Purim
Certainty & The Book of Esther
What is Purim?
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people in the 5th Century BCE from Haman, a royal advisor to Ahasuerus, the King of Persia. The story is set forth in the Book of Esther, which chronicles the miraculous turn of events when the Jews were spared despite an edict by the king to destroy the entire nation.
The holiday is based around the story read in the Book of Esther (Megillat Esther), one of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. The book is known in Hebrew as "the scroll" or Megillah. The Talmud states that, unlike the other festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, the holiday of Purim is eternal. When Moshiach (the Messiah) comes, the sages suggest we will not celebrate any of the holidays or read any of the books of the Torah, except for Purim and the Book of Esther.
The mystical texts also draw an analogy between "Purim" and "Yom Kippurim", the holiday considered by most Jews to be the pinnacle of high holidays. Yom Kippurim literally means - "a day like Purim", indicating that Purim has an advantage of being a more elevated or eternal holiday. Both holidays are an opportunity to connect to G-d, however Yom Kippur requires restraint from basic human needs (i.e. eating, drinking bathing, etc) whereas Purim revolves around a feast of eating, drinking and merriment. On Purim we celebrate man’s involvement with the physical creation and imbue the physical with spirituality. The connection made on Purim elevates physicality to a divinely intended purpose and manifests the intrinsic oneness of the universe.
Two key aspects to Purim and our understanding of the holiday are (1) the hidden aspect of G-d throughout the story; and (2) the ability to maintain certainty during times of significant challenges or doubts. Unlike most other books of the Hebrew Bible, G-d's name is never written in the Book of Esther, showing us G-d is at work behind human events.
The holiday is always celebrated on the 14th of Adar, the date on which the Jews experienced the miraculous turn of events from destruction to celebration. The story tells of how a seemingly irreversible edict to destroy the Jewish nation was converted into a day of celebration when the antagonist, Haman, was killed along with his 10 sons on the same gallows he had constructed for Mordechai, his Jewish nemesis.
From the story we learn the importance of maintaining certainty, regardless of the situation at hand. When G-d works behind the scenes and we have certainty in his presence, there is nothing, not even an edict of genocide, that cannot be turned to our favor.
How do we celebrate?
Mitzvot
Listening to the Public Reading of the Megillah - it is a mitzvah (good deed) to listen to a public reading of the Megillah, which is read at night on Erev Purim as well as on the morning of the holiday on the 14th of Adar. Unlike other Torah readings, it is an obligation for woman to hear the Megillah as women benefitted from the Purim miracle and Esther, one of the main protagonists of the story, was a woman. A further nuance to the reading is the well-observed custom to make noise, boo or blot out Haman's name every time it is mentioned in the story. This is typically done by stamping your feet or using a noisemaker called a gragger. While listening to the Megillah, we should have the intention to erase any emotions that take us from a place of love and joy.
Sending Food Gifts to Friends - The Book of Ester prescribes the giving of at least two different food items to one person on the holiday. This custom is called Mishloach Manot or sending of portions.
Giving Charity to the Poor - Jewish law also requires the giving of charity to two poor people to fulfill the mitzvot set forth on the Book of Esther. Spiritually, Esther is considered the physical world, while King Ahasuerus is representative of the upper worlds. It is only through sharing and giving charity that we can bridge the physical and spiritual realms and connect to the energy of miracles available on Purim.
Eating a Festive Meal (and drinking!) - On Purim day a festive meal is served (Seudat Purim) and fasting is prohibited. There is also a long-standing custom, originally set forth in the Talmud that says one should drink on Purim until they can no longer distinguish between cursed Haman and blessed Mordechai, The drinking helps to stimulate spiritual blindness and perhaps the ability to freely access the higher realms. Through drinking we are able to blur our body and connect to soul consciousness over our logical thoughts.
Fasting - The Fast of Esther is observed before Purim on the 13th of Adar and is an original aspect of the Purim holiday. The fast is based on both a connection to Esther, who fasted before approaching the King to ask for her people to be saved, and is based on the Talmudic reference to the 13th of Adar as a day of "gathering", meant to be a time of public prayer and fasting.
Customs
Masquerade & Costume Parties - This custom has been in place for hundreds of years and has a variety of explanations:
- A way to emulate G-d who was disguised and remained concealed in the Book of Esther
- Alludes to the hidden miracle of Purim that was disguised by natural events, but was really the work of G-d
- A way to remain anonymous when providing the mitzvah of charity during Purim
- Haman's hatred for Mordechai being connected to Jacob dressing up like Esau to receive his blessing
- Esther "hiding" or not revealing she was a Jew
- Mordechai wearing sackcloth and the King's robe in the story
- Jews bowing to Haman from an "outside" perspective, while maintaining "internal" Jewish beliefs
Special Foods - Hamantaschen & Kreplach - Triangular pastries, typically filled with raspberry, apricot, date or poppy seeds are called Hamantaschen (Haman's pockets) and are eaten on Purim. Kreplach, dumplings filled with meat are also eaten. Both of these foods "hide" the meat or fruit fillings, reminding us of the Story of Esther, one of the only Hebrew scriptures that does not mention G-d's name, showing us he is hiding and working behind the scenes.
Purim Spiel - a Purim play or comedic dramatization of the story of Purim, often performed by children on the holiday.
Giving of 1/2 Shekel (Machatzit HaShekel) - On Erev Purim, there is a custom to give three coins to charity, to recall the half-shekel that was donated annually to the ancient Temple treasury in the month of Adar. Each coin should be the denomination of half the standard currency in the country (e.g. half a shekel, half a dollar, half a pound).
Special Prayers - There is a special prayer for miracles (Al HaNissim) added to the Amidah (silent prayer) and Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) on Purim. This prayer is also added on Chanukah.
Additional insights to Purim
Shabbat Zachor - The Shabbat before Purim is call Shabbat Zachor and we read a special section from the Torah that reminds us to "remember Amalek and to erase him from memory". Since Haman was a descendant from Amalek, we read this portion before Purim and are reminded to erase both of these negative energies from our minds.
Hitler and Nazi Connection to Purim - Adolf Hitler and his henchmen were aware of Purim and forbade the observance of the holiday. The Nazis also often used the holiday as a time to commit atrocious killings of innocent people. After the war, ten Nazi leaders were sentenced to death for war crimes and were hung on gallows on October 16, 1946. In the Book of Ester, there are two incredible connections to the Nazis which possibly foretell a reason for their dislike of the holiday.
In the reading, there are three small, and seemingly out of place, letters and a larger than normal letter Vav in the same section with the names of Haman's sons. The small letters - Taf, Shin and Zayin, have the numerical value of 707, while the large Vav represents the 6th millenium. Taken together, these oddly placed letters correspond to the Hebrew year 5707, or the Gregorian year 1946, the same year Hitler's henchman were sentenced and hung.
We also read in the Book of Esther, that Esther asks the king to "do tomorrow, in addition to what was done this day", to hang Haman's 10 sons. Since the sons had already been hung when she asked, the commentators suggest that the word "tomorrow" is prophecy for the future hanging of Hitler's henchman. Interestingly, the sentence by the military tribunal, which normally would have been by firing squad or electric chair, was specifically prescribed as a "hanging", exactly as Esther requested and as was foretold in the Megillah. Further, while he was approaching the gallows to be hung, Julius Streicher, a Nazi politician and anti-semite, raised his hand in defiance and shouted, "Purimfest 1946".
The actual date of the hanging of the ten war criminals in 1946 was on Hashanah Rabah, the end of the holiday of Sukkot and a day when all of G-d's verdicts and judgements are sealed.
Have a happy and certainty-filled Purim!
Resources & Credits
The Holiday Wisdom emails and the ideas presented herein are compiled from the following sources:
Gutnick Edition Chumash with Rashi's commentary, Targum Onkelos, and commentary anthologized from Classic Rabbinic Texts and the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Apples from the Orchard - Gleanings from the Mystical Teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria on the Weekly Torah Portion
Kabbalistic Bible - Kabbalah Centre International, Inc
Chabad.org
LiveKabbalah.org
The Zohar - Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, various translations
Mysteries of the Kabbalah - Marc-Alain Ouaknin
Other online written and video content that discusses and shares Kabbalistic Wisdom