Purim 2027: Date, the Four Mitzvot, and a Beginner's Game Plan

Purim 2027 begins at sundown on Monday, March 22, and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, March 23. It is the 14th of Adar II, 5787. The Fast of Esther comes first, on Monday during the day, and Shushan Purim follows in Jerusalem on Wednesday, March 24. If you are new to it, Purim is one of the easiest holidays to start with. Work isn't forbidden the way it is on Shabbat (though many people take the day off if they can), and the four main practices all fit into one day.

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When is Purim 2027?

Purim usually lands in late February or early March. In 2027 it is later, March 23, because 5787 is a Jewish leap year with two months of Adar, and Purim is celebrated in the second one. That also means there is a minor "Purim Katan" a month earlier. Here is the whole stretch:

Like every Jewish date, Purim starts the evening before. If you are planning ahead, here are the next few years:

For every other date this year, see our Jewish holidays 2026-2027 calendar, and for the two Adars, our Rosh Chodesh 2026-2027 list.

The Purim story in two minutes

Purim comes from the Book of Esther, one of the books in Ketuvim, the Writings. It is set in Shushan, the Persian capital, under King Achashverosh (often identified with Xerxes). The king picks a new queen, Esther, who keeps her Jewish identity a secret on the advice of her cousin Mordechai. Haman, the king's top minister, is furious that Mordechai won't bow to him, and he gets the king to approve a decree to wipe out every Jew in the empire. He picks the date by casting lots. The Persian word for a lot is pur, which is where the name Purim comes from (Esther 9:24-26).

Esther asks the Jews of Shushan to fast for three days, then goes to the king uninvited, which could have cost her life. Over two banquets she exposes Haman, who is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordechai. The decree can't be cancelled, so a second one lets the Jews defend themselves. They win on the 13th of Adar and rest and celebrate on the 14th. In Shushan the fighting lasted a day longer, so they celebrated on the 15th (Esther 9:17-18).

One detail people like to point out: God's name never appears in the Book of Esther. Everything looks like coincidence and good timing, and the tradition reads the story as God acting from behind the scenes.

The four mitzvot of Purim

Esther 9:22 describes the days as "days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor." Together with reading the Megillah, that gives the four Purim mitzvot:

1. Hearing the Megillah

The Megillah is the Book of Esther written on a parchment scroll. You hear it twice: Monday night, March 22, after the fast ends, and again Tuesday morning, March 23. The goal is to hear every word, so most synagogues ask kids to keep the noise for Haman's name. When the reader says "Haman," everyone boos, stamps, or spins a gragger (a ratchet noisemaker). The reader says the blessings before starting. You listen and answer amen.

Most synagogues hold a few readings, including short early ones for families. If you can't get to one, ask your local Chabad house or synagogue, since many arrange readings at homes and offices on Purim day.

2. Mishloach manot (gifts of food)

Send at least one person a package with at least two different foods that are ready to eat, like a hamantasch and a clementine, or a cookie and a juice box. Do it on Purim day itself. Many families go far beyond the minimum and trade baskets all over the neighborhood, but one small bag to a neighbor or coworker fully counts. The idea is friendship, so send it to someone you'd like to be closer to.

3. Matanot la'evyonim (gifts to the poor)

Give at least two people in need one gift each, on Purim day. Money is the usual choice. A common guideline is at least enough to buy a simple meal. If you don't know anyone directly, give to a synagogue or charity fund that collects ahead of time and hands the money out on Purim. Maimonides wrote that it is better to spend more on gifts to the poor than on the meal or the food baskets.

4. The Purim seudah (festive meal)

Have a festive meal on Purim afternoon, Tuesday, March 23. Bread, meat or whatever your family considers a celebration, wine for those who drink, and company. Add the Al HaNisim paragraph to Grace After Meals. It is also added to the Amidah all day.

You may have heard about the custom of drinking on Purim. The Talmud (Megillah 7b) says to drink until you can't tell "cursed is Haman" from "blessed is Mordechai." Many authorities read that as drinking a bit more than usual and then taking a nap. Nobody is obligated to get drunk, and anyone who would be harmed by it, or who is driving, shouldn't.

Customs that aren't required but make the day

• Costumes: kids and adults dress up, partly because the story is full of hidden identities. Synagogues often have a costume parade.
• Hamantaschen: three-cornered cookies filled with poppy seed, jam, or chocolate. In Hebrew they're oznei Haman, "Haman's ears." They make easy mishloach manot.
• The half shekel: before the Megillah reading, or on the Fast of Esther, a common custom is to give three coins of half the local currency (three half dollars in the US) to charity, in memory of the half shekel given in the Temple.
• Purim spiels: funny plays and parodies of the story, often at the synagogue or school.

The days around Purim

The Fast of Esther

Ta'anit Esther, the Fast of Esther, is on Monday, March 22, 2027, from dawn until nightfall. It remembers the fast Esther asked for before she went to the king. It is a minor fast, so it doesn't start the night before, and people who are pregnant, nursing, or unwell are generally exempt. Ask your rabbi if you aren't sure. When Purim falls on Sunday, as in 2028, the fast moves back to Thursday, since you can't fast on Shabbat.

Shabbat Zachor

Shabbat Zachor is the Shabbat right before Purim, March 20, 2027. On top of the weekly parsha, the synagogue reads Deuteronomy 25:17-19, the command to remember Amalek. Haman is called an Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekite king Agag, which is why this reading goes right before Purim. Many people make a point of being in synagogue to hear it.

Shushan Purim

Shushan Purim is Wednesday, March 24, 2027. Cities that had walls in the time of Joshua celebrate Purim on the 15th instead of the 14th, following Shushan. Today that mainly means Jerusalem. Everywhere else it is a normal workday, though Tachanun is skipped.

What about Purim Katan?

In a leap year, the 14th and 15th of Adar I are Purim Katan and Shushan Purim Katan. In 2027 that is Sunday, February 21, and Monday, February 22. None of the four mitzvot apply. There is no Megillah and no fast, and Tachanun is left out of the prayers. Some people have a slightly nicer meal or give a little extra charity.

A simple Purim plan for first-timers

If this is your first Purim, or your first one doing all four mitzvot, here is a plan that fits a regular Monday and Tuesday:

1. The week before:find your synagogue's Megillah times, buy or bake hamantaschen, and give your matanot la'evyonim money to a fund that distributes on Purim.
2. Monday, March 22: fast if you can. In the evening, go to a Megillah reading, bring a noisemaker, and break the fast after.
3. Tuesday morning, March 23: hear the Megillah again. Many synagogues have an early reading before work.
4. Tuesday midday: drop off mishloach manot (two foods) to a friend or neighbor.
5. Tuesday afternoon or evening: sit down to the festive meal before sunset, with Al HaNisim in the Grace After Meals.

Keep going after Purim

Passover 2027 is only a month later, starting at sundown on Wednesday, April 21, so Purim is a good moment to pick up a small daily habit before the holiday rush. You could read the Book of Esther yourself, ten verses a day, in the weeks before Purim, so the Megillah reading sounds familiar. Or start with the first steps of daily Torah learning. For the next holiday before this one, see Tu BiShvat 2027.

Bayit gives you the whole Tanakh in Hebrew and English, including the Book of Esther, plus this week's parsha one aliyah a day and a place to ask what a verse means, with the sources quoted. Want a short Daily Plan to start? Try Bayit on the App Store.