by Christina Boerma

Created on: December 06, 2007

Throughout the book of Esther, "the name of God is not there, but His finger certainly is", wrote Matthew Henry the Bible scholar. His providence is obvious quietly, but sovereignly at work in the lives of men and women.

In order to understand the Biblical background, it's important to read the whole book of Esther.

Purim is the plural of the Hebrew word "pur", which means lot used to determine something by chance. It refers to Haman's use of lots to choose the date for his intended destruction of the Jews.

The main "players" in this Biblical Story:
Ahasuerus (Hebrew) and Xerxes are the same person. The Persian king reigned from 486 till 465 BC over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.
Vashti: the king's beautiful wife, who wouldn't compromise her integrity and thereby lost her crown.
Haman: an anti-Semitic Persian who received influential authority from the king.
Mordechai the Jew: a righteous person who adopted the orphan Hadassah.
Hadassah: her Persian name is derived from "Ester", meaning, star, dazzling or brilliant one.

Although Purim is a minor festival from a religious point of view (it's not mentioned in the Torah as a Feast of the Lord), people celebrate it with fervor.

Until 2 AD, Purim was not so much observed. The holiday was called "the Day of Mordechai", or "day of Protection". People observed the holiday by reciting the story of the Megillah (Scroll) in their homes and by exchanging gifts.

The Talmud describes public readings around the time of the second Temple. The priests were instructed to stop their service in the Temple and listen to the recitation.
But with the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, this practice ended as well.

When the book of Esther became canonized and synagogues appeared, public readings in Hebrew and other languages became widespread.

Between the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 5th century AD, the reading of the Hebrew Megillah was universally accepted.

The liturgy was the same, but the drama, color, merrymaking and pageantry varied from country to country.

During the middle Ages the celebration was enlivened by masquerades, jesters, musicians and actors.

Noisemaking and selecting a Purim queen or king is traced to 14th Century France.
Purim plays originated from the 16th century.

In 1615 in Germany, a local baker pronounced himself the "new Haman" and organized an attack against the Jews of the town. Although they fought back, they were driven out of town, having to leave their possessions behind. A few months later,

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