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Introduction to the book of esther term paper
Introduction to the book of esther term paper
Introduction to the book of esther term paper
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Response Paper
Purim
Purim is the Jewish holiday commemorating how the Jews of Persia escaped total annihilation thanks to the bravery of Queen Ester. Purim occurs on the 14th of Adar, (or in certain walled cities like Jerusalem, the 15th of Adar.) which this year falls on the 21st of March.
The story of Purim is recounted in the Book of Esther, found in the Hebrew Bible. Set in Persia roughly 2,300 years ago, the story tells of how a series of events came together to save the Jewish people from genocide.
The Persian empire is taken over by King Achashverosh and to mark the three year anniversary of his reign, Achashverosh throws a huge six-month party. Achashverosh brags that Queen Vashti is the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom, and on the last day of the celebration he summons her to dance for the crowd. Vashti refuses the king's request and the King has her killed. Now Achashverosh needed a new queen and wanted a woman even more beautiful than Vashti, so all throughout Persia officials are appointed to select beautiful candidates to succeed Vashti as queen. In the capital city of Persia, Shushan, a Jewish Orphan by the name of Hadassah lived with her uncle Mordechai. Mordechai was the leader of the Jews, and when Hadassah was selected by the kings officials, Mordechai told her "Don't be afraid. Go with them. Do not tell them you are a Jewess. Tell them your Persian name -- Esther. God will watch over you!? Upon her meeting with the King Ester is appointed Queen and every day Mordechai stood outside the palace gates, waiting for word from Ester.
One day outside the palace, Mordechai over heard two men plotting to kill the king. He warned Esther, who told the King, and the two men were caught and hung. Although it was re...
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...seeds. The most popular explanation of why Jews eat this three cornered pastry on Purim is that Haman wore a three-cornered hat and eating an image of Haman?s hat is a way to symbolically destroy his memory.
There are four main points to the Purim celebration. First, to read the story of Purim in the evening and the next day, and whenever Haman is mentioned to make as much noise as possible to block out his name and memory. Second, is to send gifts of food to at least one friend or relative, because Purim is a time of love and friendship between Jews. Third, giving gifts of money to the poor because Purim is a time or sharing and helping people. Fourth is the special holiday meal eaten on Purim afternoon, and a little extra point is the dressing up, to celebrate how everything can turn upside-down and into something else, and nothing is exactly what it seems to be.
The author notes that the King at an early age relied mostly on his mentors for knowledge and advice, notably two of which were councils of elders. The King’s entire life and on matters of decisionmaking was under the influence of these elders and from members of the court. The effects of overreliance on the need to make a decisive decision is witnessed when the moment to plan the escape, the King ponders and waste a lot of time in thinking and going over the idea of evading. The King took much time that Marie and Fersen had already begun planning for the escape long before the king had already given the consent for such an idea. Marie’s plan was underway and was schedule on May but the King’s nature of indecisiveness led to his postponing of the due date. Timothy Tackett notes down that the King does not just postpone the escape once but six times. These acts of postponing the escape finally end as he decides on the twentieth of June as the eloping day. The author yet again argues that if the family had left earlier on agreed dates their chances of a safe gateway would be higher and less risky. The King’s decision on postponing and prolonging the escape paved way for a chance that led to the conspiracy to be
Christmas is filled with traditions and events, but how did they start and why do we still do them? Traditions are often passed down throughout generations for centuries, but the origins are often unknown or forgotten.
Jewish Historical Origin/ Time of Year The Jewish religious tradition of Rosh Hashanah celebrates the birthday of the world and a time of divine judgment. It is then followed by another holiday, called Yom Kippur, ten days later. These two traditions are called the High Holidays. Rosh Hashanah encapsulates four major and interconnected themes, which are: The Jewish New Year, The Day of Shofar Blowing, The Day of Remembrance, and The Day of Judgment (Layton, 2014).
Few people can confidently say why the United States celebrates Christmas on December 25. And I imagine even fewer people know why we give gifts, or why we pucker up when we find ourselves under some mistletoe. The answers to these questions are under a thick layer of rich human and mythological history. For me, the majority of these discoveries were absolutely shocking—Christ was never in Christmas.
Esther was a woman of principle who displayed great hope in a highly patriarchal period. Despite being a woman in a time where women were marginalized, she was able rise to a position of power and save her people from annihilation. She did this through the use of her beauty, her wits and her courage, attributes that at that time were greatly valued in a woman. As a female her story has much to offer to women of any faith, but particularly to a Jewish Women. Though her historical circumstances were very different
Pesach begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. It is the
In relation to the other canonical books of the Old Testament, the book of Esther of the Hebrew version contains unique theological figure, which involves the removal of the name of God and the direct absences of various important religious elements essential to a Jewish or Hebrew religious writings. The book of Esther is never referred to either in the New Testament nor the Dead Sea Scrolls, neither did the early church fathers rarely even referred to it in their writings. The book of Esther seems to be “anthropocentric,” and other than fasting there does not seem to any references or any implied points to the religious perspectives on God, Law, covenants and many other important themes that play central role in the Bible as a whole. Due to the lack or deliberate omission of God and various other religious references from the book, scholars have approached and viewed the book as doubtful and question the validity and the canonicity of the book. The book is supposed to contain some theological references and objectives therefore the book is understood by Biblical scholars in light of the commencement of the festival of Purim. Biblical scholars have approached the book with hesitance and have not given a clear and concise understanding on the much neglected and misunderstood theology of the book of Esther. Biblical scholars throughout the ages have regarded the book of Esther as questionable in moral, religious, ethical and cultural values.
Carnival season begins on January sixth while the actual date of Mardi Gras varies every year. Mardi Gras Day is the "Fat Tuesday" before Ash Wednesday and Lent. Ok, you will need to know a bit about its' history. The origin of Mardi Gras can be traced back to Rome in the middle ages w/ the welcoming of Spring. In 1872, the appearance of Rex as the King of Mardi Gras brought about the presentation of Carnivals' colors, flag and anthem. The colors of Mardi Gras are purple , gold, and green. While they were probably chosen simply because they looked good together, a meaning was assigned to each of them by King Rex. Purple represents "justice", Green stands for "faith", and Gold signifies "power". A group known in the 1830's as the Comus organization established several Mardi Gras traditions such as the word "Krewe" which is the name for the parades members. Comus also chose
courage. Esther had so much courage to stand up for the jews. The ironic to this book is dramatic because
Also during this time period was the baby boom, every woman was having babies. Thus, the pressure was on Esther to get married and have children. She was pressured by society to be like everyone else and settle down like everyone else had.
Fox, Michael V. Character and Ideology In The Book Of Esther. Columbia, SC: University of
Generalizing broadly, the holiday's activities consist of families (1) welcoming their dead back into their homes, and (2) visiting the graves of their close kin. At the cemetery, family members engage in sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with flowers, setting out and enjoying a picnic, and interacting socially with other family and community members who gather there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of the dead return and are all around them. Families remember the departed by telling stories about them. The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuous, usually featuring meat dishes in spicy sauces, chocolate beverages, cookies, sugary confections in a variety of animal or skull shapes, and a special egg-batter bread ("pan de muerto," or bread of the dead). Gravesites and family altars are profusely decorated with flowers (primarily large, bright flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums), and adorned with religious amulets and with offerings of food, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.
The book of Esther tells of a courageous young woman who uses her mind to please God. She becomes the wife of a great king and allows for protection of her own people, the Jews. Esther is a great role model for women of modern day times because of her strength, nobility, and honesty. She portrays a woman with power that most women of that day did not have. The story of Esther has empowered women of all backgrounds and will continue to do so well into the future.
Semana Santa is primarily to celebrate the death of Christ. They take this week to commemorate his death and to confess their sins. They value the thought of suffering and sacrifice. The holiday was started in 1521 when Marqués de Tarifa came back from the Holy Land to Spain. He established the Via Crusis or Stations of the Cross. This started the celebrations of Semana Santa and the holiday has evolved greatly over the years.
Some Easter customs have come from this and other pre-Christian spring festivals. Others come from the Passover feast of the Jews, observed in memory of their deliverance from Egypt. Formerly, Easter and the Passover were closely associated. The resurrection of Jesus took place during the Passover. Christians of the Eastern church initially celebrated both holidays together.