The Many Purims Throughout the Ages

by Talia Beyidna

The Chayei Adam[1] teaches, “If one has had a miracle performed to save him, and even more so, if a city has had a miracle that saved it, they have the right to institutionalize a Purim for that city and to authorize a festive meal that would become a mitzva, in order to memorialize the wonders of Hashem.”[2] In fact, the author himself decreed on his family a day of prayer and celebration after the Vilna fort’s gunpowder magazine exploded in 1803.[3] A significant part of the neighborhood (and his house) was leveled, and yet, with Hashem’s kindness, his entire family pulled through and survived. This has become known as the Gunpowder Purim.

The Jews of Egypt commemorated an event in 1524, when the governor of Egypt threatened to massacre them because they refused to join him in a revolt against the Sultan of Turkey, who at that time ruled Egypt. On the day he vowed to murder all the Jews in Cairo right after he had finished taking his bath, he was stabbed to death in the bathhouse by one of his junior officers, and the massacre was averted. A megilla was written to tell the story and is read in Egyptian synagogues on what is known as Purim Cairo on the 28^th of Adar.

Also during the Ottoman period, the Jewish community of Chevron was saved when a bag of money mysteriously appeared in a window and enabled them to pay off an extortion fee to the Ottoman pasha. The community celebrated that salvation with Purim Taka, or Window Purim. In another incident, Chevron Jews were saved during a battle, leading to the Purim of Ibrahim Pasha.

Throughout our history, there have been many times when Hashem has performed miracles to save His people,[4] and many cities throughout the world have established their own Purims with their own unique megilla readings. These holidays have been passed through the generations, interwoven into the traditions and legacies of the rich cultures of our people. They are transformed into days of praise and thanksgiving to Hashem, with the highlight being the reading of the megilla that was written specifically for their city and miracle.

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Here are some more instances of communities that maintain in their tradition a celebration of a second Purim.[5]

One of the best known second Purims is Purim Vinz, traditionally celebrated in Frankfurt one week after the regular Purim. Purim Vinz commemorates the Frankfurt’s Jews’ salvation during the Fettmilch uprising, in which Vincenz Fettmilch attempted to exterminate the Jewish community in 1614.

Other second Purims in commemoration of salvation include Purim Ancona (Ancona, Italy, 21 Teves, 1700s); Purim of the Bandits (Gumeldjina, Ottoman Empire, 22 Elul, 1786); Purim Burghul (Tripoli, Libya, 29 Teves, 1795); Purim Narbonne (Narbonne, France, 21 Adar); Purim Rhodes (14 Adar); Purim Sebastiano (Morocco, 1 Elul, 1578); Purim Tiveria (7 Elul and 4 Kislev, 1743); among many, many more.[6]

Perhaps the most famous of these Purims is the Pourimopoulo of the Romaniote Jews of Greece.[7] Every year, on the 17^th of Shevat, they celebrate by gathering together and reading the megilla written for this miracle, known as the Megilla for the Purim Katan of Siracusa.[8] In the 1300s, their king requested of the Jewish community that, whenever he paraded through their neighborhood, they should take out the Torah scrolls to hold them and to kneel before him. However, the Jews removed the Torah scrolls and honored him with empty cases since, as faithful people, they would only bow before Hashem.

In the year 1352, a meshumad Jew by the name of Marcus went to the king and accused the Jews of dishonoring him by removing the Torahs and greeting him with empty cases. The king, in a fury, ordered a surprise inspection the following day and the slaughter of all of the Jews if Marcus’ tip proved correct. That night, Eliyahu Hanavi appeared in a dream to the caretakers of all 12 synagogues and told them to return the Torahs to the cases without telling anyone. The next day, when the king paraded by the Jewish community, he commanded his guards to open the cases. When he saw that each Torah case contained its Torah scroll, his anger fell upon Marcus, and he was hanged.

In memory of this miracle, the descendants celebrate this Purim in the synagogues founded by their ancestors at Constantinople, Magnesia, Melasso, Smyrna, Aldin, Jerusalem, and Salonika. This “Little Purim” is memorialized with a host of songs, the following among them:

Long may you live, my king! Listen to my words

The Jews are mocking you, and fake are their respects

They honor you with empty sefarim and only ask their lives

His servant Efraim, who worked for his honor,

And His right-hand man, Eliyahu, sent as His messenger

Wake up, Efraim, don’t sleep. Decorate the synagogue and get busy,

Decorate the sefarim, fill the letters; decorate them with stars, and tell no one.

They hanged Marko, like a stray dog.

Praise to G-d the Almighty, for he favored the Jews

By sending Eliyaha ?anavi for this great day.

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A miracle deserving of commemoration happened in our own time. In an attempt to commit genocide upon the three million Jews living in the USSR, Joseph Stalin devised an anti-Semitic campaign that included the Doctor’s Plot, as well as a planned pogrom and deportation of every Jewish man, women, and child to Siberia with no food or warmth. A few short weeks before his plot was finalized, on Purim, March 1, 1953, right after Stalin reaffirmed his genocide plan for the Jewish people, he was struck with a major stroke, averting our destruction.

“I will sing to Hashem as long as I live, all my life I will melodize to my G-d. May my talk be sweet to Him, I will rejoice with Hashem.”