When the Purim story meets Broadway’s Hamilton hilarity ensues

Google Search Hints at Connection Between Iranian President and Haman
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/84517/google-search-hints-connection-iranian-president-haman/#/
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz March 3, 2017 , 1:42 pm
“Because Haman the son of Hammedata, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Yehudim, had devised against the Yehudim to destroy them, and had cast pur, that is, the lot, to discomfit them, and to destroy them.” Esther 9:24 (The Israel Bible)
image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-iran-1.jpg
A Hebrew language search for Haman the Agagi on Google produces an unexpected yet appropriate result: an image of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran notorious for his extreme hatred of Israel. Though this may be unintentional, the glitch serves to emphasize that Biblical difficulties often return under a different guise, and the ancient solution may still be appropriate.

Purim, a joyous holiday children anticipate with joy all year long,  is only a few weeks away. As part of the holiday theme, many parents are searching on the internet for costume ideas. Google searches for other characters from the Book of Esther read on Purim produce the expected results: Mordechai the righteous, Esther the beautiful and brave, Vashti, Ahashverosh, etc., dressed in period costume. But a Hebrew language search for Haman the Agagi brings up in the Wikipedia pane on the right, a photo of the former Iranian president tucked in among the expected era-accurate depictions of the ancient Persian hater of Israel.

image: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/433-BIN-Subscribe-BiblicalProphecy-600WIDE.jpg

Haman was the chief adviser to Babylonian King Ahashverosh, and conspired to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. Agagi refers to Haman being descended from the Macedonian King Agag, indicating that he was an Amalekite, the eternal enemy of the Jews.
The glitch (if it was one) was discovered by Uri Breitman on his The Freedom of Search blog on Monday. It has since been fixed and the connection between Ahminajad and Haman is no longer available online. Though the high-tech blogger wrote this off as a glitch in Google’s algorithms, the more spiritually minded might be inclined to see a deeper wisdom in the logical conclusion of the artificial intelligence.
The story of Purim describes Esther, an assimilated Jew, reasserting her connection to the Jewish people, and her uncle, Mordecai, being recognized as an asset to the kingdom. The threat to the Jewish people is averted when the Jews rise up to physically defend themselves, killing their enemies. According to Jewish tradition, God’s name is not mentioned in the entire Book of Esther because his influence is hidden within the mundane and political events.
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/84517/google-search-hints-connection-iranian-president-haman/#COef2LrFQZ7u8kpR.99

The Purim celebrations are about to hit Jerusalem and this is what it’s going to look like
https://israelunwired.com/purim-celebrations-about-to-hit-jerusalem/
By Michael Sax -  February 27, 2018 5730 0
Purim is possibly one on the most beloved Jewish holidays. There is no fasting, no mention of sins. But what is Purim really about? What is the true Purim story? Did a miracle happen in Shushan?
WATCH https://israelunwired.com/purim-celebrations-about-to-hit-jerusalem/
Purim and Shushan
There is a very good reason to celebrate on Purim. Roughly 2,400 years ago, the Persian King Ahashverosh made a feast in the capital city of Shushan. He demanded his wife, Vashti, to appear in her crown. She refused. As a result, King Ahashverosh had her killed. He then searched for a new wife. Ahashverosh had every unmarried woman in the empire go to him to see if he wanted the woman to be his queen. Ester, a Jewish woman, was taken to the palace. Ahasverosh chose Ester to be his queen. Meanwhile, Ester hid her Jewish identity.
Bigtan and Teresh in Shushan
Two of King Ahashverosh’s guards, Bigtan and Teresh, plotted to kill the king. They made their plans speaking in a different language, thinking that no one could understand them. However, Mordechai understood many languages. Realizing the danger, he passed the info to Ester, his niece, who told the king. Consequently, the plot was foiled. Royal records stated that Mordechai saved the king.
Haman
The evil Haman wanted to kill all Jews. Since he was a high ranking official, he was able to secure King Ahashverosh’s permission to do so. Mordechai knew what had transpired. He spoke with Ester, his niece. He implored her do do something. As the queen, she was uniquely qualified to ask for the king’s help. Ester agreed. First, she united all of the Jews and asked them to fast and pray for her. On the third day, Ester approached the king and invited him, and Haman, to a feast. He agreed.
At the feast, Ahashverosh asked Ester what she desired. She asked Ahashverosh and Haman to return the next day again. Intrigued, he agreed. The next day, at the feast, Ahashverosh again asked Ester what she wanted. She declared that she wanted to live, as Haman wanted to kill all Jews and she was Jewish.
In the end of the Purim story, the Jews are delivered from their enemies and end up defeating their enemies all over the kingdom of Persia.

When Purim goes on wheels you know you gotta see it!
https://israelunwired.com/when-purim-goes-on-wheels/
By Phil Schneider -  February 24, 2018 2017 0
Purim on wheels. No other Jewish Holiday has crazy customs like the Jewish Holiday of Purim.  But, these guys take the public celebration of the Holiday to a whole new level.

"Keep Up 'n' Just Smile" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=-zLHeMFY6cE

The celebration of Purim is one of the oddest Jewish customs to non-observant Jews.  What could possibly justify silly-looking celebrations that include considerable amount of alcohol?  Is this really a religious act?  Is this perhaps a negative Jewish Holiday?  The answer is: Of course it is a positive Jewish Holiday. All Jewish Holidays are positive.  However, Purim is just a uniquely celebrated Jewish Holiday.

The story in a nutshell
Around 2,000 years ago, the Persian Empire dominated the world.  King Ahasverosh of Persia, was looking to please as many people as possible in his wealthy kingdom.  The main tactics he used were wine, food, and song.  But, he had one minister who had villainous plans.  The minister’s name was Haman. He schemed to destroy the entire Jewish race – much like Hitler and the Nazis aspired to.  Haman actually received approval from the King to carry out his plans and even set dates to implement.

Obviously, the Jewish people went into a frantic state.  Mass prayer services became the norm and repentance dominated Jewish streets.  Surprisingly, the amazing salvation actually came from inside the King’s palace.

The newly appointed Queen, Esther, gathered up the gumption, with advice from her relative, Mordechai, and confronted the King about Haman’s plans.

Queen Esther’s timing was perfect.  Her tactics were brilliant, and the King made a 180 turn and decided to kill Haman – on the spot.  In addition, the Jewish people were saved in a miraculous turnaround.  The day that was set to be a day of destruction transformed to a day of salvation from the enemies of the Jews.

The Celebration
A central message of the Purim holiday is the hidden hand of God in all that happens in the world.  The Jewish people repeat and celebrate this concept over and over on Purim.

But why drink?  First off, drinking recalls the wine and song in Persia.  But, more importantly, when we drink, we go beyond our normal limits and enter different realms of mindset.

If we know how to drink and not act foolishly, but drink and focus on the hidden Godliness in the world we live in, then celebrating like this can actually be a spiritual exercise.

Purim on wheels is witty, kind of silly, but totally in the spirit of publicizing the great miracle of God’s salvation.

When the Purim story meets Broadway’s Hamilton hilarity ensues
https://israelunwired.com/when-the-purim-story-meets-broadways-hamilton-hilarity-ensues/
By Shira Epstein -  February 27, 2018 360 0
The Purim story is such a powerful story for all of us here. We are living in a time where it is harder and harder to connect with the teachings of the Bible. People have busy lives. Between work, family, chores time gets eaten up and people are left with very little “spare” time. It is very easy to get swallowed up by this and forget about the greater perpose of live and why we are here. The Purim story is the lesson we need now.

Language Warning
WATCH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIR_Xzd0zTQ&ab_channel=AVeryAwesomePurimSeries

Why is it hard to connect?
Religion is hard to connect to. The media is the main thing that informs us as to what is going on in the world. It is always because of the politicians that things are happening. We do not see God brought into the picture.

The Purim story is such an incredibly powerful story that has so many lessons that are applicable today. The main one, in my opinion, is the recognition of the hidden Hand of God. If an open miracle occurred in front of your face it would be very difficult to deny the existance of God. However, these hidden miracles make belief in God more challenging. As a result of this it is easy to forget about God and take Him out of the equation.

Seeing the Hand of God in the 21st Century
We are living in times of miracles. The mere existance of the State of Israel is a miracle. The odds are constantly stacked against us and yet we continue to fight and believe. We continue to yearn from the complete redemption.

Taking a look at the past 100 years, it does not make any sense that today the Jewish People and the State of Israel are growing stronger and stronger. The rise of anti-semitism in the early 1900’s, leading to the rise of the Hitler and the Nazi’s and the holocaust. The war of independence in 1948. The 6 day war in 1967. The Yom Kippur war in 1973. These are the more “obvious” miracles that the Jewish people have witnessed.

And yet, it easy to take this all for granted. It is easy to say we had stronger armies. It was because we had good allies who helped us. Maybe it was due to luck. It’s possible to go in but possibly we just need to open our eyes that little bit wider.

Looking back at the Purim the story we could say that the Jews came out victorious because Esther was so beautiful she was chosen to the be the queen. Or, it was coincedence that the King couldn’t sleep that night and happened to “owe” Mordechai a favour.

We need to learn to recognise the hand of God in our lives and in the world.