Erev Shabbat Jewish Blogging
Mar. 10th, 2006 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gnomiThis week, Purim!
Purim this year falls Monday night, 13 March, through Tuesday, 14 March. But Purim is actually just the culmination of a period that starts this Shabbat with the reading of Parshat Zachor and its associated haftarah. In the maftir, B'nei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) are instructed to remember what Amalek did as B'nei Yisrael left Egypt, attacking them and especially targeting the weak and the young. In fact, there are two mitzvot in Zachor -- one to remember what Amalek did and a second to wipe out the memory of Amalek.
This wiping out is why, on Purim, we use graggers every time the name of Haman (who is descended from Amalek) is read from Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther).
Monday is the Fast of Esther, a dawn-to-dusk fast that ends at the time of the reading of the Megillah on Monday night. And on Tuesday, we hear the megillah again, give gifts of food to one another (mishloach manot, and have a festive meal. As part of the ritual meal, we are commanded to get to a state such that one cannot tell the difference between "Aror Haman" (cursed is Haman) and "Baruch Mordechai" (blessed is Mordechai). Many people interpret this as a commandment to get drunk. Because I cannot drink, I get to that state by -- when possible -- taking a nap.
And right after Purim, many of us swing into the beginnings of Pesach (Passover) preparations. Which will be the topic of a future post, most likely.
Shabbat shalom!
Purim this year falls Monday night, 13 March, through Tuesday, 14 March. But Purim is actually just the culmination of a period that starts this Shabbat with the reading of Parshat Zachor and its associated haftarah. In the maftir, B'nei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) are instructed to remember what Amalek did as B'nei Yisrael left Egypt, attacking them and especially targeting the weak and the young. In fact, there are two mitzvot in Zachor -- one to remember what Amalek did and a second to wipe out the memory of Amalek.
This wiping out is why, on Purim, we use graggers every time the name of Haman (who is descended from Amalek) is read from Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther).
Monday is the Fast of Esther, a dawn-to-dusk fast that ends at the time of the reading of the Megillah on Monday night. And on Tuesday, we hear the megillah again, give gifts of food to one another (mishloach manot, and have a festive meal. As part of the ritual meal, we are commanded to get to a state such that one cannot tell the difference between "Aror Haman" (cursed is Haman) and "Baruch Mordechai" (blessed is Mordechai). Many people interpret this as a commandment to get drunk. Because I cannot drink, I get to that state by -- when possible -- taking a nap.
And right after Purim, many of us swing into the beginnings of Pesach (Passover) preparations. Which will be the topic of a future post, most likely.
Shabbat shalom!
