Jewish Leap Year And Purim Katan

"And it turned about: The Jews gained the upper hand over their adversaries." Esther 9:1

The word "Purim" means "lots" and refers to the lottery that Haman used to choose the date for the massacre of all of the Jews of the Persian empire.

This year is a Jewish Leap Year and today is the holiday of Purim Katan, or Little Purim, which takes place on the 14th day of the month of "First Adar" - in Hebrew "Adar Aleph". (There are two months of Adar during the Jewish leap year: Adar Aleph and Adar Bet) The little-known, yet important holiday of Purim Katan takes place seven times in the course of the 19-year cycle of regular and “pregnant” years (as Jewish leap years are referred to) that make up the Jewish Calendar.

In a leap year, Purim Katan is frequently overlooked by the popular Purim Festival, which takes place during the "Second Adar" - in Hebrew "Adar Bet". However, there is no difference between the first Adar and the second Adar, aside from the reading of the Megillah (Book of Esther) and the distribution of gifts to the poor.

Following Purim Katan is Shushan Purim Katan, which begins Wednesday evening. Shushan Purim is regularly celebrated on the 15th of Adar Bet. All the days of Purim are a celebration of the hidden ways in which Yahveh Rules the world and Redeems His people, as well as a memorial to the people of Israel, who refused to bow down to their oppressors.

The Scroll (Book) of Esther is read twice on Purim, and describes the near-annihilation of the Jews in Persia, and their miraculous salvation. "And it turned about: The Jews gained the upper hand over their adversaries." Esther 9:1