Tell Me Why
A Little
Purim
When — and how — is
Purim Katan observed?
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor
PHILLIP APPLEBAUM
Special to the Jewish News
I just had a great
Purim (I went as
Superman, because I
am such a super man,
if I may say so myself?). During
the celebration, someone mentioned
Purim Katan, the first time I've
heard of it. I understand there's also
a Yom Kippur Katan, too. What are
they?
A
Purim Katan ("minor
Purim") occurs only in
a Jewish leap year.
In contrast to the Gregorian calen-
dar, which adds an extra day to
February in a leap year, the Jewish cal-
endar adds an extra month. This addi-
tional month always is Adar and is
designated Adar II (or in Hebrew,
Rochelle
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3/29
2002
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Adar sheyni).
Ordinarily, Purim is celebrated on
the 14th of Adar, but in a leap year,
the holiday is observed on the 14th of
Adar II. The 14th of Adar I is called
Purim Katan, although none of the
rites, rituals and customs of Purim —
such as reading the megillah or send-
ing gifts of food — are observed.
Nonetheless, Purim Katan is consid-
ered a joyful day, and Jewish law pro-
hibits fasting, funeral eulogies and the
recitation of the Tachanun penitential
prayer.
Yom Kippur Katan ("minor Yom
Kippur") occurs each month on the
day before Rosh Chodesh — the
beginning of each month (new moon)
on the Jewish calendar.
The origins of Yom Kippur Katan
lie with the late 16th-century Jewish
mystics of Tz'fat (Safed) in northern
Israel. They regarded the waning of
the moon as symbolic of the dimin-
ished status of divine holiness during