Jewish Celebrations Learning Objective: To find out about the festival of Purim. www.planbee.com
Today we are going to be finding out about the Jewish festival of Purim. During Purim, Jews remember the story of Esther. Here are the main characters in the story... Esther Mordecai King Xerxes Haman www.planbee.com
Haman is the villain of this story. When the story of Esther is read during Purim, Jews will boo, hiss and bang cymbals and shakers to drown out the sound of his name. We’re going to do this today too! As we read the story, make a noise whenever you hear Haman’s name. Remember, it’s only for his name so only make a noise for a short time! Haman Who’s ready?! www.planbee.com
King Xerxes was the king of Persia. He ruled 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. King Xerxes wanted a wife. Palace officials gathered the prettiest women in the kingdom, brought them to the palace and spent a whole year giving them beauty treatments and making them look as beautiful as possible for the king. Each woman was brought before the king but it was a woman called Esther who captured his heart. He decided Esther would be his wife and queen. www.planbee.com
Esther had been brought up by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents. When Esther went to live in the palace, Mordecai warned her not to tell anyone that she was a Jew. Esther agreed because she knew that it was dangerous to be a Jew in Persia. When Esther became queen, Mordecai was made a palace official. One day, he overheard two men plotting to kill King Xerxes. He told Esther to warn the king about their plot. Esther told the king who had the two men arrested and put to death. He was very grateful to Mordecai. www.planbee.com
Some time later, King Xerxes promoted a man called Haman to be the most important person in the kingdom (beside the king himself). The king gave orders that every palace official should kneel before Haman whenever he walked through the palace gates. All the officials bowed to Haman as the king commanded, apart from Mordecai. “Why do you not kneel before Haman?” asked the other officials. “Because I am a Jew,” answered Mordecai. “I bow to no one but God.” After a few days, the officials reported this to Haman. www.planbee.com
Haman was furious when he found out that Mordecai was refusing to bow down to him. He was so angry that he decided every Jew in the land should be killed. He went to the king and said, “Your Majesty, there are people all over your lands that disobey our laws and do things their own way. It would be better if we could just get rid of them. Why not give orders for them all to be killed? We could then take all their silver and gold and add it to your treasury.” So the king gave Haman his official ring and said to him, “Do what you want with these people. You can keep their money.” Haman used the ring to stamp documents ordering all the Jews to be killed. www.planbee.com
Haman had set a specific date on which all the Jews were to be killed. Letters had been sent out in every language to every province in the kingdom. When Mordecai heard about the new law, he tore at his clothes in sorrow. He pleaded with Esther to go and talk to the king to beg him not to go through with Haman’s threat. However, there was a law saying that anyone who went to the king without an invitation would be put to death. Esther didn’t know what to do. www.planbee.com
Esther thought long and hard. Finally she decided that she must go to the king, even if it meant her own death. She dressed in her best clothes and went to see the king in his throne room. King Xerxes loved Esther and was pleased to see her. “What can I do for you?” he asked. “Just tell me and I will give you anything you want, up to half my kingdom.” “I would like to invite you and Haman to a special dinner I will prepare for you this evening,” she said. “Then I will tell you what it is I want.” So the king told his servants to go and invite Haman and they all prepared for the evening meal. www.planbee.com
Esther prepared a great dinner for King Xerxes and Haman. Haman was puffed up with pride at being the only other person invited to a private meal with the king and queen. “What is it you want, my dear?” King Xerxes asked Esther once they had all eaten. “Come to another dinner tomorrow and I will tell you both,” she said. That night, Haman went home and bragged to his family and friends about how he had been honoured by the king and queen. www.planbee.com
When King Xerxes went to bed that night, he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about the time the two men had plotted to kill him. He called in one of his palace officials and asked him to go and check the records so he could find out who had discovered the plot. When Xerxes realised that it was Mordecai who had saved his life, he wanted to honour him to say thank you. He summoned Haman. “What do you think I should do to honour an important man?” King Xerxes asked. Haman thought the king was talking about him so he suggested giving the man one of the king’s own robes and one of his horses with a fancy headdress. www.planbee.com
So that is what King Xerxes did! He ordered Haman to give Mordecai one of his own robes and horses, then parade him through the streets shouting, “This is how a king honours a great man!” Haman was mortified. That evening, Esther once again gave the king and Haman a special meal. “What is it you want? I will give you anything you desire” said the king. “Your Majesty,” said Esther. “If you really love me, you will save me and my people.” The king was shocked. “Who is trying to do this to you?” he asked. Esther replied that it was the evil Haman. www.planbee.com
King Xerxes was so angry that he stormed out of the room and went into the garden. Haman knew he was in big trouble so he begged Esther to talk to the king. When Xerxes came back in, he thought Haman was attacking Esther. He immediately ordered his guards to take him away. www.planbee.com
Haman was put to death for his evil plans and King Xerxes arranged to have Mordecai take Haman’s place as the most important person in the kingdom. He sent out new letters to all the provinces telling them not to kill the Jews. There was much dancing and celebrations from all the Jews in the kingdom that day. www.planbee.com
Purim is one of the most fun Jewish festivals. It is often celebrated like a carnival. What do you think Jewish people are celebrating during Purim? www.planbee.com
During Purim, Jews celebrate the time all Jewish people were saved from extermination thanks to Esther’s bravery. People celebrate Purim by putting on plays of the story of Esther and holding beauty competitions. It is a fun and very lively festival. Children will often dress up or wear masks too! http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Purim#/media/File:Purim_spiel_2009.jpg www.planbee.com
Mmm... delicious! Another traditional aspect of the Purim festivities are hamantaschen biscuits. These are triangular biscuits that some people say represent a three-cornered hat Haman wore. Others say it represents Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - men from the first Jewish family. The word ‘hamantaschen‘ means ‘Haman’s pockets’! www.planbee.com
Recommend
More recommend
