The Festival of Purim
The festival of Purim commemorates the biblical story of Esther and how the Jews of Persia were saved. Students aged 12 and up will learn about the holiday by getting to know the story’s hero, Esther. They will read a section of the story, look at drawings on a scroll, compare Esther’s situation to that of Jews today, and learn about the holiday’s traditions. They are also encouraged to relate aspects of the story to their own lives and reflect on the idea of heroes.
Sections45 minGrades 7–8
- The Story of Esther
- Celebrate Who You Are
- Esther’s Situation
- Then and Now
- Remembering survival
- Do we need stories of heroes?
Learning Objectives
Discover
Learn about the Jewish holiday of Purim and its traditions.
Understand
Understand Esther’s situation in the story and compare it with the situation of Jews today.
Reflect
Think about how and why people hide and reveal their identity, and about heroic stories.
Apply
Interpret texts and images and discuss them in order to understand a story.
Progress
What Is Your Role As a Teacher?
Even though students will be working on individual screens, an important part of learning happens together in the classroom. As the teacher, your role is to facilitate discussions, guide students as they share their results, and supervise them as they watch and listen to media together. Poll results are displayed anonymously, while text responses show students’ names. The “Tips for Teachers” sections offer guidance on teaching strategies. The icon indicates the type of activity students are engaged in.
Discussion
Students discuss and share personal experiences. This may evoke emotional responses.
The Story of Esther
What do you think?
What do you think? Do we need stories about heroes? Vote!
The Crucial Seventh Chapter
The place: the grand halls of the Persian royal palace. The time: about 2,500 years ago. A woman is sitting on a couch, extending her arm in a gesture of strength. A man is kneeling at her feet. Nearby, another man is raising his clenched fist. This scene is the climax of a biblical story. It is chapter 7. What has just happened?
Look at the drawing to find out more.
Drawing from a scroll1
Come Up with a Title
What title would you give this drawing?
Write your title in the text box and learn more about the drawing.
Celebrate Who You Are
Take a Closer Look!
How and why do Jewish people celebrate their survival on Purim? Watch the video now to find out!
Esther’s Situation
The Scroll
If you wanted to read the story in its original form, you’d need to read it from a scroll. Normally, scrolls like this Megillat Esther contain only text. But in this case, the artist Otto Geismar added nineteen drawings of his favorite scenes. This allows you to follow the story from right to left, even if you can’t read the text in Hebrew.
Look at the illustrations and count how many of the scenes show the hero, Esther.
Unrolled, this scroll is longer than a door is tall2
How many times does Esther appear?
Esther’s Situation
The following text gives some clues about the back story of the scene in Chapter 7. This scene takes place in the women’s palace, or harem, of the Persian king, just before Esther is crowned queen. Esther has just moved in. Her uncle Mordechai stands below her window. He is the person whose advice she values most, and he is waiting to hear from her about how things are going.
Read the text and think about the situation Esther finds herself in.
The girl [Esther] pleased him and won his favor, and he hastened to furnish her with her cosmetics and her rations, as well as with the seven maids who were her due from the king’s palace; and he treated her and her maids with special kindness in the harem. Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had told her not to reveal it. Every single day Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring and what was happening to her. (Book Esther, Chapter 2, Verse 9-11)
What do you think?
Do you think Esther is in a tough situation at the Persian royal court? Vote!
What Happened Next
Soon after, Esther becomes queen. Keeping her Jewish identity a secret is a huge challenge. Things get even harder for her when messengers are sent out to all the king’s provinces carrying with this decree:
written instructions were dispatched [...] to destroy, massacre, and exterminate all the Jews, young and old, children and women, on a single day [...] and to plunder their possessions. (Book Esther, Chapter 3, Verse 13)
Haman hates the Jewish people, so he convinces the king to issue this decree. He wants to take revenge on Mordechai, who refused to bow down to him. As soon as the king’s decree arrives, the Jews of Persia begin to panic.
The Jews of Persia lamenting3
This pushes Esther to reconsider her uncle Mordechai’s advice and come up with a plan. She decides to go to the king.
Esther approaches the king4
Esther: “If it please Your Majesty, [...] let Your Majesty and Haman come today to the feast that I have prepared for him.” (Book Esther, Chapter 5, Verse 4)
At the feast, Esther reveals her Jewish identity and exposes Haman’s plot against her people. Haman tries to apologize, but the king shows no mercy to the traitor.
Then and Now
Listen Closely!
Although Queen Esther’s story took place 2500 years ago, it’s still relevant for Jews today – not just during Purim, but also in their everyday lives.
Listen to three Jewish voices from Germany and try to find the similarities and differences between their statements and Esther’s situation.
Take Notes on What You Hear
What stood out to you? Write the similarities and differences as keywords in the text box.
Reveal or hide?
Why and how do people sometimes hide aspects of themselves and their identities? Have a group discussion or write down your thoughts.
Remembering survival
Shared Significance
An important part of Purim is retelling the biblical story of Esther and the survival of the Jewish people in Persia. But there are many more traditions associated with the holiday. What do you think – how do people still remember this story after such a long time? The images show four objects that are used to commemorate the story of Purim.
Find out what they have in common.
Some rabbis say that adults should drink so much on Purim – whether in the synagogue, on the street, or at a party – that they can no longer tell the difference between “Blessed be Mordechai” (the good guy) and “Cursed be Haman” (the bad guy).
Poppy-seed pastries called Mohntaschen (poppy pockets) were common, and so it became a pun: Haman-taschen, or Haman pockets. Haman, the villain, is transformed into a delicious pastry filled with poppy seeds!
This is a noisemaker, better known in English by its Yiddish name “grager.” When the story of Esther is read during Purim and Haman’s name is mentioned, people make lots of noise to drown it out. A noisemaker is perfect for this, and it’s easy for anyone to use.
On Purim, the story is supposed to be read aloud in the synagogue, once at night and once during the day. Whenever Haman’s name is mentioned, everyone drowns it out with ratchet noisemakers, stamping their feet and booing.
Write Down Your Observations
What do you think these items have in common?
Write your answer in the text box.
Do we need stories of heroes?
Which question interests you?
Esther used her position as queen smartly to thwart Haman’s plans and save the Jews in Persia from certain death. For her bravery, she is still celebrated as a hero today, and her actions are fondly remembered.
No doubt you also know stories about heroes, whether characters on TV or real people. Pick a question!
- Do we need hero stories? If so, why? And what role do they play for people?
- What kinds of stories would you rather hear, watch, or read instead of stories about heroes?
- What does someone need to do or be to become a hero in your eyes?
- What does the phrase “celebrate who you are” mean to you?
Provide this module to students
Simply share the module with your class using the QR code or link provided.