Six hundred years before the Christian era, most Jews were slaves in Persia. The Persian prime minister Haman persuaded King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) to let him destroy the empire’s entire Jewish population. The king did not realize that his own wife, Esther, was Jewish until she pleaded with him to spare her people. The Book of Esther is read aloud in synagogues on the eve and morning of Purim, and listeners drown out every mention of Haman’s name by jeering and stamping their feet. Purim is also a time for sharing food with friends and for charity to the poor. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary