Wooden Purim Gragger
Early 20th century
Wood, carved
Height: 21 cm Length: 20.5 cm Weight: 283 g
Wooden Purim Gragger
ADDITIONAL INFO
A wooden hand-carved gragger, used during the reading of the Megillah (the Scroll of Esther) in the Purim holiday. The gragger is decorated with an image of Esther enthroned as queen, and the Hebrew words "אסתר המלכה" – Queen Esther.
The reading of the Megillah, the Scroll of Esther, in the synagogue, is the central event of the Purim holiday. When Haman's name is read out loud during the public chanting of the Megillah in the synagogue, which occurs 54 times, the congregation engages in noisemaking to blot out his name as ordered in the book of Deuteronomy (25:19): "blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven…"
The custom of using graggers as noise makers in Purim was likely born out of popular folk traditions and became popular amongst Jewish populations only during the 19th century. The Hebrew word for the Purim gragger is Ra'ashan, derived from the word Ra'ash (רעש), which means "noise".
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