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Megillat Esther: An Introduction
Insights To The Megilla
Audio Megilla ReadingDo You Believe In Miracles?
Faith & Commitment
The 'Hidden' Message Of Purim Jewish Unity
Women Heroines: Esther & Purim
Jews & Antisemitism Behind The Mask: Insights Into Purim
Introduction: The hidden theme.
Chapter One: At the king's party, Vashti is dethroned.
Chapter Two: Esther is selected as Queen; Mordechai reveals a plot against the throne.
Chapter Three: Haman is promoted and initiates a decree to destroy the Jews.
Chapter Four:The Jews mourn in sackcloth; Mordechai tells Esther to plead with the king.
Chapter Five: Esther holds a banquet for the king and Haman; Haman builds a gallows for Mordechai.
Chapter Six: Afflicted with insomnia, Achashverosh remembers Mordechai. He sends Haman to honor him in public.
Chapter Seven: At a second banquet, Esther reveals Haman's plot and he is hung.
Chapter Eight: A new decree which allows the Jews to fight against their enemies is sent out.
Chapter Nine: The Jews kill many of their enemies; they rejoice and Esther and Mordechai proclaim Purim a permanent holiday.
Any commentary based on traditional sources MUST begin by mentioning an important omission in the Book of Esther -- the Name of God. God's name does not appear anywhere in the text, and this is the only book canonized in the Bible where that occurs.
The reason is both simple and complex. The Purim story is a story of galut - exile. The story of the Jewish people reveals two very different experiences - the dynamic when God's Hand is obvious and revealed, as in the Exodus or the prophetic period in Israel; and that when God's Hand is hidden, as in the long story of exile.
The Purim story, with its crazy, absurd sequence of events seems somehow impossible. How could so many coincidences add up to such a happy ending? But that is exactly the point - although they look like coincidence, the events of Purim are delicately wired to bring the drama to the final conclusion. Only a master of ceremonies like the Master of the World Himself could pull that off. And yet, God's name is not mentioned.
The message for us is to remember that God is presence at all times, even when it appears that we are at the mercy of random chance.
The Megilla was written with a doubly hidden message - God is hidden, but He is always there. The Talmud teaches that whenever the Megilla refers to "the king" without mentioning Achashverosh, this refers to the King of the Universe. Look through the Megilla for yourself and see what you find with this added dimension.
The Kotzker rebbe asked his pupils, "Where is God?" To which they responded in confusion, "Why - everywhere!!" He answered, "No - He is wherever you let Him in."
The Megilla reminds us to open our eyes to the constant miracles around us.
The King of Persia, Ahasuerus (in Hebrew, and from herein, Achashverosh), made a great feast in the third year of his reign that lasted 180 days.
This was not only to celebrate his own securing of the throne (Rashi 1:2), but the anniversary of what he thought was 70 years since the beginning of the Jewish exile. He exhibited the spoils looted from the Temple inherited from the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The Talmud states that the Jewish community also attended the festivities, initially through fear of arousing the king's wrath, but ultimately they enjoyed the festivities, despite Achashverosh's despoiling of the Holy Vessels of the Temple. Mordechai, who was a sage as well as a prophet, warned them not to go, but the people, including many rabbis, considered him lacking in "political savvy". The Talmud does assign this sin as the cause for Haman's ascendency.
On the seventh day, he ordered his queen Vashti to come out wearing the royal crown to show off her beauty. She refused to come.
The "seventh day" refers to the fact it was the Sabbath, when the Queen used to force Jewish maidservants to work for her, for spite. Hence her downfall happened on the Sabbath. "Wearing the royal crown" meant "only in the royal crown" - otherwise, unclothed. (Midrash) Vashti refused to come, not for reasons of modesty, but because she had been afflicted by a horrible skin disease (leprosy, according to the Talmud, Megilla 12b). This was also a Heavenly punishment to set up her downfall.
In his fury, Achashverosh turned to his advisors. One of them, Memuchan, encouraged him to depose Vashti.
Memuchan is identified with Haman (Talmud, Megilla 12b). As one of the seven noble leading families of Persia, Haman thought that perhaps he could offer his own daughter as a prospective queen. The Queen was killed.
Since the Queen had been executed, the king's advisors recommended that he hold a kingdom-wide search for another queen, selected from all the maidens of the empire.
The king's men went out snatching up girls they deemed attractive. Although she hid, Esther was one of those grabbed. Some opinions say that they took not only virgins, but married women as well. A Tanna taught in the name of Rav Meir said that she was Mordechai's wife (Talmud, Megilla 13a).
Although she had no desire to win the crown, and requested nothing to enhance her beauty, she still won the favor of Hagai, the harem keeper. When she was taken to the king, he chose her as queen. Mordechai advised her to keep her Jewish origins a secret, which annoyed the king. At Mordechai's advice, he called a second gathering of women, threatening Esther that he would replace her. She remained silent.
Both Mordechai and Esther were important members of the Jewish community in Babylon. Both were extremely pious people to whom the "honor" of becoming Queen of Persia was repulsive. Mordechai felt that such an absurd turn of events -- that a religious Jewish woman such as Esther should be picked from thousands of Persian beauties -- could only imply a Divine Plan. To be sure, Mordechai advised the king to hold a second pageant. He insisted that her Jewishness remain secret, until the reason she was chosen as queen became clear.
When Mordechai was sitting at the king's gate, he overheard two men plotting to assassinate the king. He informed Esther of the plot and she told the king. The episode was recorded, and forgotten.
Mordechai served as some sort of Jewish advisor to the court. The king's gate was an assembly place, similar to the Roman agora, where disputes were judged and statesmen gathered. As a member of the Sanhedrin (Rabbinical Leadership), Mordechai spoke 70 languages. This enabled him to understand the conspirators, who spoke in a foreign language to avoid detection. Here we see the seeds of salvation were planted even before Haman's meteoric rise.
Several years later, Haman the Agagite was elevated by the king to Prime Minister. A decree was issued that all would have to bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman. But Mordechai, the Jew, would not bow down.
Haman was descended from Agag, King of Amalek. Amalek is considered the spiritual antithesis to Israel, an embodiment of pure evil. Mordechai, was a descendent of King Saul, who lost his throne because he failed to eradicate Amalek when he had the chance. Centuries later, these two powers clash again in a struggle of good against evil.
Terrified of Haman's wrath, other leaders of the Jewish community begged Mordechai to bow down. It was dangerous for the Jews, they insisted. Mordechai pointed out that he would kiss Haman's shoelaces to save the Jews, but that he saw something far graver at stake - the Jewish spiritual resistance to assimilation was slipping.
Haman insisted upon a form of obeisance that was idolatrous in character, implied by the double verb "bow down and prostrate themselves" which is only used in relation to religious worship. Haman had affixed an idol to his clothing, in addition. When he realized the religious nature of Mordechai's refusal to bow, Haman determined to wipe out his entire people.
Haman slandered the Jews to the King, and advised their extermination. He offered 10,000 silver talents to the king, for the right to do it. The king agreed, giving Haman his signet ring to seal the deal. Haman cast lots for the best day for the slaughter, and the decree was sent throughout the kingdom.
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| The Die is cast |
The money offered by Haman was countered by the merit of the half-shekel that the Jews used to donate on a yearly basis to buy sacrifices for the Temple. That donation also symbolized the unity of the nation. Haman knew that this was a source of strength 
in the Jews, and so he stressed that the Jews were scattered - a reference to division within the community, in addition to the plain meaning. They were physically defenseless and spiritually defenseless -- i.e. lacking in merits.
The Talmud states that King Achashverosh hated the Jews even more than Haman did - he was hoping for such an offer. Notice the unusual wording: Ahasuerus says "the silver is given to you. . . to do with as you see fit." He can be considered like an owner of a field with a mound in it. A man with a hole in his field came along and offered to buy the mound, to fill his hole. The first one said, "Take it for nothing, and welcome to it." (Megilla 14a)
