Purim — a festive Jewish holiday with an ending often ignored

Jewish men and children in Purim costumes celebrate in the Mea Shearim ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood in Jerusalem, on March 18, 2022. The Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jewish holiday of Purim begins at sunset, Saturday, March 23. At synagogues across the world, people will read the Book of Esther. But its story of celebration is followed by another, darker chapter — one many Jews are thinking about this year.

Attempted destruction, deliverance, and a celebration