on Monday night and Tuesday, Jews all over the world will celebrate the festival of Purim. Among others, they will hear the Book of Esther twice, exchange food gifts (mishloach manot) and give charity to the poor. But the holiday presents many aspects that are significantly less known.
- WHICH DAYS CAN PURIM FALL ON?
The Megillah explicitly states that Haman had chosen the 13th day of the month of Adar for the annihilation of the Jews (Esther 9:1). But the holiday of Purim commemorates the victory and the cessation of the killing of the enemies of the Jews which was celebrated by the Jews of Persia on the 14th of Adar (Esther 9:17).
But in Shushan, the killing of the enemies, most notably the sons of Haman, continued for an additional day. So the Jews of Shushan celebrated the following day; on the 15th of Adar (Esther 9:15), known as Shushan Purim. Shushan Purim is still observed in cities that were walled in the days of Joshua, most notably Jerusalem.
But not always. When the 15th falls on Shabbat, Shushan Purim is only partially observed on the 15th because the megillah of Esther is not read on Shabbat. In addition, the Purim feast on Shabbat would be indistinguishable from the regular Shabbat meals which would dishonor both the Shabbat and the holiday. Observance is therefore extended to the 16th, making for a three-day Purim.
Indeed, the Mishna concerning the holiday begins by saying, “The Megilla is read on the eleventh, on the twelfth, on the thirteenth, on the fourteenth, or on the fifteenth of the month of Adar, not earlier and not later.”
The problem of a Shabbat Purim is so troublesome that when the sages established the Hebrew calendar, they arranged it in such a manner that the 14th of Adar would never fall on Shabbat.
- PURIM IS CELEBRATED ONE DAY LATER IN THE HEART OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
As explained above, Purim is celebrated one day later in cities that had walls when the Jews entered Israel after leaving Egypt. While most people are aware that Shushan Purim (as it is called) is celebrated one day later in Jerusalem, few people know that a small group of Jews hold morning prayers and a reading of Megillat Esther at the Shalom al Israel Synagogue in Jericho on Shushan Purim. The Jericho synagogue stands on a mosaic that dates to the late 6th or early 7th century CE and was discovered in 1936. A house was built on top of the mosaic to preserve it.
