him, and Esther is chosen for her beauty. The king's chief advisor, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, and gets permission from the king to have all the Jews in the kingdom killed. Esther foils the plan, and wins permission from the king for the Jews to kill their enemies, and they do so. Her story is the traditional basis for Purim, which is"
"called ""Shir HaMa'alot l'David"" (""A Song of Ascents to David""), to be read on 10 Adar, accompanied by a festive meal. Brandeis' descendants in the nineteenth century were still celebrating Purim Povidl. In Karaite Judaism, 1 Shevat is celebrated as a Second Purim; this was the day (year unknown) that a Karaite leader named Yerushalmi was freed from prison. Followers of Sabbatai Zvi established a Second Purim on 15 Kislev, honoring the day in 1648 that their leader declared himself the Jewish Messiah. Second Purim Second Purim (, ""Purim Sheni""), also called Purim Katan (, Minor Purim), is a celebratory"
"Zachor, the Sabbath just before Purim, Jews read which instructs Jews: ""Remember (, ""zachor"") what Amalek did"" in attacking the Israelites. The haftarah for Shabbat Zachor, or 1–34, describes Saul's encounter with Amalek and Saul's and Samuel's treatment of the Amalekite king Agag. Purim, in turn, commemorates the story of Esther (said to be a descendant of Saul in some rabbinic literature) and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther. identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. Alternatively, a Midrash"
"haftarah for Shabbat Zachor, or describes Saul's encounter with Amalek and Saul's and Samuel's tretament of the Amalekite king Agag. Purim, in turn, commemorates the story of Esther and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther. identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. Alternatively, a Midrash tells the story that between King Agag's capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel, Agag fathered a child, from whom Haman in turn descended. The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these"
"the Megillah should also be read on the eve of Purim. Further, he obliged women to attend the reading of the Megillah, because women were also part of the miracle. The commentaries offer two approaches to the role of women in the miracle. The first is that it was a lady, Queen Esther, through whom the miraculous deliverance of the Jews was accomplished (Rashbam). The second is that the women were also threatened by the genocidal decree and therefore equal beneficiaries of the miracle (Tosafot). In the Mishnah, the recitation of a benediction on the reading of the Megillah is"
"to Purim. There is also a 16th-century recension of the ""Targum Rishon"", sometimes counted as ""Targum Shelishi"" (""Third Targum""). The book of Esther falls under the category of Ketuvim, one of three parts of the Jewish canon. According to some sources, it is a historical novella, written to explain the origin of the Jewish holiday of Purim. As noted by biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan, the book contains specific details regarding certain subject matter (for example, Persian rule) which are historically inaccurate. For example, Coogan discusses an apparent inaccuracy regarding the age of Esther's cousin (or, according to others, uncle)"
"cum Cupidine,"" ""Venus cum Adone,"" ""Dione,"" and ""Veneris Mater,"" the latter being the formal Latin term for mother. The Greek myth on the origin of the sign of Pisces has been cited by English astrologer Richard James Morrison as an example of the fables that arose from the original astrological doctrine, and that the ""original intent of [it] was afterwards corrupted both by poets and priests."" Purim, a Jewish holiday, falls at the full moon preceding the Passover, which was set by the full moon in Aries, which follows Pisces. The story of the birth of Christ is said to"
"Vashti Vashti (, ""Vashti"", Koine Greek: ""Astin"") was Queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian King Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. She was banished for her refusal to appear at the king's banquet to show her beauty as the king wished, and Esther was chosen to succeed her as queen. In the Midrash, Vashti is described as wicked and vain. She is viewed as an independent-minded heroine in feminist interpretations of the Purim story. In the Book of Esther, Vashti is"
"plans were foiled by Mordecai and his cousin and adopted daughter Esther, who had risen to become Queen of Persia. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing. Based on the conclusions of the Scroll of Esther: ""[...] that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor,"" Purim is celebrated among Jews by: Other customs include drinking wine or any other alcoholic beverage, wearing of masks and costumes, and public celebration. Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th day"
"Miriam Miriam () is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as ""Miriam the Prophetess"" and the Talmud names her as one of the seven major female prophets of Israel. Scripture describes her alongside of Moses and Aaron as delivering the Jews from exile in Egypt: ""For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses,"
"to each other's customs. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the story of Purim as told in the Book of Esther is adapted from an Iranian novella about the shrewdness of harem queens, suggesting that Purim may be a transformation of the Iranian New Year. A specific novella is not identified and Encyclopædia Britannica itself notes that ""no Jewish texts of this genre from the Persian period are extant, so these new elements can be recognized only inferentially"". The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics notes that the Purim holiday is based on a lunar calendar, while Nowruz occurs at the spring"
"for the women"" sounds similar (in Hebrew) to ""Vashti was born of two women"". Parodies of Jewish life and the world have been found as early as the 12th century. Ashkenazi culture has a variation of the Purim Torah that is acted out, often with elaborate costumes and is referred to as a Purim Shpiel, from the Yiddish for play. Eliezer Segal points to a passage in the Talmud as the first Purim Torah. In a passage on Hulin 139b, a sage offers up a series of ridiculous puns in order to find allusions to characters from the Purim story"
"Esther. It too contains the additional contextual material found in the ""Josippon"" (a chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus believed to have been written by Josippon or Joseph ben Gorion). Purim has more of a national than a religious character, and its status as a holiday is on a different level than those days ordained holy by the Torah. Hallel is not recited. Accordingly, business transactions and even manual labor are allowed on Purim. A special prayer (""""Al ha-Nissim""""—""For the Miracles"") is inserted into the Amidah prayers during evening, morning and afternoon prayer services, and"
"Woman of Shunem The woman of Shunem (or Shunammite woman) is a character in the Hebrew Bible. 2 Kings 4:8 describes her as a ""great woman"" (KJV) in the town of Shunem. Her name is not recorded in the biblical text. According to 2 Kings 4, she showed hospitality to the prophet Elisha, constructing a room where he could stay whenever he was in the town. She is childless, but Elisha prophesies that she will have a son. A year later she gives birth to a son. 2 Kings 4:18–37 relates how, when her son had grown up, he became"
"killed, the Jews do so in one city, killing 500 people but not taking plunder, and they kill around 75,000 the next day again not taking plunder, and then they feast. The Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their deliverance. Haman set the date of Adar 13 to commence his campaign against the Jews. This determined the date of the festival of Purim. Dianne Tidball argues that while Vashti is a ""feminist icon"", Esther is a post-feminist icon. Abraham Kuyper notes some ""disagreeable aspects"" to her character: that she should not have agreed to"
"Tzom Gedalia, above). While normally observed on 13 Adar, the eve of Purim, this fast is advanced to Thursday, 11 Adar, when 13 Adar falls on Shabbat. Purim (פורים) commemorates the events that took place in the Book of Esther. The principal celebrations or commemorations include: Several customs have evolved from these principal commemorations. One widespread custom to act out the story of Purim. The Purim spiel, or Purim play, has its origins in this, although the ""Purim spiel"" is not limited to that subject. Wearing of costumes and masks is also very common. These may be an outgrowth of"
"Eve Eve (; ; ; ; ; Syriac: ܚܘܐ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, she was the first woman. In Islamic tradition, Eve is known as Adam's wife and the first woman although she is not specifically named in the Quran but in the hadith. According to the second chapter of Genesis, Eve was created by God (Yahweh) by taking her from the rib of Adam, to be Adam's companion. She succumbs to the serpent's temptation to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree"
"Second Purim Second Purim (, ""Purim Sheni""), also called Purim Katan (, Minor Purim), is a celebratory day uniquely observed by a Jewish community or individual family to commemorate the anniversary of its deliverance from destruction, catastrophe, or an antisemitic ruler or threat. Similar to the observance of the Jewish holiday of Purim, Second Purims were typically commemorated with the reading of a ""megillah"" (scroll) describing the events that led to the salvation, specially-composed prayers, a festive meal, and the giving of charity. In some cases, a fast day was held the day before. Second Purims were established by hundreds"
"""Remember (""zachor"") what Amalek did"" in attacking the Israelites. The haftarah for Shabbat Zachor, or 1–34, describes Saul's encounter with Amalek and Saul's and Samuel's treatment of the Amalekite king Agag. Purim, in turn, commemorates the story of Esther and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the Book of Esther. identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. Alternatively, a Midrash tells the story that between King Agag's capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel, Agag fathered a child, from whom Haman in"
"""Elie Wiesel and the art of storytelling"": Three wandering minstrels arrive at an inn in the city of Shamgorod on the eve of Purim, a holiday which is replete with disguises and secrets, and which commemorates the defeat of a genocidal plan against the Jewish people. Unbeknownst to the three wanderers, a devastating pogrom has killed all of the city's Jews dead except for Berish the innkeeper, whose wife and sons have been murdered, and his daughter Hanna who has suffered a breakdown as a result of being raped and tortured by the murderous crowd. In the space of three"
"is metaphorical. Eve Eve (; ; ; ; ; Syriac: ܚܘܐ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, she was the first woman. In Islamic tradition, Eve is known as Adam's wife and the first woman although she is not specifically named in the Quran but in the hadith. According to the second chapter of Genesis, Eve was created by God (Yahweh) by taking her from the rib of Adam, to be Adam's companion. She succumbs to the serpent's temptation to eat the forbidden fruit from"
"ritual liturgy a phrase like ""Yom Reviʻi bəShabbat"" means ""the fourth day in the week"". The period from 1 Adar (or Adar II, in leap years) to 29 Marcheshvan contains all of the festivals specified in the Bible – Purim (14 Adar), Pesach (15 Nisan), Shavuot (6 Sivan), Rosh Hashanah (1 Tishrei), Yom Kippur (10 Tishrei), Sukkot (15 Tishrei), and Shemini Atzeret (22 Tishrei). This period is fixed, during which no adjustments are made. There are additional rules in the Hebrew calendar to prevent certain holidays from falling on certain days of the week. (See Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, below.)"
"carrying him adrift in the river, also pleading the river to deliver Moses ""somewhere he can live free"". Ofra sang the lullaby in 18 languages for the film's dubbing (including her native Hebrew). Jochebed According to the Torah, Jochebed was a daughter of Levi and mother of Aaron, Miriam and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning her life. According to Jewish legend, Jochebed is buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs, in Tiberias. She is praised for her faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The story of Jochebed"
"or the three-fold Purim, is a somewhat rare calendric occurrence that affects how Purim is observed in Jerusalem (and, in theory at least, in other cities that were surrounded by a wall in ancient times). The next occurrences will be in 2025 and 2045. When Shushan Purim (Adar 15) falls on Sabbath, the holiday is celebrated over a period of three days. The ""megilla"" reading and distribution of charity takes place on the Friday (Adar 14), which day is called Purim dePrazos. The ""Al ha-Nissim"" prayer is only recited on Sabbath (Adar 15), which is Purim itself. The Torah portion"
"Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote that Vashti ""added new glory to [her] day and generation...by her disobedience; for 'Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.'"" Some more recent feminist interpreters of the Book of Esther compare Vashti's character and actions favorably to those of her successor, Esther, who is traditionally viewed as the heroine of the Purim story. Michelle Landsberg, a Canadian Jewish feminist, writes: ""Saving the Jewish people was important, but at the same time [Esther's] whole submissive, secretive way of being was the absolute archetype of 1950s womanhood. It repelled me. I thought, 'Hey, what's wrong with Vashti? She"
"Bible. As a result of Esther's intervention and influence, Mizrahi Jews lived in the Persian Empire for 2400 years thereafter. Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their deliverance. Weisgall is one of few composers to use the character Esther as a subject, including Palestrina, Handel, and Milhaud. ""Esther"" was Weisgall’s 10th and last opera. It was considered one of his most successful works, along with ""Six Characters in Search of an Author"", which confirmed his reputation as a major 20th-century American composer. Despite the background and sources of the subject, Weisgall composed Esther with"
"of the Hebrew month of Adar (and on Adar II in Hebrew leap years that take place every two to three years), the day following the victory of the Jews over their enemies. In cities that were protected by a surrounding wall at the time of the Biblical Joshua, Purim is instead celebrated on the 15th of the month of Adar on what is known as ""Shushan Purim"", since fighting in the walled city of Shushan continued through the 14th day of Adar. Today, only Jerusalem and a few other cities celebrate Purim on the 15th of Adar. The Book"
"cup for the prophet Miriam as well as the traditional cup for the prophet Elijah, accompanied by a ritual to honor Miriam. Miriam's cup originated in the 1980s in a Boston Rosh Chodesh group; it was invented by Stephanie Loo, who filled it with mayim hayim (living waters) and used it in a feminist ceremony of guided meditation. Miriam's cup is linked to the ""midrash"" of Miriam's well, which ""is a rabbinic legend that tells of a miraculous well that accompanied the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert at the Exodus from Egypt"". Furthermore, some Jews include an"
"visited her cousin Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah. During the Byzantine period, Theodosius (530 CE.) says that the distance is five miles from Jerusalem to the place where Elizabeth lived, the mother of John the Baptist. The Jerusalem Calendar (""Kalendarium Hyerosolimitanum"") or Georgian Festival Calendar, dated by some before 638, the year of the Muslim conquest, mentions the village by name, ""Enqarim,"" as the place of a festival in memory of Elizabeth celebrated on the twenty-eighth of August. The English writer Saewulf, on pilgrimage to Palestine in 1102-1103, wrote of a monastery in the area of Ein Karim dedicated to"
"special Sabbath immediately before Purim, which commemorates the story of Esther and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther. identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. A Midrash says that between King Agag's capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel, Agag fathered a child, from whom Haman in turn descended. In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , ""aliyot"". In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashah Ki Teitzei has two"