The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-11
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JEWISH FESTIVAL. OF PURIM, THE
 HEBREW CARNIVAL, BEGINS TONIGHT

KK TITH THE SETTING of the sun tonight w the Jews of the world will begin the celebration of the festival of Purim which has been called ''the Hebrew Mardi Gras, 2 be- cause of the carnival spirit which marks it's observance. Purim falls on the fourteenth of the month Adar, which corresponds this year t6 the twelfth of March. As the Jewish people count days from sunset to sunset, how ever, Purim commences this evening.
 Purim, or the Festival of Lots, was insti- tlted by Mordecai and connmemorates the de-> liverance of the Jews from the destruction with which they were threatened by Haman. It is day of joy and gladness and in some Jewish centers of population it is marked by masquerading, processions, the lighting of bonfires, the burning of Haman in effigy, the singing Of comic songs and other manifesto tions of the carnival spirit.
 Hannah, who was hanged so high that he gained permanent place in history, was a favorite of King Ahasuerus of Persia. He was a villain of the deepest dye, and, in order to revenge himself on Mordecai the Jew, he plot ted the extermination of all the Jews in the kingdom. He was thWarted by Esther, fell into disgrace with the monarch, and wrought his own ruin and the upbuilding of the Jews. The story is told in the book of Esther, and it is so remarkable for it's dramatic unity and in the perfect cast of characters presented as to be comparable to Shakespearean play. It's dramatic qualities are such that many higher critics have refused to believe that 1t is a rec ord of real history and attribute it to some early playwright. Many Jewish scholars ac-. cept this view of the book of Esther, for the. reason that the author makes no mention of the name of Jehovah.
 Purim, as a festival, is alleged by some to. be an outgrowth of more ancient Babylonian. celebration which in turn was based on an old Elamitic myth Mbrdecai himself instituted the observance of Purim, according to the Talmud, by the reading of the book of Esther in the synagogue. This custom is still follow ed, and this evening and again tomorrow morning the wonderful story of Esther will be read from written scroll called Megillah in synagogues all over the world. The recital is solemn and impressive ceremony, and vast crowds always gather to hear the melli- nuous oratorY of the cantors. In olden times, and even to-day in some of the more remote Jewish centers, the recital was punctuated with shrill hissing by the audience at every mention of Ha1nan's name.
 The interchange of gifts and the sending of food and money to the poor is Purim GUS tom. Long ago it became customary to make collections in the synagogues in aid of the needy. The poorest Jew, even one who was himself dependent upon charity, was sup posed to give something to some Jew even more impoverished than himself.
 After the formal ceremonial in the syna- gogues the observance of Purim now takes on a social and convivial nature. That Israel's enemies are always in the end defeated and punished, and that the Jewish people are ca pablo of surviving all plots and prosecutions, are the lessons derived from purim The festival is favorite with the fair sex, and as early as the third century Rabbi Joshua ben Levi prescribed compulsory attendance at Pu- rim services for the fair sex, because it was woman, Queen Esther through whom the wonderful deliverance of the Jews was ac- eomplished.