Purim Guide for the Perplexed 2022: Yoram Ettinger
- Purim 2022 will begin in the evening of Wednesday , March 16 and ends in the evening of Thursday , March 17
Purim 2022 will begin this evening of March 16 and ends tomorrow evening. There is no one better to explain the relevance of this Jewish holiday than my friend Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger. rsk
1. Purim is a Jewish national liberation holiday – just like Passover and Chanukah – which highlights optimism, commemorating the transformation of the Jewish people from subjugation to liberty. It is celebrated seven days following the birth and death date of Moses, who is a historical role model of liberty, leadership and humility.
Purim is celebrated (on March 17, 2022) at a time when the relatively cold and stormy winter shifts into the relatively warm and pleasant spring.
2. Remembrance is at the core the Purim holiday, and the Scroll of Esther – which narrates the Purim saga – is also named The Book of Remembrance.
The aim the hero of Purim – Mordechai who became the chief advisor to the King of Persia – was to alert the assimilated Jewish community of Persia, that forgetfulness and detachment from their Jewish roots lead to oblivion, while the systematic nurturing of remembrance of historic roots is the foundation of productive action, and a prerequisite to growth, security and respect by fellow human beings.
The pre-Purim Sabbath is called The Sabbath of Remembrance, commemorating the deadly threat of the Amalekites, who aimed to annihilate the Jewish people upon deliverance from Egypt.
Commemorating deliverance from lethal threats, aims to avoid wishful-thinking and dwell on a realistic view of the world, which is replete with threats.
Furthermore, the main events and personalities of Purim are connected to major Biblical milestones. For example, Queen Esther – the Purim heroine -was emboldened by the legacy of Sarah the Matriarch, and the deliverance of the Jews of Persia by Mordechai was inspired by the legacy of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt, and by the determination to rectify the flaws of King Saul.
3. Purim’s historical background. The 586 BCE destruction of the 1st Jewish Temple and the expulsion of Jews from Judea and Samaria – by the Babylonian Emperor, Nebuchadnezzar – triggered a Jewish exile to Babylon and Persia. Eventually, Persia replaced Babylon as the leading regional power. In 538 BCE, Xerxes the Great, Persia’s King Ahasuerus, the successor of Darius the Great, proclaimed his support for the reconstruction of the Jerusalem Jewish Temple and the resurrection of national Jewish life in the Land of Israel. In 499-449 BCE, Ahasuerus established a coalition of countries – from India to Ethiopia – which launched the Greco-Persian Wars, aiming to expand the Persian Empire westward. However, Persia was resoundingly defeated (e.g., the 490 BCE and 480 BCE battles of Marathon and Salamis), and Ahasuerus’ authority in Persia was gravely eroded.
4. Purim is celebrated on the 14th/15th day of the Jewish month of Adar, which ushers in happiness. Adar is the root of the Hebrew adjective Adir (אדיר), which stands for the adjectives glorious, exalted and magnificent. It is, also, a derivative of the Akkadian word Adura (heroism).
5. Queen Esther is the heroine of Purim. The Scroll of Esther is one of the five Biblical Scrolls, which are highlighted during Jewish holidays: Song of Songs (Passover), Scroll of Ruth (Pentecost), Lamentations (the 9th day of Av – destruction of the Jewish Temple), Ecclesiastes (Feast of Tabernacles) and The Scroll of Esther (Purim). Esther was Mordechai’s niece (or cousin), demonstrating the centrality of women in Judaism, as did Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah (the Matriarchs), Miriam (Moses’ older sister), Batyah (who saved Moses’ life), Deborah (the Prophetess, Judge and military leader), Hannah (Samuel’s mother) and Yael (who killed Sisera, the Canaanite General).
Esther was one of the seven Biblical Jewish Prophetesses: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther (Megillah tractate of the Mishnah, 14:71). Sarah lived 127 years and Esther was the Queen of 127 countries. 1+2+7=10, which is a symbol of totality, wholesomeness, completeness.
The name Esther was a derivative of Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of beauty and fertility, as well as Stara, the Persian morning star, which shifts darkness into light, thus becoming a symbol of deliverance. The name evolved into Aphrodite and Venus, the Greek and Roman goddesses of love, beauty and fertility. The Hebrew word for Venus is Noga, which is a Biblical divine light and the second-brightest star after the moon. It is the name of my oldest, and very special, granddaughter.
The Hebrew name of Esther was Hadassah, whose root is Hadass, which is the Hebrew word for the myrtle tree. The myrtle tree features prominently during the Feast of Tabernacles. It is known for its pleasant scent and humble features, including leaves in the shape of the human eye. Greek mythology identifies the myrtle tree with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
6. Mordechai, the hero of Purim and one of the deputies of Ezra the Scribe – who led a wave of Jewish ingathering from Babylon to the Land of Israel – was a role model of principle-driven optimism in defiance of colossal odds, in the face of a super power, and in defiance of the assimilated Jewish establishment. The first three Hebrew letters of Mordechai (מרדכי) spell the Hebrew word “rebellion” (מרד). Mordechai did not bow to Haman, the second most powerful person in the Persian Empire. He was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, the only son of Jacob who did not bow to Esau. Mordechai was a descendant of King Saul, who defied a clear commandment to eradicate the Amalekites, sparing the life of Agag, the Amalekite king, thus precipitating further calamities upon the Jewish People. Mordechai learned from Saul’s crucial error and eliminated Haman, a descendant of Agag the Amalekite, thus sparing the Jewish People from a major disaster.
7. Purim’s (פורים) Hebrew root is “fate” as well as “casting lots” (פור), commemorating Haman’s lottery which determined a designated day for the annihilation of the Jewish People. It also means “to frustrate,” “to annul” (הפר), “to crumble” and “to shutter” (פורר), reflecting the demise of Haman.
8. “Purimfest 1946” yelled Julius Streicher, the Nazi propaganda chief, as he approached the hanging gallows (Newsweek, October 28, 1946, page 46). On October 16, 1946, ten convicted leading Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg (the ten sons of Haman were hung in ancient Persia). Julius Streicher studied the Aryan connection to the descendants of the Amalekites – who were the worst enemies of the Jewish people – and particularly to Haman (who was an Agagi – a descendant of Agag, a Biblical Amalekite King) and other Persians. Hence, Streicher’s assumption that Purim was relevant to the fate of the enemies of the Jewish people.
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