I love the Jewish holiday Purim, partly because it is the story
of a woman and partly because I am named after a woman who was
named after that woman. Chag Purim Sameach, or as that phrase
loosely translates from Hebrew to English, happy festival of
Purim! Here are 12 things to know about celebrating Purim, which
in 2013 will be commemorated Feb. 23-24: Purim is a Jewish
holiday that reminds us of how Queen Esther of the Old Testament
delivered the Jewish people by simply remembering who she was.
She remembered her God, regardless of those around her, and she
knew that it was God who placed her in the position of queen.
She stayed true to herself, and to her God, and in this way an
entire people were rescued. Esther lived during a time when the
Jewish people were under the rule Ahasuerus of the Persian
Empire. He gave a six-month month party for his army, closing
with a party for the common people. Many people were drunk, and
the king tried to show off his wife. The queen — who may be a
silent hero for all wo