Shushan Purim

It is certainly one of the most fun holidays, with children – young and old – dressing up and thronging the streets to deliver gifts of food to their friends.

The Jews defended themselves against the Persians who rose up against them on the 13th of Adar of the Hebrew month and were victorious.

In Shushan, the Persian capital, however, the battles continued throughout the 13th and 14th of Adar, and the celebrations there only happened on the 15th of Adar.

Therefore, to this day, Jews around the world celebrate Purim on the 14th of Adar. But Jews who live in cities that were walled – like Shushan – in the days Joshua led the Children of Israel into the Promised land, celebrate what is called Shushan Purim on the 15th of Adar.

The only city known with certainty to have been walled at that time is Jerusalem. (There is some question about Tiberias and Yaffo, and thus these cities celebrate both, Purim and Shushan Purim.)

This means Jerusalemites get to celebrate a day after everyone else. Not surprisingly, revelers pour in from surrounding cities, in order to enjoy two days of festivities.

Occasionally, we even get a three-day Purim, when the 15th of Adar falls on a Saturday. Some of the commandments of the day cannot be preformed on a Shabbat, so the festivities are spread out from Friday through Sunday.

There are four commandments on Purim:

• To hear the Book of Esther read out loud in its entirety once in the evening and once in the morning.

• To give gifts and charity to a minimum of two needy individuals.

• To send gifts of food to at least one friend. There must be at least two kinds of ready-to-eat foods, and the gift has to be given during the day. One traditional food is Hamantash, a three-cornered, filled pastry. Try our hamantaschen recipe here.

• To have a festive meal.

In addition, the custom is for everyone to dress up and make merry. The streets are thronged with adorable little children in costumes and people going around delivering elaborate gifts of food to friends. (If you have to drive anywhere, expect it to take twice as long as usual!)

It has also become a popular day to collect money for charity. Young groups of students go from door to door, singing, dancing or juggling in exchange for donations for schools, needy children and other philanthropic organizations.

This all makes for a wonderful atmosphere of good cheer and good will, much silliness and lots of fun.

To celebrate Purim at home, visit Chabad.org’s Purim Central, where you’ll find step-by-step holiday guides, kids' activities, recipes and games.


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