* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
What are the mitzvahs that we observe on Purim? How do we celebrate Purim according to halacha?
1. On Thursday, we observe the Fast of Esther. It begins at dawn and concludes when three stars appear in the night sky.T
2. When the fast concludes on Thursday night, we read the Megillah (Megillat Esther). It is much more than the story we heard in kindergarten. We read how the destruction of our people that was ordered for that day became a holiday of deliverance and salvation instead. We can internalize this sudden reversal of fortune as we recognize our potential to transform the current trials in our own lives into triumphs.
3. On Friday morning, we read the Megillah a second time. On Friday, in addition to reading the Megillah, we observe three other Purim mitzvahs: mishloach manot or sending gifts of food to others, the minimum being two different foods to one individual; matanot la’evyonim or giving tzedakah (monetary gifts) to the poor, the minimum being the value of one meal to each of two individuals; mishteh v’simcha or holding a joyful Purim feast. In this manner we observe the four mitzvahs of Purim, all of which begin with the letter mem (Megillah, Mishloach, Matanot, Mishteh).
4. In Jerusalem and other walled cities (at time of Yehoshua’s conquest of Eretz Yisrael), we celebrate differently: on Thursday night and Friday, we read the Megillah and give tzedakah to the poor; on the following Sunday we send gifts of food to others and hold the Purim feast.
5. On Purim, during the Amidah of the three daily prayers and when saying grace after meals, we add the “al hanissim” prayer. In Jerusalem, this halacha is observed on Shabbat.
6. The main thing is to be joyful. To find true joy in what we have, in our identity as Jews, in the magnificent story of which we are a part. May we merit through joyful celebration of Purim to experience the essential message of this day - when everything flips in the twinkling of an eye and what we perceived to be a sad or even disastrous situation is suddenly transformed into a reality of boundless joy and pure blessing.
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