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Purim for Kids

NEW VIDEO FOR PURIM 2012

Eli Celebrates Purim

An Israeli boy dresses up like an elephant and goes out to celebrate Purim.

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There are four mitzvot of Purim - 1) reading the Megillah - Megillat Esther, 2) the Seudat Purim - having a big feast to celebrate festival, 3) Mishloach Manot - sending gifts of food to our friends and 4) Matanot L'evyonim - giving gifts to the poor.

In Megillat Esther we read how, with Hashem's help, Mordechai and Esther stopped Haman's wicked decree against the Jews. We read the megillah to show our gratitude to Hashem for His kindness to the Jewish people. Everyone has to hear every single word of the megillah to complete the mitzvah in the correct order so we have to make sure we don't talk during it or disturb anyone that is listening to it otherwise you won't fulfill the mitzvah or, even worse, stop someone else from fulfilling it! We have to hear the Megillah twice on Purim - once in the night and once in the day.



NOW UPDATED FOR PURIM 2012



The mitzvah of Mishloach Manot, sending gifts of food to our friends, increases friendship and unity amongst Jews. We do the mitzvah by sending at least two types of foods to another person that are ready to be eaten, that means they can be eaten straight away without any cooking. You can also send drinks.

It is also a special mitzvah to give gifts to the poor on Purim. This mitzvah is called matanot l'evyonim. We do this mitzvah by giving gifts to at least two poor people, the gift should be either money or food.

All the mitzvot. apart from the first Megillah reading have to be done during the day!

In cities which had a wall around them during the time of Yehoshua (over 3000 years ago!), Purim is celebrated on the 15th Adar Sheni, as it was in Shushan, where the Purim story happened. One city that celebrates Shushan Purim is Jerusalem. In Shushan, the Jews beat their enemies and celebrated their victory one day later than in all other places. All the mitzvot of Purim which are kept on the 14th Adar in other places, are kept in Jerusalem on Shushan Purim.