Introduction
The Festival of Purim was established by Mordechai and Esther who lived in Shushan, the capital, during the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple. It serves as a ‘memorial’ to the miracle of the rescue that occurred to the people of Israel following the advice of Haman and the decree of King Ahasuerus to destroy and kill all the Jews in one day.
The holiday lasts only one day and falls on the 14th of Adar (close to Nissan) in most places in the world.
- In Jerusalem, Purim is celebrated only on the 15th of Adar.
- There are certain cities in Israel where Purim is celebrated both on the 14th and the 15th of Adar (see more on page 86 onwards).
This holiday is not mentioned in the Torah, but in the Scroll of Esther, and therefore is not considered a ג€holidayג€ like Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, and the like. There is no obligation to perform a special ג€Kiddushג€ for the holiday, and in principle it is permissible to do work on it because it is not defined in the Torah as a ג€day of restג€. However, it is customary not to work or do any work that is not directly related to the Purim holiday itself, and in Jewish law, it is stated that one who does work on Purim – does not see a ‘sign of blessing’ in his work.
There are four main commandments that need to be done during the day on the Festival of Purim.
Here is a hint that will help us remember all of them: All four commandments begin with the letter ‘M’ (we will elaborate on each one later).
Reading the Megillah, feast and joy, sending food portions, giving gifts to the poor.
The Name of the Holiday
The origin of the name Purim comes from the Persian word ג€purג€, which means ‘lot’. As told in the Scroll of Esther, the wicked Haman ג€cast lotsג€ – made a lottery – among the days and months of the year, in order to determine the exact day on which he would carry out his plot. The Creator of the World turned things around, and the date that Haman got in the lottery – the 13th of Adar – turned into a happy day on which ג€the opposite happened, the Jews dominated their enemiesג€.
The Story of the Megillah
The story of Purim took place in the period after the destruction of the First Temple, in which the Babylonian Empire conquered the Land of Israel and exiled most of its Jewish inhabitants to different countries in the diasporAnswer : Over the years, some of the Jews settled in Persia (today’s Iran), and eventually King Ahasuerus came to the throne, who expanded his kingdom to 127 countries.
In the third year of his reign, the king decided to hold a huge feast in order to show the whole world his wealth and greatness. The feast was exceptional in its scope, lasting 180 days, and each day guests from all over the world dined and drank in the courtyard of the king’s palace.
After getting completely drunk at one of the parties, the king demanded his wife – Queen Vashti, to appear before his guests. Vashti refused, and the offended king rashly ordered her to be killed. The next day, when he sobered up, the king was very upset about what had happened, but on the advice of his counselors, he immediately began searching for a new queen.
At that time, Mordechai the Jew, who was one of the great righteous men of his generation, lived in Shushan – the capital of the kingdom, and in his house, Mordechai raised his cousin Esther, after her parents passed away. At that time, the supreme Jewish authority was the Sanhedrin, and Mordechai was one of its prominent members. In addition, Mordechai was well aware of the political and public life of Shushan and was among the ministers of the Persian kingdom’s court.
By the king’s command, the king’s soldiers also gathered Esther, along with hundreds of other girls, in order to find the most suitable candidate to serve as queen to King Ahasuerus. Before she left, Mordechai instructed her not to reveal in any way that she was of Jewish descent.
After a full year, many girls passed before the king but none found favor in his eyes, then came Esther’s turn. The Creator gave her a special grace, and the moment the king laid eyes on her, she found favor in his eyes, and he immediately crowned her queen.
One day, Mordecai hears of a plot by two guards to assassinate the king. He informs Esther of this, and both men are caught and hanged on the tree. This act further solidifies Mordecai’s position, and the story is written in the king’s ‘Book of Chronicles’.
In those days, the king promoted Haman and appointed him as the king’s deputy. Haman is called ‘Haman the Agagite’ because his great-grandfather was Agag, king of the Amalekite nation. This nation had a deep-seated hatred against the Jewish people, and Haman indeed kept his ancestors’ tradition…
Haman commanded all the king’s subjects that whenever he passed through the street, all passersby must bow to him, and so it was. The only one who absolutely refused to do this was Mordecai the Jew, who held a respected position and was ג€sitting in the king’s gate.ג€ Haman was furious.
Filled with feelings of revenge, Haman incited the king against the Jews, claiming that they did not obey the king’s orders, that they were ‘different’ and ‘strange’, and it would be better to get rid of them. The king signed a document for him in exchange for ten thousand talents of silver, and Haman set out with his ‘extermination plan’ for the entire Jewish people, aiming to destroy, kill, and annihilate all Jews, young and old, children and women – in one day!
Haman cast lots for himself, choosing the date on which he would carry out his plot, and the ‘lot’ fell on the 13th of Adar. After Mordecai heard about the decree, he instructed Esther to reveal her identity to the king and act to annul the decree, while the Jews, led by Mordecai the righteous, gathered in sackcloth and ashes on their heads. They began a series of fasts, prayed, and pleaded to the Lord to help and save them from the looming threat.
Mordecai instructed Esther to plead before the king and ask him to cancel the decree. The queen dared to approach the king ‘uninvited’ and the Creator again bestowed special favor upon her. She found favor in the eyes of Ahasuerus, and he promised to fulfill her request ג€up to half of the kingdomג€. Esther requested that the king and Haman attend a banquet she prepared for them.
After the first banquet, Haman left with a merry spirit, but once again encountered Mordecai the Jew who did not bow down and pay him homage. Haman, who had a personal score to settle with Mordecai, erected a pole in his courtyard twenty-five meters high, on which he planned – at the advice of his counsellors – to hang Mordecai when the time came.
That night, the king could not sleep. He commanded the ‘Book of Remembrances’ to be read before him, and it just so happened that the book opened to the story of the assassination attempt thwarted by Mordecai. The king remembered that Mordecai received no reward for this, and while he was contemplating this, Haman arrived at the palace.
Ahasuerus asked him, ג€What should be done to the man whom the king ‘delights to honor’?ג€ And Haman, thinking he was the one being referred to, detailed: to dress him in the king’s clothes, mount him on the king’s horse, and have him led through the city streets by one of the nobles, while proclaiming, ג€Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.ג€
The king informed Haman that he should do exactly all these details for Mordecai the Jew, and Haman left, ג€mournful and with his head coveredג€, dressed Mordecai without a choice, and unwillingly led him through the city streets while announcing what he wished to be said about himself.
Even before Haman could recover from the humiliation he suffered during the ‘city tour’, he was summoned to the second banquet with the king and Esther. At this banquet, Esther dared to reveal the secret she had been hiding, and told the king that she was Jewish, and that Haman wanted to destroy her people.
The king goes out to the garden to relax from his distress, and when he returns, he finds Haman lying on Queen Esther’s bed. He is seething with anger, and after Harbona – one of the assistants – tells the king that there is a high tree ‘waiting’ in Haman’s courtyard for Mordecai, the king orders to hang Haman on that tree that he had prepared for Mordecai.
Ahasuerus ceremonially grants Haman’s magnificent house to Esther and his ring – the king’s ring – to Mordecai the Jew, and after Esther’s request, he sends an urgent letter in which he gives the Jews permission and authority to defend themselves against their enemies and to fight them on the 13th of Adar.
Indeed, on the 13th of Adar of that year, the inconceivable happened, and the ג€inversionג€ took place: instead of the ‘slaughter’ that was supposed to happen, the Jews fought their enemies and killed tens of thousands of them. Esther requests permission from Ahasuerus and he grants her approval to do so also on the next day – the 14th of Adar, in Shushan the capital, and even orders to hang the ten sons of Haman on the tree.
Mordecai and Esther send letters of peace to all the Jews living throughout the kingdom and establish the miracle of salvation for generations – forever. On this holiday, they ask to fulfill special commandments – sending gifts, giving gifts to the poor, and feasting and joy, in memory of that wonderful miracle that happened in their time.
The Talmud tells us about the connection of the month of Adar to the zodiac sign of Pisces:
When the wicked Haman searched for the appropriate month to carry out his plot and destroy all the Jews, he drew the month of Adar by lot. Haman was overjoyed and said in his heart: ג€In most months there is some holiday for the Jews, but in the month of Adar there is no special festival, on the contrary – Moses, the first leader of the people – died in this month! (Haman did not know that in the month of Adar, Moses our teacher was also born). Aha, I’m going to swallow them like a fishג€…
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ג€Wicked one like you! As is known about fish – sometimes they swallow and sometimes they are swallowed… therefore, what you planned – will come upon your headג€.
