Jerusalem gets ready for rare triple Purim: ‘The main goal is to take care of others’
In a sporadic occurrence that will next repeat itself in 2045, Jews in the capital get to celebrate a three-day holiday
Ahead of Purim 2024, members of the Ramban synagogue community, a prominent Religious Zionist shul in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, felt very ambivalent about the holiday.
“It was the first Purim after October 7, and people were experiencing a deep confusion, emotionally and also practically,” Rabbi Itiel Oron said. “They were wondering how we could celebrate and be happy with the war raging, the hostages in Gaza, so many fallen soldiers and displaced people.”
Despite the difficulties, the rabbi said the community rose to the occasion, finding a powerful balance between sadness and togetherness.
A year later, Oron, who has served as the senior rabbi at Ramban since 2019 and is a member of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, is convinced that the community will do the same as the whole city of Jerusalem prepares to celebrate a Purim Meshulash, or triple Purim.
The special version of the holiday will see its customs spread out over three days, an occurrence that happened most recently in 2021, but will next occur only in 2045.
All over the world, Purim is celebrated on the 14th of the Jewish month of Adar. However, cities surrounded by a wall at the time of Esther (5th century BCE) mark the holiday a day later. This custom aims to commemorate how the Jews of Shushan, the capital of the Persian Empire where the story of the Jewish queen is set, fought their enemies for an extra day.
“This year, the 15th of Adar falls on a Saturday, but our Sages have determined that we cannot read megillah on Shabbat,” Oron said, employing the Hebrew term for a scroll that is commonly used to refer to the Book of Esther, whose reading is one of the Purim commandments.
While usually the Jews of Jerusalem — the only city where Shushan Purim is observed in modern times — hear megillah 24 hours later than the rest of the Jewish world, this year they will flock to synagogue on Thursday night and Friday morning like everyone else.
“The Sages give two reasons for not allowing megillah reading on Shabbat,” Oron said. “The first is more formal, as they did not want Purim to take over Shabbat, which needs to maintain its status as the holy day of the week.”
“The second reason is much more meaningful,” he noted. “Purim is a time for people in need to ask for tzedaka [charity], and anyone who asks is supposed to receive. However, giving tzedaka is not permitted on Shabbat [when Jewish law bans the use of money]. Therefore, we move up the reading of the Megillah to Thursday and Friday.”
The rabbi highlighted that caring for others is an essential Purim theme. Matanot la’evyonim, or gifts to the poor, represents another of the holiday commandments mentioned in the Book of Esther.
However, contrary to what will happen elsewhere, on Friday, Jerusalemites will not say the special Purim additions to their prayers, nor do they read the Torah portion associated with Purim in the morning.
These additions, including the Al Hanissim or “On the miracles” prayer, are instead recited on Shabbat, the actual day of Shushan Purim.
“The Purim Torah portion is also read on Shabbat in addition to the regular Torah portion of the week,” Oron said.
The Torah portion covers the story of Amalekites, ancestors of the Book of Esther’s villain Haman, as they attack the Israelites in the desert.
“On Shabbat, it is also appropriate to add some food or drink to be extra happy in honor of Purim,” Oron noted.
Finally, the last two commandments of the holiday, mishloach manot (food gifts) and seudah (festive meal) are moved to Sunday.
“Sunday is a strange day,” Oron said. “Although it is not a holiday, we still perform these two parts of Purim. In both cases, we must remember that the main goal of these commandments is to take care of the other, to invite or involve people who are lonely or in need.”
According to Jewish law, each person is commanded to give a package with at least two different types of food to at least one person.
At Ramban, every year the community selects an organization that sells mishlochei manot to raise money for charity.
“We buy mishlochei manot as a community, each member participates in buying them and each member receives one,” Oron said. “This year, we chose a group that supports reservists and their businesses, and we never had such a high participation.”
The community also directly collects money for tzedakah and distributes it to needy families from the nearby Katamonin neighborhood, cooperating with the welfare municipal authorities.
“Every year we raise tens of thousands of shekels, and some volunteers go to distribute them to the families,” Oron said. “It is one of the most beautiful moments of the holiday.”
Ramban also organizes several megillah readings, including a reading for women by women in the main sanctuary and a family-oriented one.
While last year the community was supporting several families displaced from the north, in the past few months all of them have returned home.
“We miss them, but we are so happy they could go back,” Oron said.
While the situation in Israel still presents many challenges, the rabbi pointed out that the goal of the holiday is to focus on the positive.
“Purim is also about the ability to raise ourselves above current events, look at eternity, and see that there is a lot to be thankful for and to celebrate,” he said.
