Purim’s Satire and Farce
Exaggerations, twists and turns of fate, outright comedy, ridicule, and unlikely outcomes are the standard fare in our cherished and enduring story of Purim. Ahasuerus is the foppish and foolish king who exiles one wife for refusing to dance in his presence (says the Midrash) and choses another after a beauty competition that included a night in the king’s bed! This, in a world where marriages served the purpose of expanding one’s power and rarely if ever for beauty, love, or even desire. The villain is a caricature of vanity and greed. As deviously manipulative as he is, the Jewish heroes out-maneuver him with their strategizing, resulting in both his head and that of all his offspring topping poles. The heroes, and there are two in this story, seize victory from the jaws of defeat through happenstance. Mordechai overhears murderous schemers and though his revelation is lost in the court history, the king’s insomnia fortuitously brings it to light and ultimately redemption to the Jews. Esther offers her body for her people—both for the king’s desires and she risks death to save her people. And finally, when salvation arrives, the Jews, heighten their celebration by giving gifts to each other and slaughtering the king’s subjects.
This is Biblical farce and satire at its best. This is an ancient tale of wish-fulfilling fantasy and dark comedy written by Jews who knew persecution and exile. How to respond from a place where hope was thin, and expectations limited? The answer would set the stage for generations to come by setting the standard for fierce, unrelenting, sometimes dark, and uproariously funny comedic storytelling. This is the precursor to the stories of Chelm, the comedy of Mel Brooks, a paradigm for Sholem Aleichem, even Lenny Bruce and Larry David are inheritors of the Book of Esther’s comedic legacy. Faced with the vagaries and often tragedies of life, centuries of Jews found a certain solace and imagined outcomes that saw them defeating their enemies, if not with might then with the last laugh.
And so, as Purim looms ahead of us and we look out on a world that often appears more dark than hopeful, we find refuge in the ageless frivolity of Purim and we too, can recognize that laughter is often, truly the best medicine.
— Rabbi Ron Stern