The Purim jump – Ask the Rabbi
Q. I heard someone talk about the Purim Jump. What is this?
A. In a dark, unfriendly world, Purim gave many communities a chance to laugh at their situation (and at their tormentors).
A common game was to make effigies of Haman and his sons and burn them as a sign that one day all antisemites would be reduced to dust and ashes. In some places people danced around the fire and jumped over it.
Light-hearted fun, but the Christian neighbours accused the Jews of burning representations of Jesus.
