The merriest of all Jewish holidays, Purim,...

The merriest of all Jewish holidays, Purim, officially begins at sundown Wednesday and lasts throughsundown Thursday.

The holiday is celebrated with the reading of the Megillah, or scroll, of Esther. Its customs include the wearing of costumes by adults and children, the rattling of noisemakers, parodies of the religious services and Purim spiels, or plays, featuring subtle satire and broad slapstick. Feasting and drinking are de rigueur --along with sending gifts of sweets and delicacies to friends and giving freely to charity.

According to the Megillah--which is replete with political machinations and palace intrigue--Esther, a Jewish-born woman, becomes the wife of a foolish king in ancient Persia. Ultimately, she risks death by revealing her Jewish identity to her husband. In doing so, she manages to foil a plot by a wicked court official to exterminate all the Jews in the Persian empire.

According to Rabbi Daniel Landes of B’nai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles, the story illustrates how the powerless can be saved and the powerful brought down swiftly by God’s will. “Jews are encouraged to forget sobriety for one day in order to celebrate the physical saving of the Jewish people in the Diaspora,” he says.

“The holiday is of great feminist significance,” adds Landes, who is Orthodox. “No one was more powerless and invisible in Persian society than the assimilated Jewish woman Esther. The real liberation occurred when she took upon herself the power to change things and come out of the closet a leader.”

Says Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell, director of the Los Angeles Jewish Feminist Center, “This is a holiday--celebrating the courage of a Jewish woman--whose time has finally come. Though it has been celebrated for 2,000 years, the power of the women’s movement has opened it up to new understanding.”

Here are some of the special events scheduled for the Purim holiday.

Joint services featuring a Megillah reading will be held by Temple Beth Shalom of Long Beach and Temple Beth Zion-Sinai of Lakewood. Refreshments will be served after the 7 p.m. service on Wednesday at Temple Beth Zion-Sinai, 6440 Del Amo Blvd., Lakewood. (310) 426-6413.

Temple Etz Chaim will hold services Wednesday at 7 p.m., with a masquerade walk, singing and refreshments. On Sunday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., the youth groups will sponsor a carnival at 1080 Janss Road., Thousand Oaks. (805) 497-6891.

Temple Beth Ohr will hold services Wednesday at 7 p.m. at 15721 Rosecrans Ave., La Mirada. (714) 521-6765.

Sinai Temple will hold a full Megillah reading Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. in the chapel. A gala celebration of the reading, with noisemakers, will take place at 6:30 p.m. There will be costume parades for children, prizes and refreshments.

The temple’s senior adult group will hold a party at 11 a.m. Thursday featuring musical entertainment.

Sinai Temple holds its annual Purim carnival, with game booths, pony rides and a silent auction for adults on Sunday. Sinai Temple is at 10400 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. (310) 474-1518.

The North Valley Jewish Community Center holds its annual carnival on March 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 16601 Rinaldi St., Granada Hills. (818) 360-2211.

On Sunday, March 22, Beth Shir Shalom in Santa Monica will hold its Purim carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1828 California Ave., Santa Monica. (310) 453-3361.

CELEBRATION

The Italian Catholic Federation presents its 20th annual St. Joseph Table from March 20-22. The observance is a centuries-old expression of religious devotion and concern for the poor. At the head of the table, laden with food contributed by people throughout California, will stand a statue of St. Joseph. Free plates of spaghetti and St. Joseph’s bread will be distributed. The tables will be out on Friday, March 20 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the following day from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, March 22, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. At 11 a.m. March 22, Mass will be said and a procession held at 11 a.m. at St. Genevieve Church, 14061 Roscoe Blvd., Panorama City. (818) 892-3406.

SPEAKERS

Two prominent Israeli politicians are scheduled to speak at Southland synagogues. FormerIsraeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin will speak at 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. Rabin will be the Labor Party’s candidate for prime minister in the June election. Tickets are $36 for reserved seating, $18 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. 1011 Camelback St., Newport Beach. (714) 644-1999.

Shulamit Aloni, a member of the Israeli parliament and founder of Israel’s Civil Rights and Peace Movement--and now head of the new Democratic Israel coalition--will speak at 8 p.m. March 26 at Stephen S. Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen Wise Drive, Bel-Air. Suggested donation is $5. (310) 275-7017.

Tibetan meditation master Lama Tharchin Rinpoche will make appearances in Southern California. Rinpoche is a master of the Dzogchen tradition and the Nyingma heritage of aesthetics and monastic arts. At 7:30 p.m. Thursdayhe will speak at the Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles. The following evening at 7:30 p.m. he will talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center, 920 S. New Hampshire Ave., Los Angeles. He will also offer two retreats. For information, phone (213) 877-7331 or (818) 761-2940.

CONFERENCE

Biblical scholars from around the world will gather at Loyola Marymount University from March 19-21 to discuss cultural influences on understanding the Bible. The occasion is the sixth annual Casassa Conference, named for the late Rev. Charles S. Casassa, former president of the university.

Twenty-two speakers from abroad will present a variety of cultural perspectives, such as “The Exegesis of Apartheid: Exploitation and Exploiters in the Test of the Bible” and “The Cornelius Story in the Japanese Cultural Context.”

The conference is free but reservations are required. (310) 338-2907.

PERFORMANCES

Three “Sisters in Crime” read from and autograph their detective novels at 7 p.m. Sunday. In addition, authors Karen Kijewski, Wendy Hornsby and Maxine O’Callaghan will discuss violence committed upon and by women characters at the Church in Ocean Park, 235 Hill St., Santa Monica. (310) 399-1631.

WORSHIP

Lent will be celebrated Thursday with a soup supper at 6 p.m., followed by a Lenten service at 7 p.m. Christ the King Lutheran Church, 17400 Vanowen St., Van Nuys. (818) 342-0302.

HONORS

The 10th anniversary of the ordination of the Rev. David J. Walker of the Los Angeles Church of Religious Science will be celebrated at 7 p.m. tonight at the church’s third annual Founders Day Banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Banquet and show reservations are $50 per person. (213) 965-9200.

Please address notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. To receive consideration, an item must arrive at least three weeks before the event announced.