Purim commemorates God saving the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, slay, and annihilate all the Jews – from the youth to the elderly, both little children and women – on a single day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month…” as recorded in the book of Esther.

Needless to say, Haman’s plot was revealed, Mordechai was exulted, Queen Esther was favored, King Ahasuerus was moved by God, and the Jewish people were saved from destruction.

We celebrate Purim as a joyous festival every year – on the same exact day the Jewish people found relief from their enemies – as a reminder that God continues to save His children yesterday, today and forever.

What the adversary planned for evil, God used for good.

On the Gregorian calendar, Purim 2020 is celebrated from the evening of March 9th to the evening of March 11th 2020.

Is Purim a Biblical Holiday?

Yes, and no.

In Leviticus 23, God ordained “holy-days” to observe throughout our generations forever. They are commonly referred to as “Feasts” and they include Passover, The Feast of Weeks, Shavuot, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacles.

Because they were commanded by God to observe, we believe these holidays take priority over every other celebration.

Purim and Chanukah are memorial celebrations. They are a historical event that happened in antiquity and we observe them to remember the wonders of God and not fall prey to evil schemes.

In the book of Esther – if you pay attention to who is speaking – it was Mordechai and a decree by the King that commanded the Jewish people to celebrate Purim as a holiday every year (read Esther 9:20-32).

We believe it’s critically important to take note when God is the one speaking and when He isn’t.

How is Purim celebrated?

Purim is often loved the most by children! It is a multi-sensory celebration with theatre plays, delicious food and little triangle-shaped cookies, arts and crafts, and lots of noisemakers! It’s quite an experience! It’s also traditional for the children to dress up as a character from the Esther story for the day.

Although we highly recommend joining a local Messianic community to celebrate Purim with, we also believe families should celebrate holidays with each other at home. To help foster family connection, we created a Purim craft for you to do with your children!

Print it out directly from the TLV Bible App, color it with your children and wear them as masks as you re-enact the story of Esther together! (Purim download includes character masks for adults, children and their dolls!)

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Watch Episode #1: Influence over Authority

Available exclusively on the TLV Bible App, dive deeper into the book of Esther with Daniah Greenberg!

Fruit for Thought:

• Why do you think Queen Vashti refused to come when the King called her? 
• If a wife disobeys her husband in their household, what does that teach their children? 
• Does favor or authority come first?

See you on the app!