Purim

Bs”d Purim 5782 The Essence of a Nation, the Essence of a Holiday Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites In

Children from the Talmud Torah “Kehilat Yaakov” from the Neve Yaakov neighborhood in Jerusalem came to the Western Wall Plaza dressed as Levites. Happy Purim!

Purim 5781

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites

Purim, the happiest day in the Jewish calendar, marks historic events that took place 2,500 years ago in the Persian empire. In short: A senior minister in the empire quarreled with another minister.  The problem was that one was from the seed of Amalek and the other was a Jew, making the quarrel both historic and religious.  Mordechai, the Jewish minister, refused to bow down to Haman, the Amalek minister, leading to Haman deciding to destroy the entire Jewish nation.  This planned genocide had already gotten the approval of the Persian king, Achashverosh, and letters about it were sent throughout the empire. Only due to the involvement of Queen Esther, who was a relative of Mordechai’s, did the Persian king change his mind, hang Haman, and allow the Jews in the empire to defend themselves.