Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-03-15
PURIM.
Tho Jewish Day of Mirth, Fun and
JoI1fty.

SOhhA
According to Israelitish custom the 15tl
day Of March is observed with festivitie,
Of all kinds, 1t is q day as dear to thu
Jews as the Fourth Of July is to Ameri
cans and the 18th OF March to Irishmen,
concentrating, as it does, an event in
their history, which ennobled the Hebrew
Persian Queen. Esther, who, at the insti.
cation of Mordecai, saved her people from
massacre. In past years our Jewish popu-
lation celebrated the day int BETTING pub
lie manner, with q masquerade, ball or
party, but, so far as we could learn, no
preparations have been made for any social
event this evening, Of either q private or
public nature, which is no doubt due to the
fact that the Jewish population of Eureka
has been decimated during the past year
from one cause or another, notfrom a want
OF enthusiasm or recollection of those re-
naming with us. In America, however,
the day is not so generally observed as
among the Israelites Of Europe, where
every form Of evening pastims, such as
tableaux, b~urlesques, cantatas, dramas and
stories, are given to p~erpetuate the mem DRY
Of the good Queen. One reason perhaps is
that 30 little has been done to instruct the
rising generation of the Jews in this coun-
try in matters appertaining to their his
tory. Very few, we are told by a Jewish
writer, know anything about the book on
Esther, the Hebrew Persian Queen"
and to this lack of information may, to
some extent, be attributed the n~on-observ-
ance Of the day in some quarters. OF late
yaara alan anpoa Ghriafian l;v,,aa 49,.
proclaimed the Book of Esther q myth,
or rather the romantic incidents upon
which the beautiful story il founded.
Jewish writer's meet these skeptrs with the
assertion that the Book OF Esther is
not found in Arabic, nor in n
other ancient Oriental language,
but the Hebrew, syriac and Chaldee,
and that ancient copies, differing
more or less from each other, and from
the Hebrew text, are found in the Greek
and Latin. st may be true" says a He
brew writer, that there is no prophecy in
this book-that there is no mention in it
OF the names or attributes Of Jehovah, nor
even Of prayer or sacrifices to him. But
the singular fact that the name OF God
does not occur in the book, does not seem
to have authorized some OF the Fathers to
reject it from the ano It is certainly
one of the most striking illustrations of a
experimenting Providence to be found in
any Of the sacred narratives. And may
not this omission have been designed?
Perhaps the purpose was to prove to the
Gentiles the fact that the God of the Jews
was the Supreme Ruler of the Universe,
without exciting their prejudices by a dis
play Of his name. The narrative tells its
own story, and carries with it its own evil
dences. 1t implies clearly and necessarily
the existence and presence of the God OF
Abraham. The Hebrews have never denied
its authenticity. They esteem it every
where, even to this day, as one Of the
best Of their holy writings. They call it,
by the way of eminence, 'Megillah'-that
is, the volume. And SOM of them believe
that whatever destruction may attend
their other sacred writings, that the Pen
tateuch and the Megilloth Esther will al
ways be preserved by a special Providence.
They have always placed it on a level with
the law of Moses. The Jewish celebration
OF Purim, to commemorate the deliverance
from the massacre intended for them by
Haman, historically proven to have had
its rise at that time, and its observance,
from that time to the present day. by the
jews in every part of the world. is n Of
the strongest proofs that can be given of its
historical statements. 1t we're certainly
difficult to show how a national festival
like Purim could have arisen, If it did not
perpetuate a reality. Historically we have
Just as much proof of the truth Of the his
tory of the Book of Esther, as we have Of
the truth Of the subject matters commem-
grated in the anniversary of the American
Declaration Of Independence. There is
nothing in the history itself which shows it
to be a fiction, or q mere invention Of a
novel writer. Queen Esther's history is an
Oriental romance, and yet it is a literal
truthful history"