An Immortal Scroll A copper engraving by French monk Augustin Calmet (1672–1757) depicts Purim festivities in 1720 Amsterdam: Haman’s name (colloquially rendered “Aman”) is carved into a large stone, which is brought into the synagogue to be smashed by children clutching smaller stones. The engraving also depicts children pounding a bench with hammers.
The National Library of Israel
Holocaust survivor Reuven Jamnik commemorates Purim 1946 in the Landsberg Displaced Persons Camp by reading the story of Purim while dressed up (per the custom of masquerading on Purim) in his concentration camp uniform.
Italy, 1944, during World War II. Corporal Nathaniel Leiderman reads the Megilah for American Jewish service members. Rabbi Captain Aaron Paperman, a U.S. Army chaplain, is standing to his right.
Yad Vashem, Photo Archive, Jerusalem
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PUR I M H A N DB O OK