\u2026The Persian king Ahasuerus executed his wife for disobedience, and instead married the beautiful and modest Esther, not knowing that she was Jewish. Esther convinced the king to take her uncle Mordecai as an advisor. He was righteous, learned, and wise. As in every royal palace, intrigues and conspiracies were brewing there. And a great professional in this was Prime Minister Haman, who fiercely hated the Jews and wanted to completely destroy this people. <\/strong><\/p>\n By chance, Mordecai overheard that two of the king\u2019s servants were plotting to poison the king. He exposed the poisoners, they were executed, and a line was entered in the royal annals that Mordecai had saved the king from a sudden death.<\/strong><\/p>\n Once Haman told the king that the people of Persia were unhappy and that they needed to be given some entertainment. \u201cIt would be good if we made fun of the Jews, it would amuse the people,\u201d he said. The king agreed and gave Haman absolute power. He prepared decrees to destroy the Jewish people and sent them to all 127 provinces of the empire. The date of the massacre was Adar 13, until that day it was forbidden to open the packages with the decree. That is, everything was done very secretly.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mordecai had a prophetic dream: the prophet Elijah, a wonderful protector who always warned the Jewish people about danger, appeared to Mordecai and revealed to him Haman's criminal plan. In the morning, Mordecai asked Esther to become an intercessor for her people. The time had come to confess to the king that she was a Jew and persuade him to save his loyal subjects, because the Jews were unjustly slandered by Haman. And Esther agreed to risk her life for the sake of saving the people (the king had a tough temper!). She had only one request to Mordecai: that he tell all the Jews to fast and pray for three days until their prayer reaches heaven and G-d has mercy on them. Esther also fasted and prayed for three days, and then went to the king and told him everything.<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Haman built a gallows for Mordecai in his courtyard, 50 cubits high. Then the king had a prophetic dream: Haman was standing by his bed with a raised sword. He woke up, and Haman was there. Without a sword, but the king understood everything and ordered Haman to be hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai. The next day, Haman's 10 sons and 75 thousand enemies of the Jewish people were executed.<\/strong><\/p>\n And on the 14th of Adar, today on the Jewish calendar, the holiday of Purim is established. On this day, all Jews celebrate, have fun, send each other gifts, wear carnival costumes, masks, and generously serve the poor. And on the eve of the holiday, on the evening of the 13th of Adar, all Jews fast and read the scroll of Esther. This scroll was written by Esther and her cousin Mordecai after the Jewish people were saved.<\/strong><\/p>\n For 23 centuries, Jews have celebrated Purim. This holiday is a serious warning to the enemies of the children of Israel, the Hamans of all times. For Jews, this joyful, wonderful day serves as an eternal source of courage and faith, devotion to G-d.<\/strong><\/p>\n Although not as crowded as usual, we also celebrated the Purim holiday. We congratulated our clients on the holiday with postcards, treated them to \u201cAman\u2019s Ears\u201d cookies, and presented them with holiday food packages. In one of the photos, you can see Hesed volunteers preparing to deliver Purim gifts to inactive wards. And for the participants of the \u201cLet\u2019s Connect!\u201d project, we organized an entire concert, prepared by our versatile volunteers! We offer you a fragment of this cheerful life-affirming event.<\/strong><\/p>\n We do not doubt for a moment that the current chief Aman will suffer the same fate that befell his historical counterpart. God grant that it may happen as soon as possible\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Hag Purim sameah, haverim! Happy Purim, friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hesedbesht.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/\u0438\u0437\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435_viber_2022-03-14_12-46-20-260-300x169.jpg\")
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