Al HaNissim
Added to the Amidah and Birkat HaMazon, "in the days of Mordechai and Esther."
Al HaNissim in the siddurHolidays14 Adar · 15 Adar in Jerusalem
The Megillah, gifts of food and charity, a festive meal, and the Purims that Sephardic communities added for their own deliverances.
NextBegins at sundown Monday, March 22 · ends at nightfall Tuesday, March 23, 2027
In Shushan, capital of Persia, Haman cast lots, purim, to destroy the Jews on the thirteenth of Adar. Through Esther and Mordechai "the opposite happened": the Jews were saved, and the days became "days of feasting and joy, of sending portions to one another and gifts to the poor" (Esther 9:22).
God's name does not appear in the Megillah. The miracle is hidden in events that look natural, and Purim teaches us to see His hand in them.
Sephardic communities added their own Purims for later deliverances, read their own Megillot, and kept the joy of the day as a joy of thanksgiving.
On Purim
From a kosher scroll, ideally with a congregation. Three blessings are said before the night reading (al mikra Megillah, she'asa nissim, Sheheheyanu), and Sheheheyanu again by day. "Harav et rivenu" is said after the reading with a minyan. Women are obligated too.
At least two kinds of ready-to-eat food or drink to at least one person, given during the day. Money does not count.
A gift to at least two poor people, in money or food, on Purim day. On Purim we give to anyone who stretches out a hand.
A festive meal on Purim day, with bread, meat and wine. When Purim falls on Friday, many begin the meal in the morning.
In the synagogue
Added to the Amidah and Birkat HaMazon, "in the days of Mordechai and Esther."
Al HaNissim in the siddurExodus 17:8–16, the war with Amalek.
Parashat BeshalahOn the Shabbat before Purim we read "Remember what Amalek did to you" (Deuteronomy 25:17–19), which everyone should hear.
Parashat Ki TetzeEvery word of the Megillah must be heard. Sephardic congregations discourage noise that drowns out the reader; children are taught to answer Haman's name quietly, if at all.
The seudah
The Talmud speaks of drinking on Purim, but the Rambam and many Sephardic authorities teach that one should drink a little more than usual and rest, never losing control or neglecting prayer and Birkat HaMazon.
Rabbi Haim Ovadia: Drinking is not kosherA reflection on Esther, beauty and identity.
Read the articleSweet trays
A round bread baked with two eggs in their shells, "Haman's eyes," eaten for breakfast on Purim.
Get the recipe →Thin fried dough ribbons in honey, a favorite of mishloah manot trays.
Get the recipe →"Haman's ears": fried pastries dusted with sugar, the Sephardic cousin of hamantaschen.
Sesame rings and date- or nut-filled cookies for the gift plates.
Large couscous with warm milk and butter, for the Purim day lunch of some Moroccan families.
Across the Sephardic world
Many Sephardic communities added a "Purim" of their own for a later deliverance, with a Megillah and a festive day.
Celebrated by Moroccan Jews for the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578, when the invasion of the Portuguese king Sebastian, which threatened the Jews of Morocco, was defeated.
Remembering the deliverance of the Jews of Cairo from the Ottoman governor Ahmed Pasha in 1524.
The Megillah read with Moroccan cantillation, trays of sweets carried from house to house, and the Amar family's Purim menu.
Ladino songs for Purim, fried orejas de Aman, and costumes and plays for the children.
Sephardic U media
Keep learning
Questions
Hearing the Megillah at night and by day, sending mishloah manot, giving gifts to the poor, and the festive meal.
Yes. Women are obligated, because they too were saved in the miracle.
In Jerusalem and other cities walled since the days of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on 15 Adar, as it was in Shushan.
Sephardic congregations discourage noise that keeps people from hearing every word; some allow a light knock at Haman's name.
A Purim celebrated by Moroccan Jews on 1 Elul for their deliverance at the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578.