A Timeless Diaspora Story The Book of Esther is a diaspora story. Written by Jews who were under Persian or Greek rule, it reveals an acute awareness of the uncertainties and insecurities of a community that preserves its unique identity, yet asserts its presence as a strong minority. Haman was truly the first antisemite. He trafficked in conspiracy theories: “There is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of any other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; and it is not in Your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them. If it pleases Your Majesty, let an edict be drawn for their destruction." (Esther 3:8-9) Drawing on the ignorance of the king and the presumed ease of defaming the Jews with unfounded innuendo, Haman easily manipulates the buffoonish Ahasuerus into executing his [...]

Who’s a Hero?  The Purim story was likely written by Jews heavily influenced by Greek storytelling. The heroes, the villains, even the court setting take their cues from classic Greek comedies and yet, it is truly a unique form of Jewish literature. Unlike every other book of the Jewish Bible, the story of Esther does not mention God. In the telling by its author, the story’s unfolding and victorious conclusion completely rests in human hands. There is no mention of God or prayer—even in victory the Jews neither offer prayers nor sacrifices to God. In many respects, the book of Esther is a fully secular story. Of course, later rabbinic tradition could not tolerate God’s absence and introduced a special Al Ha-Nisim (for the miracles) prayer of gratitude to God for the Jewish deliverance as part of the Purim rituals. Reading the Purim story as it is, Esther and Mordechai [...]

To Masquerade or Not to Masquerade It is hard to imagine two days more different than Purim and Yom Kippur, and yet the rabbis of our tradition dared to make the discordant comparison. Purim, the day of merriment and abandon, evocative of Mardi Gras; Yom Kippur, solemn and awe evoking, reminding us of our mortality. And yet, in a bit of wordplay, the rabbis imagine that we should read Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement, as Yom Ki-Purim—a day like Purim. Of course, the wordplay is only the contrivance through which a deeper comparison is made. On Purim we recognize that we are sometimes forced to wear masks, hide behind them, and become someone we are not. We hide our pain or sorrow or pretend to affectations that mask who we really are. If Purim is about our tendency to be inauthentic, on Yom Kippur, we seek to remove all pretense. [...]

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 [...]