Wherever living and practicing are living these days the air is filled with fantasy. It is Purim. The great holiday recorded in Book of Esther. It is a simple story. The great King Ahasverus is celebrating the third anniversary of his coronation. Invitations are sent to one hundred twenty seven provinces. Each is asked to send delegations to the great celebration. Unfortunately the King is facing the usual difficulties of Empire governing. There are plotters who want to deprive him of his monarchy. There are many members of the court, each acting as a lobbyist, furthering their own causes. The country itself is a conglomeration of many tribes and traditions. The King hoped to solidify his power through this extraordinary anniversary event. As we find in many ancient tales there is one person, who had a special ax to grind. His name is Haman. A descendant of the Amalekites, the Jewish people’s oldest enemy. Simultaneously Haman, the Amalekite, having ingratiated himself in the King’s eyes, plans for destruction of the Jews – the enemy of Haman’s ancient people. The entire book of Esther is the playing out of this drama. The characters are the King’s two wives, the leader of the Jewish exile community – Mordechai, and Haman – the villain. As Fate would have it Mordechai and Esther won and Haman suffered a terrible defeat. The holiday is celebrated exuberantly as the text tells us the wines both strong and light flowed without end this became a mainstay of the Purim celebration: eat, drink and be merry.
Rabbi Harry Sky
