iv, o, 6): and sundrv pravers expressive ol li'pi'iitauce, ' '. *> ■
. , . . I contended our contest, indeed our cause, hast avenged
humiliation, etc. (HlPrtO), are introduced into the , our ^^ requUed &n fche enemieg of Qur ^^ aa&
regular ritual for the day. As on all the fast-days, ||ast delivered us from our oppressors. Blessed art thou Exod. xxxii, 11-14; xxxiv, 1-11, are read as the lesson i who hast delivered thv people from all their oppressors, from the law, and Isa. Iv, G-lvi, 9, as the Ilaphtarah. If ; thou Lord of saiVatioii !" All go home and partake of a the 13th of Adar falls on a Sabbath, the fast takes place repast said t0 consist mainlv of milk and eggs. on the Thursday previous, as no fasting is allowed on j 0n the morning of the 14th of Adar the Jews again re-
this sacred day, nor on the preparation-day for the Sab- bath. Some people fast three days, as Esther enjoined at. first. On the evening of this fast- day — i. e. the one closing the 13th of Adar and introducing the 14th, as soon as the stars appear — the festival commences, when the candles are lighted, and all the Israelites resort
sort to the synagogue, insert several appointed prayers into the ordinary daily ritual ; Exod. xvii, 8-16 is read as the lesson from the law, which relates the destruc- tion of the Amalekites, the people of Agag (1 Sam. xv, 8), fhe supposed ancestor of Haman (Esi.h. iii, 1), and the Megillah or the Book of Esther as the Haphtarah, to the synagogue, where, after the evening service, the 1 uuder the same circumstances as those of the previous book of Esther, called, tear' t^o\i)v, the Megillah (nlrnp, i evening. The rest of the festival is spent in great re- the Roll), is read by the prelector. Before commencing | joicings; presents are sent backwards and forwards to read it he pronounces the following benediction : ! among friends and relations, and gifts are liberally " Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the uui- I forwarded to the poor. Games of all sorts, with danc- verse, who hast sanctified us with thy commandments, | ing and music, commence. In the evening a quaint and hast enjoined us to read the Megillah! Blessed art | dramatic entertainment, the subject of which is eon- thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast j nected with the occasion, sometimes takes place, and wrought miracles for our forefathers in those days and i men frequently put on female attire, declaring that the at this time. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King j festivities of Purim, according to Esth. ix, 22, suspend of the universe, who hast preserved us alive, sustained | the law of Deut. xxii, 5, which forbids one sex to wear us, and brought us to this season !" The Megillah is j the dress of the other. A dainty meal then follows, then read. The prselector reads in a histrionic manner, I sometimes with a free indulgence of wine, both nn- suiting his tones and gestures to the changes in the mixed and mulled. According to the Gemara (Meffilla, subject-matter. As often as he pronounces the name | vii, 2), "tenetur homo in festo Purim eo usque inebri-
PURIM
804
PURITANS
an. nt nullum discrimen norit inter maledictionem 11a- manisel benedictionem Mardocbsei."
From the canons which obtained in the time of Christ, we learn tha( the Megillah had to be written in Hebrew characters, on good parchment, and w ith ink (Mishna, Megilla, ii, 2); that if the L4tb of Adar fell on a I'm sdaj or Wednesday, the inhabitants of villages read the Megillah on the Monday in advance, or on Thursday, because the country people came to town to attend the markets and the synagogues in which the law was read and tribunals held | Megilla, i. 1 .'5); that any one was qualified to read il except deaf people, d minors (ibid. ii. I), aud that it was lawful to read ii in a foreign language t<> those who understood foreign languages (ibid. ii. 1), Bui though the Mishna allows ii i" be read in other languages, yel the Megillah is generally read in Hebrew.
I he rejoicings continue on the 15th, and the Eestival terminates mi the evening of this day. During the whole of the festival the Jews may engage in trade, or any labor, il' they arc so inclined, as there is no prohibi- tion against it. When the month Adar used to he doubled, in the Jewish leap-year, the festival was re- peated "u tin' 1 ltli and 15th nf the sec 1 Adar.
Ii would seem that the .lews wen- tempted in associ- ate the Christians with the Persians and Amalekites in tlir iiir-i^ uf tin' synagogue (see Cod. Theodos. xvi, 8, 18). Hence probably arose the popularity of the feast of l'uriin in those ages in which tin- feeling nf enmity Was -I strongly manifested between Jews and chris- tians. Several Jewish proverbs arc preserved which strikingly show the way in which Piirim was regarded, such as, "The Temple may fail, but l'urim never:" ■■The Prophets may fail, hut not the Megillah." It was .--aid thai no books would survive in tin- Messiah's kingdom except the law and the Megillah. This af- fection for the hook and the festival connected with it is the more remarkable because the events on which tin \ are founded affected only an exiled port ion of the Hebrew race and because there was so much iii them to shock i he principles and prejudices of the Jewish mind. So popular was this festival in the days of Christ thai Josephus tells lis that, "even now, all the Jew- that are in the habitable earth keep these days festivals, and send portions to one another" (Anl. xi. (i, 13), and certainly iis popularity has not diminished in the present day.