Purim is this special time of year when children of all ages put on costumes, have treats like hamantaschen, make noise and have a party. But why? What makes Purim so different and why is it set apart? What does it even have to do with Adonai?
Well, Purim comes from the story in Esther, about a girl who was born with the name Hadassah. Of course, we can go through the Megillah, the whole book of Esther to learn to the story; in a nut shell however it is the story of how a girl named Hadassah becomes Queen of Persia when she is forced to marry King Xerxes. When the villian of the story, Haman, attempts to destroy all Jews Esther, who has disguised herself and hidden that she is a Jew, manages to save her people. The story comes to completion in Esther 9:20-22, saying, Mordekhai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, both near and far, 21 instructing them to observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day, every year, 22 [to commemorate] the days on which the Jews obtained rest from their enemies and the month which for them was turned from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; they were to make them days of celebrating and rejoicing, sending portions [of food] to each other and giving gifts to the poor.
Essentially, in Esther we see and learn a few things. One, that the command given here is to the tribe of Judah, not to all of Israel, and that it is given by a man, Mordekhai, and not by Elohim. So we know that it is by no means a mandatory thing to do and entirely optional.
Second and more importantly we see that Hadassah hid who she was, she was in disguise. Using a new name, Esther, and keeping her identity secret from even her husband; and how Elohim used that for his glory to protect his people.
Thrice and most importantly we learn that this is the only book of the bible that does not explicitly mention Adonai. At all! Yet through the megillah we can see how his hand is guiding the events that take place, putting Esther in her position 'for such a time as this' as Esther 4:14 states.
So we then can piece it together. We know that we are to teach Adonai to our children in all that we do, so I find that Purim is a wonderful, fun time to do just that! I can show my children how God worked behind the scenes, how Esther was in disguise, to teach them that Adonai works even when we can't see what he is doing or understand what is going on. For that reason we use costumes and masks, we are showing the disguise that Esther took on and how Adonai was hidden. We eat hamantaschen for fun to remind us of the wicked Haman and how he was defeated along with his plot to harm Elohim's people. We make noise and celebrate! Because Adonai reigned victorious again and protected his people, we have security when we can't even feel his presence!
How special is such a message? How cherished it is to me and to my children! And so we celebrate, we take part and make it special as we can value the victory of Adonai as children of Israel. Make some noise, throw a party, have some fun, teach important lessons to those around us about God's undying love for us and what he has done for us. I quite enjoy going out in costume at the strange time of year, it inevitably opens conversation about why we are dressed up and that opens the door to teaching the gospel!
I like to throw a little Purim Party out at my home, spring is the perfect time to be playing around outside with many kids. Besides the costumes we can do crafts like making masks or noisemakers, or playing games like finding hidden treats and messages. Anything that ties back into the point of Purim. We always read the story, even if its from a shorter book for the children and they boo when Haman is mentioned. Some older kids might even put on a play of the Esther story! We also absolutely must have hamantaschen cookies, I'd feel like Purim wasn't complete without them. So here is a great recipe in closing,
Whisk 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 4 cups of whole wheat flour in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat 1 cup of soft butter and 1 cup of berry sugar in a second, large, bowl until fluffy, about five minutes. Add two eggs, one at a time, and mixing well after each. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the dry mix of ingredients, mix well to form the dough. Divide the dough in half then roll into two 3/4 inch pieces. Cover them and chill them for at least two hours for the best results. Let the first piece soften afterwards while the oven preheats to 350. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick, then cut out 3 1/2" round cookies and place them on a baking sheet. Lightly beat an egg in a small bowl and brush the egg around the edges of the cookies then fill the circles with a preserve or jam filling. Fold up the sides to make a triangle like Haman's three pointed hat and pinch the corners to hold, leaving the center open. Brush the sides with the beaten egg to ensure their hold then place in the oven. Bake the cookies, rotating them halfway through, for 18-22 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Let them cool on a baking sheet.
Enjoy, and may you have many happy Purims!
