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When is...Purim? Spring Equinox?
upcoming holidays...this weekend...
Date: 3/19/2008 11:12:52 AM ( 16 y ) ... viewed 2293 times 9:10 AM
March 19, 08
Looking at the Weekend dates....
exactly when it what?..
Purim:
http://www.jewishaudio.org/cgi-bin/calendar?holiday=auto
Lovely story from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach:
http://rebshlomo.org/celebrations/purim/purim-the-beginning-of-our-redemption/
"Our holy rabbis called Purim “the Dawn” - the sun isn’t rising yet but it’s no longer night. It’s in between,which is what makes dawn so special. According to our holy rabbis it is the time when babies wake up and want to be nursed, the time when husband and wife wake up and want to be so close to each other. It is the time when the light of the Messiah is shining. It is a time when everyone dreams that today is the day of their redemption.
Anybody who has ever been up all night has tasted the awesome depth and sweetness of davening at dawn. Have you ever prayed by the Holy Wall at dawn?
So Purim is the beginning of our redemption. We’re waking up being drunk with the joy of being Jewish. Dawn is still too dark; we don’t really see each other. We only see with the eyes of our soul and my soul sees only G-d. On Purim I send out gifts but not face to face. This is how I let you know I see you with the eyes of my soul. That is why I love you so much."
from a Purim letter from Reb Shlomo zt”l 5752
This Thursday....eve of Purim
People fast from before daybreak...
for three hours....
Friday is Purim Day...family meal....
Friday eve is the end of Purim...
Esoteric meaning of Purim?
Spring Equinox?
officially here:
The Rite of Spring:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/riteofspring1.html
March 20, 1:48 AM in the morning..or 5
Info here:
What Happens at the Equinox?
Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2008, at precisely 1:48 A.M. EDT (March 20, 05:48 Universal Time), the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox.
Equinox Means "Equal Night"
Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2008, it will be on September 22 at 11:44 A.M. EDT (15:44 UT). This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern (vernal denotes "spring").
RELATED LINKS
Easter Features
Spring Poetry
The Calendar
The Seasons
Equinox
Seasons for the Northern Hemisphere, 2008
Astronomical Calendar, March 2007
Reasons for the Seasons
These brief but monumental moments owe their significance to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth's axis. Because of the tilt, we receive the Sun's rays most directly in the summer. In the winter, when we are tilted away from the Sun, the rays pass through the atmosphere at a greater slant, bringing lower temperatures. If the Earth rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, there would be no variation in day lengths or temperatures throughout the year, and we would not have seasons.
Rituals and Traditions
Modern astronomy aside, people have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years. There is no shortage of rituals and traditions surrounding the coming of spring. Many early peoples celebrated for the basic reason that their food supplies would soon be restored. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is also probably no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox.
The first day of spring also marks the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. The celebration lasts 13 days and is rooted in the 3,000-year-old tradition of Zorastrianism.
Good Friday. March 21:
Timeline of Jesus' Life
March 21:
http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestudyresources/a/jesusfinalhours.htm
Esoteric Meaning of Purim:
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