At the heart of the Purim activities is the reading of the Megillah – the Book of Esther. The Megillah tells the dramatic story of the Jews of Shushan, the capital of Persia, who were saved from a massacre by the actions of the Jewish Queen Esther. The Megillah is written by a scribe on parchment and is often illustrated with traditional decorations and drawings of the events.
The National library of Israel has a unique collection of Megillot. One of the oldest is from Ferrara in Italy and was made in 1616. Other illustrated Megillot in the collection come from Venice, Prague, Berlin, and Holland.
Megillah - Zurich, 17th Century
Megillah from the Royal Library of Berlin (p.25-30)
Below is an 1895 illustration from the Megillah (Book of Esther) story combined with verses and decorations.
Study the illustration and write a caption for each picture.
From the collection of the National Library of Israel
Choose one of the verses below to illustrate.
That night, the king couldn't sleep, and he ordered the book of records, the chronicles, to be brought; and it was read to the king.
Optional activity:
When all of the drawings have been made, create a class source sheet with the verses and photographs of the drawings.