On the evenign of the 20th & the day of 3/21, Jews will celebrate Purim.  It commemorates our winning the struggle against a King who had appointed a Vice-Roy who wanted to murder all the Jews.  Queen Esther, the daughter of Mordechai the Jew, persuaded her husband to hang the Vice-Roy Haman on the gallows that Haman had set up for Mordechai, preparatory to slauhtering all of the Jews.

On this holiday, Jews dress up in costumes, exchange gifts of at least 2 kinds of food, eat 3-cornered pastries after the shape of Haman's hat, are encouraged to drink alcohol (a real no-no the rest of the year), & read tehh "Megillah," which is the story as limned in the 1st paragraph above.  Every time that the name "Haman" is spoken, everyone whirls "groggers" or noisemakers & drown out the reader's attempts to go on reading the text,  It is a VERY fun holiday!

If you have any questions, I'm all ears!  Note that I won't be online again today until at least noon.  Yours in Him, Deb

 My favorite part of this story is when Mordechai says to Esther, who knows ,you may have been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. That always encourages me when life is a little crazy. I can realize that as in Esthers life.....a Hebrew girl, brought into a culture that was not her own, facing death because of the kings decree.......how awesome, that Esther could know that G"d put her in that place. The same for us...we experience difficult things but we can know if we are trusting Him, that there is a reason, a job for us to do. Esther saved her people, her willingness to not think of herself but her people and her G'd. 

Question for Deb, how is the date of Purim decided. Is it always the same day? I cant remember at the moment. Babs 

I very much like what you have said about Esther.

Like the Gregorian calendar, the Jewish calendar (occasionally) has a Leap Year.  This year, there are 2 months called Adar.  Purim is falling on 14 Adar II this year.  The question you ask about whether there is a date that it falls upon when it's NOT a Leap Year is a very good one.  I'll phone our Jewish Community Library & ask the Reference Librarian.  I'll try to get to this sometime this afternoon.

Yours in Him, Deb

Dear Babs, The Reference Librarian at the Jewish Community Library said that when there is only one Adar in a year, Purim falls on its 14th day, that is, Purim is always in an Adar on the 14th day, but, when there is a Leap Year, it falls on the 2nd Adar instead of on the only one.  Hope that doesn't sound too confusing!  Love in Him, Deb

 Deb actually I do understand that. I had heard someone speak on it but had forgotten exactly how it worked.  IO had taken notes and then gave them to my Deaf friend. I should have made a copy for myself.Thanks, Babs

Dear Babs, You often know more about my heritage than I seem to!  My only explanation -- nto an excuse -- is that I believe that I know more about Christianity than most any Jews whom I know ....  I think that being very religious makes one open to learning about other religions -- part icularly within the larger heritage, in our case being Judeo-Christianity.  Love in Him, Deb

 Deb, A lot of what I have learned has come from interpreting for a class. I have to do some research on my own to find the correct signs for the English words. I hve alos learned some of the signs for Hebrew words.....rabbi, tabernacle, Purim, all the feast days, shofar. It is interesting.

I also heard an interesting talk about things in History that have happend on Purim. The speakers point being that, Does G'd choose certain days for events? It was fascinating.G'd punished Haman and the question being has He continued to punish those that are against His people. Going back again to the verse that says, I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you.

It is nice that we can both learn from each other .Babs

Traditionally, on the day when teh Amalekites (see Saul 15, especially verses 32-33) first assaulted the Israelites (even back when they were still called Hebrews -- see Moses' being helped by the people to keep his arm up that G-d was usign to keep the AmAlekites losing the war -- Exodus 17:8-14), that day of the latter-day Purim si seen to be on its anniversaries the day of everythign from the Inquisition & Crusades back to the fall of the First Temple & teh Second Temple. 

Boy! Oh Boy!  Do I ever wish that peace would come to the Middle East, so that the people now persecuting the modern-day Israel would instead be blessed aS those who bless the Jews.  Probably a futile thought....

In time of our parents' clear memories (assuming we were born in the middel of the 20th century), the *** (this word refers to the Germans who lost in WWII -- there seems to be a censor device to their name)  lost; in time of President Reagan, the Communists lost (except in N Korea & Cuba).  These were both true blessings for the Jews.  There have also been NUMEROUS t imes when the State of Israel haS prevailed aGainst all odds.  I hope & pray taht G-d will continue to be on our/the Jews' side.

Terrorism haS gotten to be a world-wide scourge.  Its being against the Israelis is no longer the whole tragedy.  My understanding is that to evangelical Christ ians, this is a sign of the "end-times" comiong.  Babs, would you explain this A bit?   Love in Him, Deb