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Featured Holiday

Purim (lots for lottery performed by Haman) - Adar 14 - י"ד באדר, תשע"ה,is celebrated on Thursday, March 5, 2015. Purim commemorates the cancellation of the decree against the Jewish people by Haman in ancient Persia in 425 BCE.

After the destruction of Judah, the Jews were taken into the seventy-year Babylonian captivity. The Book of Esther (H: Megillat Esther) tells the story of King Ahasuerus (H: Achashverosh) of Persia who organized a feast in Shushan to celebrate Queen Vashti's beauty. She refused his command to come to the party and he dethroned her. Ahasuerus chose Esther as his new wife. He was saved by Mordechai, Esther's Jewish cousin, who revealed the conspiracy by Bigthan and Teresh (two royal guards) to assassinate the king. Haman (the royal advisor) vowed to exterminate all the Jews after Mordechai didn’t obey him. Ester intervened and the Jews were saved.

Traditions of Purim include reading the Megillah and making a lot of noise with a noisemaker (H: ra'ashan) when Haman's name is mentioned.

We give Mishloah Manot (parcel of food portions) to poor people, family and friends. Homemade hamantashen (H: Oznei Haman - Haman's ears), or triangular pastries, are eaten. Kids love to dress up in costumes and masks and parade with them.

New Idioms

New Words

A quarter    re-va    רבע

A third    shlish    שליש

A tenth    a-si-rit    עשירית

A hundredth    me-eet    מאית

A thousandth    al-pit    אלפית

Window Into Israel

Upcoming Election in Israel

Israel will hold an election on March 17, 2015 for the 20th Knesset. The elections in Israel are:

• National – the whole country is a single electoral constituency.
• Direct - the Knesset which is the Israeli parliament is elected directly by the voters.
• Equal – citizens of at least 18 years of age are eligible to casts one vote.
• Secret ballot.
• Proportional – there are 120 Knesset members that are elected in proportion to each party's percentage of the total national vote.

26 political parties are running for the 120 seats of the 20th Knesset. About 11 of them are likely to pass the electoral threshold, which was raised from 2 percent to 3.25 percent last year. Each party is represented by a Hebrew letter or combination of letters.

These are the parties:
Likud מחל under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu
Zionist Camp אמת (Labor and Hatnuah צפ) under the leadership of Isaac Herzog
HaBayit HaYehudi טב (The Jewish Home) under the leadership of Naftali Bennett
Yesh Atid פה (There Is A Future) under the leadership of Yair Lapid
Yisrael Beiteinu ל (Israel Is Our Home) under the leadership of Avigdor Liberman
Kulanu כ (All Of Us) under the leadership of Moshe Kahlon
Joint Arab List ודעם under the leadership of Ayman Odeh
United Torah Judaism ג under the leadership of Yaakov Litzman
Shas שס (Sephardic Guards) under the leadership of Aryeh Deri
Ha'am Itanu קץ (The People Are With Us) under the leadership of Eli Yishai
Meretz מרץ (Vigor) under the leadership of Zahava Gal-On
Ale Yarok קנ (Green Leaf) party
Ubizchutan נפ under the leadership of Ruth Korian
We Are All Friends ףץ representing Breslover Hasidim
The Greens party רק
Arab Democratic Party עם
Pirate Party פ
Or ני
Protecting Our Children יך
HaTikva LeShinui יץ (The Hope for Change)
Finance Party ז headed by the Goldstein brothers
Democratura
Manhigut Hevratit יז (Social Leadership)
Nivheret Ha'Am HaZmanit זץ (The Temporary National Team)
Schirut BeKavod י (Making a Living With Honor)
Perach (Flower)

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