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PURIM CELEBRATION
Messianic Rabbi
Jeremy Storch invites everyone to “come and celebrate Purim with us at
the Tabernacle!
Our congregation has
worked really hard on this year's humorous "Fiddler on the Roof"
themed Purim Spiel titled, "Whistler on the Roof!”
Since it is TRADITION
to give gifts of food as quoted in the book of Esther, we are holding
a food drive for the Branson Hills Food Pantry which serves, but is
not limited to, the Branson area.
We are asking for you
to come celebrate the Feast of Purim with us and bring canned food
items or items from a
list of items the we are pre-packing in sacks for families to help
keep the pantry full.
We've put together
some easy Purim recipes that you can make and share as we feast
together on this joyous occasion. And as we celebrate we will
remember...
They
tried to kill us...we won...let's eat!
Because it is...TRADITION!
ABOUT PURIM
Purim is one of the
most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates
a time when the Jewish people, living in Persia, were saved from
extermination.
The story of Purim is
told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are
Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her
cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther
was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of
his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and
made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew,
because Mordecai told her not to reveal her nationality.
The villain of the
story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman
hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman
plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too
familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, “There is a certain people
scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces
of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other
peoples, and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not
befitting the king to tolerate them.” (Esther 3:8) The king gave the
fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them.
Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.
Mordecai persuaded
Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was
a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the
king’s presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she
had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare
herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told
him of Haman’s plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved
and Haman was hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
So come and
celebrate this joyous feast with us!
Admission is free and a fellowship meal will follow.
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