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The main lesson is that GOD Himself wants to dwell in the midst of us! This is the parallel we draw from the role of the tabernacle and the High Priest. Secondly we learn from our portion out of the prophets that Obedience is greater than sacrifice.
The Feast of Purim read the Book of Esther.
Let us also come before "the King" as Queen Esther did, with courage to ask for the redemption of the Jewish people. These days we have another Haman who wants to annihilate the Jewish people, and he even comes from the same nation – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, formerly Persia.
Today let us pray that the ‘pur,’ the lot, will fall and rather than a planned day of destruction we will see the long awaited day of redemption of Israel as a nation! So let us continue to intercede, like Esther and Mordechai, in prayer and fasting for the welfare and safety of the Jewish people.
The Famous "Code" in Megillat Esther
adapted from Keeping Posted with NCSY, Fall 1999 edition
We have a tradition that everything in human history is contained in the Torah, which Hashem used as a "blueprint" for the creation of the universe. The Midrash states, "Just as a king wishing to build a palace does not do so arbitrarily, but rather he consults an architect’s plans, so too G-d looked into the Torah and created the world."
If the Torah is a blueprint for the world, then everything in the world should be found in it. The Vilna Gaon, an 18th century scholar, wrote in his "all that was, is, and will be until the end of time is included in the Torah...not just in the general sense, but... (even) the most minute details."
For centuries, Jewish sages have been uncovering hidden secrets in the Torah. Following is a famous example, reflecting events in the twentieth century, which is found not in the Chumash (Five Books of Moses), but in Megilla Esther.
When listing the ten sons of Haman who were hanged (Esther 9:6-10), three letters, namely Taf, Shin, and Zayin, are written smaller than the rest (most printed texts reflect this; if yours doesn’t, look in another). The commentaries offer no explanation for this other than that it is a prophecy. The letters "Taf-Shin-Zayin" represent the Hebrew year 5707, corresponding to the secular year 1946-47.
On October 16, 1946 (21 Tishrei, 5707) ten convicted Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg. (An eleventh, Hermann Goering, a transvestite, committed suicide in his cell. The Midrash tells us that Haman also had a daughter who committed suicide.) As if the parallel were not obvious enough without further corroboration, Nazi Julius Streicher’s last words were, "Purimfest 1946."
(In case you question the accuracy of Streicher’s last words, they are are well-documented; they appeared in Newsweek, October 28, 1946.)
It is fairly safe to assume that (a) Streicher did not know about the three small letters in the Megilla, (b) he did not know that these letters corresponded to the year in which he was being hanged, and (c) even had he known, he would have had no motivation to reinforce the validity of Jewish texts, traditions, or prophecies. One could not ask for a more independent confirmation of the all-encompassing knowledge to be found in the Sifrei Tanach.
Purim is the yearly festival commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people in the days of King Xerxes of Persia (called Ahashverosh or Ahasuerus in Hebrew), as described in the Biblical book of Esther.
The Book of Esther, which is read in its entirety in the synagogue on Purim, tells of a Jewish girl named Hadassah, also known as Esther, whose circumstances put her in a position to save her people from an evil plot to annihilate the entire Jewish population of the Persian Empire . The story is full of delightfully ironic twists and extraordinary coincidences
The villain of the story is Haman the Amalekite. (The enmity between the sons of Israel and the sons of Amalek goes all the way back to the Exodus.) Haman was held in high regard by the King of Persia, and expected to be venerated by all whose paths he crossed. Proud Haman took serious offense when a certain Mordechai refused to bow down to him. When he learned that Mordechai was a Jew, Haman determined to use his influence with the King to have a law decreed that would declare “open season” on Jews throughout the land on a certain date to be determined by lot. (The word "Purim" actually means “lots”)
Meanwhile, Queen Vashti of Persia had been deposed for insubordination, and a beauty pageant was arranged to find the most comely replacement to please the King. Thus did the young Jewish girl called Esther become the new queen of Persia, but neither Haman nor the King was aware that she was Jewish, or that Mordechai was her close relative and surrogate father. Mordechai had instructed her to keep her nationality a secret!
One night King Ahasuerus was unable to sleep, and called for the annals to be read to him. Thus he was reminded that a certain Mordechai had once uncovered a plot against the throne, and saved the royal neck. Realizing that Mordechai had never been suitably thanked, Ahasuerus began to cast around for a suitable way to honor him.
By extraordinarily ironic coincidence, the evil Haman just then approached the palace to request to have Mordechai hanged on a 70-foot gallows! But before he could make his request known, the King began to question him on “what should be done for the man the King delights to honor.” The vain and wicked Haman immediately assumed it was him the King intended to honor, and described the sort of fanfare he would fancy for himself: “Dress him in a royal robe, one the King himself has worn, and put him on the finest horse, and have him led about the city by one of the King’s highest nobles, proclaiming ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’” Imagine his chagrin when the King revealed it was Mordechai he wished to honor, and “honored” Haman by picking him to lead the horse!
Now as gratifying as it is to see Haman put in his place while Mordechai is honored, the law is still set that Haman had earlier arranged for -- that on Adar 15 every Jewish soul in Persia should perish, and the law of Medes and Persians was irrevocable. Once a law was sealed with the signet ring of the King, not even the King himself could repeal it. What could be done?
Esther realized it was up to her to appeal to the King for help, but this would not be easy. Not even the queen was allowed to approach the king unsummoned, and if the mood struck him wrong, he could have her hanged. The fate of the Jewish People was at stake however, and Esther took it as her solemn duty to do what she could, saying "if I perish I perish. " When she did approach the king he welcomed her, but she did not make her request all at once. Instead she invited him to a banquet, and Haman also. She had three such banquets, and the King was so pleased with her he offered her “up to half of the Kingdom.” Only then did she reveal that her people were in danger, and that Haman was responsible. The King then left the room in anger, and while he was gone Haman threw himself at Esther to beg for mercy. When the King returned to the banquet hall and found Haman inappropriately close to his queen, he had the evil Amalekite dragged off and hanged -- on the very gallows Haman had prepared for Mordechai! He then gave Haman’s estate to Esther, who gave Mordechai charge of it, and the King gave them his signet ring to draft another law -- stating that the Jews of the empire would have the right of resistance when the fateful day arrived, and so be able to save themselves.
According to the book of Esther itself, that day has been a day of celebration ever since.
Purim Customs
The Megillah
It is traditional at Purim to read the entire story of Esther in the synagogue. In keeping with ancient custom, it is read from a scroll, which in Hebrew is called a “Megillah.” (it is from this custom of reading “the whole Megillah” of Esther that the expression “the whole megillah” originates). There is a carnival atmosphere in the synagogue on this occasion, with people wearing colorful costumes (see below) and making lots of noise whenever the name of the evil Haman is mentioned.
People wear costumes at Purim. Of course, the kids really get into this, but grownups dress up as well. There are differing opinions as to how exactly this custom originated. It may have been an outgrowth of the Purim pageants, and many people to do choose to dress as characters from the Esther story. Others dress as other Biblical characters. Another line of thinking associates the costumes with the need of the Jewish people to disguise themselves to avoid the massacre which Haman had arranged, and hence it is considered appropriate to dress as a decidedly non-Jewish character (e.g., a nun, Santa Claus, the pope). Obviously, between these two ideas, anything goes, and one is apt to find anything from Adam to Zoltar.
The story is naturally dramatic, and can be great fun to act out. The people have fun with it, and find innovative ways to tell the story.
The Gragger
As the megillah is being read, the people listen for the name of Haman and try to drown it out with noise. Any kind of noise will do, but the traditional noisemaker is the gragger, a mechanical device which makes a loud grating sound when twirled in the hand. (The girl in the illustration is holding one).
A three-cornered cookie or pastry served at Purim, and filled with poppy-seed or other filling. The exact origin of the word is uncertain, but it is typically rendered “Haman’s Hat.” (In Israel they’re know as “Haman’s Ears!”) (Recipe)
Mishloach Manot
This custom comes right from the book itself -- the sending of gifts. These gifts usually take the form of festively wrapped plates of delicacies.
Purim is a Biblical holiday, but it does not have the religious importance of the Holy Days mandated in the Torah. It was not commanded at Mount Sinai, but stems from the subsequent history of the Jewish people.
The book of Esther has the unusual distinction of being the only book of the Bible which makes no reference to God, the temple, the priesthood, the prophets, the patriarchs, prayer or any particular Jewish religious observance. Even the pagan gods of the Persians are not mentioned, making this the most secular book in Scripture.
Messianic Significance
The Book of Esther demonstrates that God’s promise to preserve his people cannot be overcome. Even though the book expresses no acknowledgment of God, his hand is evident in the outplay of events. Mordechai and Esther may have been God-fearing Jews, but the text itself leaves this open. One could as easily read the story as being about two determined secular Jews participating in God’s unfolding drama without even knowing who was behind it, just as secular Zionists and modern Israelis have done -- fighting for the sake of the people while failing to acknowledge the God who assures their eventual success. From the Exodus to the Persian Gulf War, history is full of incidents in which the Chosen People have survived when the odds were against them. Is it only luck, or is it the God of Abraham, who promised to preserve his people?
Esther is a story of God at work behind the scenes. (So is your newspaper!) Yet someday He will step out from behind the curtain. Will you be glad to see Him?
Purim - Children's Megillah
And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh
the same Achashverosh who ruled from Hodu to Cush, one hundred and twenty-seven
provinces. In those days, when King Achashverosh sat on his royal throne, which
was in Shushan the capital, In the third year of his reign, he made a feast for
all his ministers and servants; the army of Persia and Media, the nobles and all
the ministers of the provinces in his service. For many days, one hundred and
eighty days, he displayed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the splendorous
beauty of his majesty. And when these days came to an end, the king made a
seven-day feast in the courtyard of the king's palace garden, for all the people
in Shushan the capital, nobleman and commoner alike. There were hangings of
white, green and blue, held by cords of linen and purple wool to silver rods and
marble pillars. There were divans of gold and silver on a floor of alabaster and
marble arranged in patterns of rows and circles. Drinks were served in golden
vessels, vessels of assorted design, and the royal wine was in abundance as
befitting the king. The drinking was by the law, without force, for so had the
king ordered all the stewards of his household, to comply with each man's wish.
Queen Vashti, too, made a feast for the women in the royal palace of King
Achashverosh. On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he
ordered Mehuman, Bizzeta, Charvona, Bigta, Avagta, Zeitar and Charkas, the seven
chamberlains who attended King Achashverosh, to bring Queen Vashti before the
king wearing the royal crown, to show her beauty to the nations and ministers,
for she was indeed beautiful. But Queen Vashti refused to appear by the king's
order brought by the chamberlains, and the king grew furious and his wrath
seethed within him.
So the king conferred with the sages, those knowledgeable of the times for this
was the king's custom, to bring such matters before those who were versed in
every law and statute. Those closest to him were Carshina, Sheitar, Admata,
Tarshish, Meress, Marsina and Memuchan. These were the seven ministers of Persia
and Media, who had access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom. He
asked them: "By law, what should be done with Queen Vashti for failing to obey
the order of King Achashverosh, brought by the chamberlains?"
Memuchan declared before the king and the ministers: "It is not against the King
alone that Queen Vashti has sinned, but against all the ministers and all the
nations in all the provinces of King Achashverosh. For word of the queen's deed
will reach all the women and it will belittle their husbands in their eyes. For
they will say: 'King Achashverosh commanded that Queen Vashti be brought before
him, yet she did not come!' This very day, the noblewomen of Persia and Media
who have heard of the queen's deed will repeat it to all the King's nobles and
there will be much disgrace and anger. If it please the King, let a royal edict
be issued by him, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media and
let it not be revoked, that Queen Vashti may never again appear before King
Achashverosh, and let the King confer her royal title upon another woman who is
better than she. And the King's decree which he shall proclaim will be heard
throughout his kingdom, for it is indeed significant, and all the women will
respect their husbands, nobleman and commoner alike."
The idea pleased the king and the ministers, and the king did as Memuchan had
advised. He sent letters to all the king's provinces to each province in its
script and to each nation in its language saying that every man shall be master
in his home and that he speak the language of his nation.
After these events, when King Achashverosh's wrath had abated, he remembered
Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed upon her. So the king's
attendants advised: "Let beautiful girls be sought for the King. And let the
King appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather
every beautiful virgin girl to Shushan the capital, to the harem, under the
charge of Heigai, chamberlain of the King, custodian of the women, and let their
cosmetics be provided. Then let the girl who finds favor in the King's eyes
become queen in Vashti's stead." The plan pleased the king and he acted
accordingly.
There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordechai, son of
Yair, son of Shim'iy, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who had been exiled from
Jerusalem with the exiles that had been exiled along with Jechoniah, King of
Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had sent into exile. He had raised
his cousin Hadassah, also called Esther, for she had neither father nor mother.
The girl was shapely and beautiful, and when her father and mother died,
Mordechai adopted her as his daughter. Now when the king's order and edict
became known, and many girls were gathered to Shushan the capital under the
charge of Heigai, Esther was also taken to the palace under the charge of Heigai,
custodian of the women. The girl found favor in his eyes and won his kindness,
so that he hurried to provide her with her cosmetics and meals, and the seven
maids that were to be given her from the palace. He also transferred her and her
maids to the best quarters in the harem. All the while Esther did not divulge
her race or ancestry, for Mordechai had instructed her not to tell. Every day
Mordechai would stroll in front of the harem courtyard to find out how Esther
was faring and what would be done with her. Now when each girl's turn came to
go to King Achashverosh, after undergoing the prescribed twelve-month care for
women (for only then would their period of beauty-care be completed: six months
with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and women's cosmetics, with which
the girl would appear before the king), she would be provided with whatever she
requested to accompany her from the harem to the palace. In the evening she
would go to the king, and in the morning she would return to the second harem,
under the charge of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, custodian of the
concubines. She would not go to the king again, unless the king desired her,
whereupon she would be summoned by name.
And when the time came for Esther, daughter of Avichayil uncle of Mordechai, who
had taken her as a daughter, to go to the king, she did not ask for a thing
other than that which Heigai, the king's chamberlain, custodian of the women,
had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her. Esther was
taken to King Achashverosh, to his palace, in the tenth month, which is the
month of Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther more
than all the women and she won his favor and kindness more than all the girls;
he placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in Vashti's stead. Then
the king made a grand feast for all his ministers and servants, The Feast of
Esther. He lowered taxes for the provinces and gave presents befitting the king.
And when the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordechai was sitting at the
king's gate. Esther would still not divulge her ancestry or race, as Mordechai
had instructed her. Indeed, Esther followed Mordechai's instructions just as she
had done while under his care.
In those days, while Mordechai sat at the king's gate, Bigtan and Teresh, two of
the king's chamberlains from the threshold guards, became angry and planned to
assassinate King Achashverosh. The matter became known to Mordechai and he
informed Queen Esther. Esther then informed the king of it in Mordechai's name.
The matter was investigated and found to be true and the two were hanged on the
gallows. It was then recorded in the Book of Chronicles before the king.
After these events, King Achashverosh promoted Haman, son of Hamdata, the
Agagite and advanced him; he placed his seat above all his fellow ministers. All
the king's servants at the king's gate kneeled and bowed before Haman, for so
had the king commanded concerning him. But Mordechai would not kneel or bow. The
king's servants at the king's gate said to Mordechai, "Why do you go against the
King's command?" Finally, when they had said this to him day after day and he
did not listen to them, they informed Haman to see if Mordechai's words would
endure, for he had told them that he would never bow because he was a Jew. When
Haman saw that Mordechai would not kneel or bow before him, Haman was filled
with wrath. But he thought it contemptible to kill only Mordechai, for they had
informed him of Mordechai's nationality. Haman sought to annihilate all the
Jews, Mordechai's people, throughout Achashveirosh's entire kingdom. In the
first month, which is the month of Nissan, in the twelfth year of King
Achashverosh's reign, a pur, which is a lot, was cast before Haman, for every
day and every month, and it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of
Adar.
Haman said to King Achashverosh, "There is one nation scattered and dispersed
among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, whose laws are
unlike those of any other nation and who do not obey the laws of the King. It is
not in the King's interest to tolerate them. If it please the King, let a law be
issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand silver talents to the
functionaries, to be deposited in the King's treasuries."
The king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of
Hamdata, the Agagite, persecutor of the Jews. The king said to Haman, "The money
is yours to keep, and the nation is yours to do with as you please."
The king's scribes were then summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month,
and all that Haman commanded to the king's satraps and the governors of each
province and to the nobles of each nation was written to each province according
to its script and each nation according to its language. It was written in King
Achashveirosh's name and sealed with the king's signet ring. Letters were sent
with couriers to all the provinces of the king: to annihilate, murder and
destroy all the Jews, young and old, children and women, on one day the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar and to plunder
their possessions. Copies of the edict were to be proclaimed as law in every
province, clearly to all the nations, so that they should be ready for that day.
The couriers hurried out with the order of the king and the law was proclaimed
in Shushan the capital. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, while the
city of Shushan was in turmoil.
Mordechai knew all that had happened, so Mordechai tore his clothes in mourning
and put on sackcloth and ash. He went out into the city crying loudly and
bitterly. He went up until the king's gate, for it is improper to enter the
king's gate wearing sackcloth. And in every province, wherever the edict of the
king and his law reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting,
crying and wailing; sackcloth and ash were spread out for the masses. Esther's
maids and chamberlains came and told her about it and the queen was terrified.
She sent garments with which to dress Mordechai so that he would remove his
sackcloth from upon him, but he did not accept them. Esther summoned Hatach, one
of the king's chamberlains whom he had placed in her service, and she commanded
him to go to Mordechai to find out the meaning of this and what it was about.
Hatach went out to Mordechai, to the city square that was in front of the king's
gate. And Mordechai told him about all that had happened to him and about the
sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the
right to destroy the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the law that was
proclaimed in Shushan calling for their annihilation, to show Esther and to tell
her about it, and to instruct her to go to the king to beseech him and to plead
with him on behalf of her nation. Hatach went and relayed the words of Mordechai
to Esther.
Esther told Hatach to relay to Mordechai: "All the king's servants and the
people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes to the king
and enters the inner courtyard without being summoned, his is but one verdict:
execution; except for the person to whom the king extends his golden scepter
only he shall live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for thirty
days now."
They relayed Esther's words to Mordechai, and Mordechai said to relay to Esther,
"Do not think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews by being in the
king's palace. For if you will remain silent at this time, relief and salvation
will come to the Jews from another source, and you and the house of your father
will be lost. And who knows if it is not for just such a time that you reached
this royal position."
Esther said to relay to Mordechai: "Go and gather all the Jews who are in
Shushan and fast for my sake, do not eat and do not drink for three days, night
and day. My maids and I shall also fast in the same way. Then I shall go to the
king, though it is unlawful, and if I perish, I perish."
Mordechai then left and did all that Esther had instructed him.
On the third day Esther donned garments of royalty and stood in the inner
courtyard of the palace, facing the palace. The king was sitting on his royal
throne in the palace facing the palace entrance. When the king saw Queen Esther
standing in the courtyard she found favor in his eyes. The king extended to
Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand and Esther approached and touched
the tip of the scepter.
The king said to her, "What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even if
it be half the kingdom, it will be granted you."
Esther said, "If it please the King, let the King and Haman come today to the
feast that I have prepared for him."
The king said, "Tell Haman to hurry and fulfill Esther's bidding." And the king
and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared.
At the wine feast, the king said to Esther, "What is your plea? It will be
granted you; what is your request? Even if it be half the kingdom it shall be
fulfilled."
So Esther replied and said, "My plea and my request: If I have found favor in
the King's eyes, and if it please the King to grant my plea and fulfill my
request, let the King and Haman come to the feast that I shall prepare for them,
and tomorrow I shall fulfill the King's bidding."
That day Haman left happy and content. But when Haman saw Mordechai at the
king's gate and Mordechai neither rose nor trembled before him, Haman was filled
with wrath against Mordechai. Haman restrained himself and went to his house and
sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. Haman told them of his glorious wealth
and his many sons, and all about how the king had promoted and raised him above
all the king's ministers and servants.
Then Haman said: "In addition, along with the king, Queen Esther invited only me
to the feast that she prepared. Tomorrow, too, I am invited to her feast along
with the king. Yet all this is worthless to me whenever I see Mordechai the Jew
sitting at the king's gate!"
Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have gallows erected
fifty cubits high, and tomorrow tell the king to have Mordechai hanged on it.
Then you will be able to go in good spirits with the king to the feast." Haman
was pleased with the idea and erected the gallows.
That night, the king's sleep was disturbed. He ordered that the Book of Records,
the Chronicles, be brought, and they were read before the king. It was found
written that Mordechai had informed on Bigtan and Teresh, two of the king's
chamberlains from the threshold guards, who had planned to assassinate King
Achashverosh.
The king asked, "What splendor and honor has been accorded to Mordechai for
this?"
"Nothing was done for him," the king's attendants replied.
"Who is in the courtyard?" asked the king. And just then Haman had come to the
outer courtyard of the king's chambers to tell the king to hang Mordechai on the
gallows he had prepared for him.
"Haman is standing in the courtyard," the king's attendants answered him.
"Let him come in," said the king.
Haman entered, and the king said to him, "What should be done for a man whom the
king wishes to honor?"
Now Haman said to himself, "Who would the king wish to honor more than me?" So
Haman said to the king, "For a man whom the king wishes to honor, let them bring
a royal garment that the king has worn, and a horse upon which the king has
ridden, and upon whose head the royal crown has been placed. And let the garment
and the horse be entrusted in the hands of one of the king's noble ministers,
and they shall dress the man whom the king wishes to honor and lead him on the
horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, 'So is done for the man
whom the king wishes to honor!'"
The king said to Haman, "Hurry! Take the garment and the horse just as you have
said, and do just so for Mordechai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Do not
leave out a thing from all that you suggested."
So Haman took the garment and dressed Mordechai, and he led him through the city
square and proclaimed before him: "So is done for the man whom the King wishes
to honor!"
Then Mordechai returned to the king's gate while Haman hurried to his house,
miserable, his face covered. Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends
about all that had happened to him. And his wise men and his wife Zeresh told
him, "If this Mordechai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish
descent, you will not prevail over him, for you will certainly fall before him."
While they were still talking with him, the chamberlains of the king arrived,
and they rushed to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.
The king and Haman came to drink with Queen Esther.
And again on the second day the king said to Esther during the wine feast, "What
is your plea, Queen Esther? It will be granted you. What is your request? Even
if it be half the kingdom it will be fulfilled."
Queen Esther replied and said: "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King, and
if it please the King, let my life be granted me by my plea, and the life of my
people by my request. For my people and I have been sold to be annihilated,
killed and destroyed! Had we been sold as slaves and maidservants I would have
kept silent. But indeed the persecutor is not bothered by the King's loss."
King Achashverosh said he said to Queen Esther, "Who is this, and which one is
he, that has the audacity to do such a thing?"
"A man who is a persecutor and an enemy: this evil Haman!" Esther replied.
And Haman shuddered in the presence of the king and the queen. The king arose in
wrath and left the wine feast and went to the palace garden, while Haman stood
up to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king's hostility
towards him was irrevocable. And the king returned from the palace garden to the
wine-feast chamber, and Haman had fallen upon the divan upon which Esther was
reclining.
The king said, "Does he even intend to have his way with the queen while I am in
the palace!"
As soon as these words left the king's mouth the face of Haman was covered. Then
Charvonah, one of the chamberlains that attended the king, said, "In addition,
there is the gallows that Haman erected for Mordechai, who spoke for the King's
good, standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high! Hang him upon it!" said the
king.
And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordechai and the
king's wrath abated.
On that day, King Achashverosh gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, persecutor
of the Jews. And Mordechai came before the king, for Esther had told the king
how he was related to her. And the king removed his signet ring which he had
taken from Haman and gave it to Mordechai, and Esther put Mordechai in charge of
Haman's estate.
Esther again spoke before the king and fell before his feet and she cried and
begged him to nullify the evil decree of Haman the Agagite and his plot that he
had plotted against the Jews. The king extended the golden scepter to Esther and
Esther rose and stood before the king.
She said, "If it please the King, and if I have found favor before him, and the
idea is proper to the King, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be
issued ordering the withdrawal of the letters containing the plot of Haman, son
of Hamdata, the Agagite, in which he ordered the destruction of the Jews
throughout the King's provinces. For how can I behold the calamity that will
befall my people? And how can I behold the destruction of my race?"
King Achashverosh said to Queen Esther and Mordechai the Jew, "See, I have given
Haman's estate to Esther, and he himself was hanged on the gallows for raising
his hand against the Jews. Now you can issue decrees concerning the Jews as you
please, in the King's name and sealed with the King's signet ring. For an edict
written in the King's name and sealed with the King's signet ring cannot be
withdrawn."
The king's scribes were then summoned, in the third month, which is the month of
Sivan, on its twenty-third day, and an edict was written according to all that
Mordechai instructed the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the nobles of the
provinces from Hodu to Cush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces to each
province according to its script and to each nation according to its language,
and to the Jews according to their script and language.
He wrote it in King Achashverosh's name and sealed it with the king's signet
ring. He sent the letters by couriers on horseback, riding mules bred of mares
from the king's stables saying that the king had allowed the Jews of every city
to gather and stand up for their lives; to annihilate, kill and destroy every
army of any nation or province that might attack them, including their children
and women, and to steal their possessions, on one day in all the provinces of
King Achashverosh, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is the month of
Adar. Copies of the edict were sent to be proclaimed as law in every province,
clearly to all the nations, so that the Jews would be ready for that day to take
revenge upon their enemies. The couriers, riding mules from the king's stables,
left urgently and hurriedly with the king's edict, and the law was proclaimed in
Shushan the capital.
And Mordechai left the king's presence wearing a royal garment of blue and
white, a large golden crown, and a shawl of fine linen and purple wool. And the
city of Shushan celebrated and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and
happiness, joy and glory. And in every province and city to which the king's
edict and law reached, there was happiness and joy for the Jews, a celebration
and a holiday. Many of the gentiles converted to Judaism, for fear of the Jews
had fallen upon them.
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, when the
time for the carrying out of the king's edict and law had arrived, on the day
the enemies of the Jews had thought they would dominate them, the situation was
reversed: the Jews dominated their enemies. The Jews gathered in their cities
throughout the provinces of King Achashverosh to attack those who sought to harm
them. No man stood in their way, for fear of them had fallen upon all the
nations. And all the ministers of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and
the king's functionaries honored the Jews, for fear of Mordechai had fallen upon
them. For Mordechai was prominent in the king's palace and his fame was
spreading throughout all the provinces, for Mordechai was growing in power.
And the Jews struck at all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying,
and they did with their enemies as they pleased. In Shushan the capital the Jews
killed and destroyed five hundred
men. And they killed Parshandata and Dalfon and Aspata, 8 and Porata and Adalya
and Aridata 9 and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaizata, 10 the ten
sons of Haman, son of Hamdata, persecutor of the Jews, but they took none of the
spoils.
That day, the number of killed persons in Shushan the capital was relayed to the
king.
The king said to Queen Esther, "In Shushan the capital, the Jews killed and
destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the
other provinces of the King? What is your plea? It will be granted you. What is
your additional request? It will be fulfilled."
Esther replied, "If it please the King, let the Jews of Shushan be allowed to do
tomorrow what was lawful today, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the
gallows."
The king ordered this done, and the law was proclaimed in Shushan, and the ten
sons of Haman were hanged. So the Jews of Shushan gathered again on the
fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Shushan, but
took none of the spoils. And the rest of the Jews of the king's provinces
gathered and stood up for their lives to relieve themselves of their enemies and
killed seventy-five thousand of their foes, but took none of the spoils. On the
thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and they rested on the fourteenth day and
made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.
And the Jews of Shushan gathered on the thirteenth and fourteenth of Adar, and
rested on the fifteenth and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. Thus the
Jews, those who live in unwalled cities, make the fourteenth day of the month of
Adar a holiday, a day of feasting, rejoicing and sending portions of food one to
another.
Now Mordechai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews living
throughout the provinces of King Achashverosh, near and far instructing them to
obligate themselves to celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of
the month of Adar, like the days upon which the Jews were relieved of their
enemies, and the month which had been transformed for them from one of sorrow to
joy, from mourning to festivity to make them days of feasting, rejoicing,
sending food portions one to another and giving gifts to the poor.
And the Jews accepted as an obligation that which they had begun to observe,
and that which Mordechai had written to them. For Haman, son of Hamdata, the
Agagite, persecutor of all the Jews, plotted against the Jews to destroy them,
and he cast a pur, which is a lot, to shatter them and destroy them. But when
she came before the king, the king said and ordered letters to be written to the
effect that Haman's evil plot against the Jews be returned upon his own head,
and he and his sons were hanged upon the gallows.
For this did they call these days "Purim," after the pur, because of all
of the events of this story, which explains what happened to them and why they
saw fit to establish the holiday.
The Jews established and accepted upon themselves, and upon their descendants,
and upon all who might convert to their faith, to annually celebrate these two
days in the manner described here, on their proper dates never to be abolished.
And these days are commemorated and celebrated in every generation, by every
family, in every province and every city. And these days of Purim will never
pass from among the Jews nor shall their memory depart from their descendants.
Queen Esther, daughter of Avichayil, and Mordechai the Jew, wrote about the
enormity of all the miracles, to establish the holiday with this second Purim
dispatch. And he sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and
twenty-seven provinces of Achashveirosh's kingdom, words of peace and truth,
instructing them to observe these days of Purim on their proper dates, in the
manner established for them by Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther, just as they
had accepted upon themselves and upon their descendants the observance of the
fasts and their lamentations. And the behest of Esther confirmed the observances
of these Purim days, and the story was included in Scripture.
King Achashverosh levied a tax upon the mainland and the islands of the sea. And
the entire history of his power and strength, and the account of Mordechai's
greatness, whom the king had promoted, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of
the kings of Media and Persia. For Mordechai the Jew was second to King
Achashverosh, a leader to the Jews, and loved by his many brethren. He sought
the welfare of his people and spoke peace for all their descendants.
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