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Purim

Purim also known as the "Holiday of Lots (pur)" is one of the most joyous celebrations of the Jewish year. Every year, we read from the Megillah Ester (Scroll of Esther), give tzedakah (obligatory charity based on justice), prepare mishloach manot (Purim baskets with food and drink for our loved ones), and eat a festive meal. The holiday comes from Rabbinic times as it is not one of Yom Tovim mandated by Torah. Because we are commanded to blot out Amalek's memory, we stamp out the sound of Amalek and any of their descendants. As a result, you will see a lot of boos whenever Haman (boo!) is mentioned. Underneath Purim lies even deeper meaning that even adults can appreciate, which connects well to Purim's theme of hiddenness.

Purim's Backstory

During the Achaemenid Empire, the fickle King Achashverosh ruled the Persian Empire. While drunk, he commanded his wife Vashti to appear before him and all of his male courtiers in nothing but her crown. When she refused, he banished her. During his extensive hunt of his empire for all the women, he took the Jewish Ester to be his queen not knowing that she was Jewish. Ester and her cousin Mordechai came from the 70 year Babylonian exile of the Jews, and they came from the tribe of Binyamin. Mordechai prevented Achashverosh's assassination but this was not known to the King Achashversoh until later. Meanwhile, the king's vizier Haman (boo!) came from Agag and the Amalekites twhom King Shaul failed to destroy. Haman (boo!) was determined to make everyone bow before him, but Mordechai refused. Then, Haman (boo!) asked the king for all the Jews to die and paid a lot of money to ensure it, which the king granted. Haman (boo!) cast lots to determine which day that should be and it fell upon the 13th of Adar. Mordechai tells Queen Ester of the genocidal plot after Ester asked why Mordechai was dressed in mourning. Saving the Jews carried heavy danger for Ester since anyone who appeared to the king unsummoned could be executed. Not only this, but Achashverosh was not known for being Jew-friendly himself. After a three day fast, Queen Ester appears before the king unsummoned and asks for two banquets. Achashverosh also finds out Mordechai saved his life and orders Haman (boo!) to honor Mordechai. At the second banquet, Ester reveals her Jewishness and averts Haman's (boo!) evil plan. Achashverosh orders Haman hanged on the gallows that Haman built for Mordechai (under the advice of Haman's wife Zeresh) and allows the Jews to defend themselves against any antisemitic attackers when the 13th of Adar came. The Jews pushed back against the attackers but did not take any spoils. Mordechai rose in power to become the king's trusted advisor, and things for the Jews returned to a new normal. Notably, this is one of the few books in Tanakh not to directly mention Hashem.

The Extra Stuff

Various Jewish interpretations adds more details and insight into the story:

Vashti's character is controversial among Jewish sources. Vashti is seen as the heir of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian emperor who destroyed the First Jewish Temple.
- In the Babylonian Talmud, Vashti was a vicious antisemite who forced her Jewish handmaidens to undress and work on Shabbat. The Babylonian Talmud claims Vashti would have appeared before the king as a wanton adulteress, but she refused to appear because she got cursed with tza'arat and a tail.
- The Jerusalem Talmud painted Vashti in a more sympathetic light with the proper queenly decorum trying all manner of persuasion against Achashverosh's gross decree. However, her opposition to rebuilding the Temple ("You wish to rebuild what my forefathers destroyed?") led to her downfall. Modern feminist interpretations fall more in line with this interpretation.
The identity of Memucan (the one who deposes Vashti) is debated.
- One opinion claims that Memucan is Haman (boo!) and add extra irony in that he led to the crowning of Ester.
- Another opinion says that Memucan is the prophet Daniel and that he sought to see his prophecy on Babylon's downfall occur.
Achashverosh executed Vashti after she refused to appear before him. However, he regretted it later and ordered the people who advised him to execute her to be killed.
Ester and Mordechai are traditionally seen as the heirs of Shaul. Shaul's house did not fare well during David's reign and had been diminished to one descendant: Yonatan's disabled son Mefiboshet. There are a lot of hints for this one given how they are from the tribe of Binyamin and their ancestors are Kish and Shimei, who in the plain text of Sh'muel are both related to Shaul (Kish is Shaul's father while Shimei is Shaul's distant relative)
- Minority opinion: Ibn Ezra interprets the Kish as a different one than the father of Shaul.
- Midrash claims that Mordechai miraculously nursed Ester himself or had his wife nursing the infant Ester.
- The Babylonian Talmud claims that Ester was Mordechai's wife. It may have been more along the lines of trying to protect her against the king taking her. The Jerusalem Talmud does not claim this.
- Ester was compared to a wolf, the moon, the dawn, and a hind.
- Sarah's life determines Ester's power since Sarah lived 127 years and Ester reigned over 127 provinces.
There are different opinions on Ester's name:
- Hadassah was Ester's real name. Ester came from needing to hide (histirah) her origins or it was her "secular" name after Istahar.
- Ester was her real name, and Hadassah was a second name. Hadassah came from Ester's righteous nature similar to a myrtle, she was average height like a myrtle, and she had a sallow complexion like a myrtle. She was sweet to Achashverosh and did good deeds but was bitter to Haman similar to the myrtle having a sweet smell but a bitter taste.
Haman (boo!) wore an idol around his neck, and that was why Mordechai refused to bow.
Zeresh was the greatest advisor to Haman (boo!). She advised Haman (boo!) to hang Mordechai because of other failed attempts to eliminate the Jews and that hanging always worked against the Jews.
- The fiery furnace failed against Daniel's companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
- The lion's den failed against Daniel
- Prison failed at snuffing out Yosef
- The Israelites thrived in the wilderness
- Shimshon destroyed the P'lishim while blinded

Ester HaMalkah and Shaul HaMelech (Purim 5785/2025)

Tanakh

בִּנְיָמִין֙ זְאֵ֣ב יִטְרָ֔ף בַּבֹּ֖קֶר יֹ֣אכַל עַ֑ד וְלָעֶ֖רֶב יְחַלֵּ֥ק שָׁלָֽל׃

"Binyamin, a wolf that tears to pieces! In the morning he devours prey, and then in the evening, divides up the spoil." — Parashah Vayechi (Bereshit, Genesis) 49:27; 1995 Shocken Bible Everett Fox translation

זָכ֕וֹר אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ עֲמָלֵ֑ק בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶ֥ם מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

אֲשֶׁ֨ר קָֽרְךָ֜ בַּדֶּ֗רֶךְ וַיְזַנֵּ֤ב בְּךָ֙ כׇּל־הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִ֣ים אַֽחֲרֶ֔יךָ וְאַתָּ֖ה עָיֵ֣ף וְיָגֵ֑עַ וְלֹ֥א יָרֵ֖א אֱלֹהִֽים׃

וְהָיָ֡ה בְּהָנִ֣יחַ יי אֱלֹהֶ֣יךָ ׀ לְ֠ךָ֠ מִכׇּל־אֹ֨יְבֶ֜יךָ מִסָּבִ֗יב בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יי־אֱ֠לֹהֶ֠יךָ נֹתֵ֨ן לְךָ֤ נַחֲלָה֙ לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ תִּמְחֶה֙ אֶת־זֵ֣כֶר עֲמָלֵ֔ק מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם לֹ֖א תִּשְׁכָּֽח׃ {פ}

"Bear-in-mind what Amalek did to you on the way at your going out from Egypt, how he encountered you on the way and attacked-your-tail—all the beaten-down-ones at your rear—while you [were] weary and faint, and [thus] he did not stand-in-awe of God. So it shall be: when Hashem your God gives-you-rest from all your enemies round about in the land that Hashem your God is giving you as an inheritance, to possess it, you are to blot out the name of Amalek from under the heavens; you are not to forget!" — Shabbat Zachor, Parashah Shoftim, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17-19; 1995 Shocken Bible Everett Fox translation

אֱֽלֹהַ֗י אֶקְרָ֣א י֭וֹמָם וְלֹ֣א תַעֲנֶ֑ה וְ֝לַ֗יְלָה וְֽלֹא־דֻֽמִיָּ֥ה לִֽי׃

"My God,
I cry by day—You answer not;
by night, and have no respite." — Tehillim (Psalms) 22:3; 1985 Jewish Publication Society (JPS) translation

כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִ֘ישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒ רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃

"On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” — Ester (Esther) 4:14; 1985 Jewish Publication Society translation

Talmud, Midrash, and Commentary:

״לֹא יִגְרַע מִצַּדִּיק עֵינָיו״ — בִּשְׂכַר צְנִיעוּת שֶׁהָיְתָה בָּהּ בְּרָחֵל זָכְתָה וְיָצָא מִמֶּנָּה שָׁאוּל, וּבִשְׂכַר צְנִיעוּת שֶׁהָיָה בּוֹ בְּשָׁאוּל זָכָה וְיָצָאת מִמֶּנּוּ אֶסְתֵּר.

“He withdraws not His eyes from the righteous; but with kings upon the throne He establishes them forever, and they are exalted” (Job 36:7)? This teaches that in reward for the modesty shown by Rachel she merited that Saul, who was also modest, should descend from her, and in reward for the modesty shown by Saul, he merited that Esther should descend from him." — Megillah 13b:1; William Davidson Talmud, Koren Steinsaltz translation

אִם עַל הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב יֵצֵא דְּבַר מַלְכוּת (אסתר א, יט), אָמַר לוֹ אֲדוֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּבָר אַתָּה מוֹצִיא מִפִּיךָ וַאֲנִי מַכְנִיס אֶת רֹאשָׁהּ בְּדִיסְקוּס, וְיִכָּתֵב בְּדָתֵי פָרַס וּמָדַי וְלֹא יַעֲבֹר וגו'. אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי אַבָּהוּ, כְּתִיב (איוב ה, יח): כִּי הוּא יַכְאִיב וְיֶחְבָּשׁ יִמְחַץ וְיָדָו תִּרְפֶּינָה. בַּלָּשׁוֹן שֶׁנִּטְלָה מַלְכוּת מִזְּקֵנָהּ, שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ שְׁמוּאֵל (שמואל א טו, כח): וּנְתָנָהּ לְרֵעֲךָ הַטּוֹב מִמְּךָ, בּוֹ בַּלָּשׁוֹן חָזְרָה לוֹ הַמַּלְכוּת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וּמַלְכוּתָהּ יִתֵּן הַמֶּלֶךְ לִרְעוּתָהּ הַטּוֹבָה מִמֶּנָּה.

“If it please the king, let a royal edict be issued before you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated, that Vashti shall never [again] enter the presence of King Aḥashverosh, and may the king grant her queenship to another who is worthier than she” (Esther 1:19).

"He [Memukhan] said to him: ‘My master the king, let the word emerge from your mouth, and I will bring in her head in to you on a platter.’ “And let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be abrogated…” – Rabbi Ḥanina son of Rabbi Abbahu said: It is written: “For He causes pain and He bandages; He crushes and His hands heal” (Job 5:18). In the language that [announced that] the kingdom was being taken from her [Esther’s] ancestor, as Samuel said to him [Saul]: “And has given it to another, who is worthier than you” (I Samuel 15:28), in the same language, the kingdom was returned to him [to Saul, through his descendant Esther]; that is what is written: “And the king will give her queenship to another who is worthier than she” [that being Esther]." — Esther Rabbah 4:10; The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah 2022

רַבִּי לֵוִי פָּתַח (במדבר לג, נה): וְאִם לֹא תוֹרִישׁוּ אֶת ישְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ מִפְּנֵיכֶם וְהָיָה אֲשֶׁר תּוֹתִירוּ מֵהֶם, מְדַבֵּר בְּשָׁאוּל, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ שְׁמוּאֵל (שמואל א טו, ג): עַתָּה לֵךְ וְהִכִּיתָ אֶת עֲמָלֵק, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אֲזַלְתְּ זַכָּאָה וַאֲתֵית חַיָּיבָא וְחַסְתְּ עֲלוֹי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמואל א טו, ט): וַיַּחְמֹל שָׁאוּל וְהָעָם עַל אֲגָג, וְהָא צִמְחָא קַיָּימָא מִינֵּיהּ שֶׁהוּא עוֹשֶׂה לָכֶם דְּבָרִים קָשִׁים, לְשִׂכִּים בְּעֵינֵיכֶם וְלִצְנִינִם בְּצִדֵּיכֶם, וְאֵיזֶה זֶה, זֶה הָמָן, שֶׁאָמַר: לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ הַכֹּל כֵּן, הִתְחִילוּ צוֹוְחִין וַוי, וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ.

Rabbi Levi began: “But if you will not dispossess the inhabitants of the land from before you, those who you leave will be like thorns in your eyes, and like stones in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land you inhabit” (Numbers 33:55). [This verse] refers to Saul. When Samuel said to him: “Now go and smite Amalek” (I Samuel 15:3), he said to him: You went innocent and you returned guilty and spared him, as it is stated: “Saul and the people spared Agag” (I Samuel 15:9). A scion will remain from him, who will perform harsh actions against you; “will be like thorns in your eyes, and like stones in your sides.” And who is that? It is Haman, who said: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). When everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1)." — Esther Rabbah Petichta 7; The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah 2022

Date Finished:

03/16/2025

Description:

Chag Purim Sameach (חג פורים שמח)!

I wanted Ester to look incredibly similar to Shaul but light her in the opposite way since there are many parallels between the stories. I wanted to cloak Shaul in shadow even in the midst of morning, and Ester in moonlight in the midst of night. Ester's triumph over Amalek and Haman (boo!) comes at night at the banquet with the king while Shaul's failure against Amalek comes in the day. However, the fact that Mordechai had to warn Ester about the fate of her and her father's house implies some uncertainty and hesitance on Ester's part. Perhaps she too wrestled with Hashem over this. During her fast, Jewish tradition ascribes her reciting Tehillim 22 as well. Both Shaul and Ester struggled with Hashem hiding his face from them.

Rashi's interpretation of Torah verse refers to Shaul as representative of Binyamin in the morning (Rashi on Genesis 49:27:2) while Ester (Esther) and Mordechai represent the evening division (Rashi on Genesis 49:27:3). I wanted to capture the trepidation and uncertainty both Shaul and Ester felt against facing Amalek.

Names:

Ester (Esther) has two names: Hadassah meaning "myrtle" and Ester meaning "star" but in Aramaic meaning "moon." The rabbis disagree on which name was Ester's Jewish name. Three rabbis claimed that Ester was her real name and that she was called Hadassah because she was righteous like the myrtle (Megillah 13a:10), that she was average height like a myrtle, or that she had a greenish pale complexion like a myrtle (Megillah 13a:12). Two other rabbis disagree and stated that Hadassah was her real name and that she was called Ester because she concealed the truth about herself (Megillah 13a:11) or Ester served as her non-Hebrew name based on Ishtar (Megillah 13a:12).

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