The Story of Purim

Ahasuerus then sent out representatives of the palace to find him a new wife. Among the women brought to the palace was Hadassah, or Esther, a Jewish orphan who had been raised by her uncle, Mordecai. The king fell in love with Esther and made her his wife.

One day, after Esther had become queen, her uncle, Mordecai, heard two men plotting against King Ahasuerus. Mordecai told Esther, who, in turn, told the king. The two men wrere found and hanged. Mordecai's good deed was written in the king's book of chronicles, yet apparently, the king did not know at this time that it had been Mordecai who had warned him of the potential assassins.

Later on, King Ahasuerus appointed a man named Haman to be his chief advisor. The king commanded that everyone in the kingdom was to bow before Haman. Mordecai the Jew, however, refused to bow before Haman and this made Haman extrememly angry. As punishment, Haman decided to destroy the entire Jewish people. He appeared before the king and said to him:

"There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king's laws; therefore it profiteth not the king to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed;" (Esther 3:8-9)

The king answered Haman's request by giving him free reign to do as he thought fit. Ahasuerus did not know, of course, that Haman was speaking of the Jews, as Haman never specifically mentioned the name of the people.

Letters were sent throughout the kingdom stating that on the 13th day of the month of Adar, all Jews were to be slain. When Mordecai heard of the decree, he put on clothes of mourning and protested in the middle of the city of Shushan. Esther, who knew nothing of the decree, heard of her uncle's outcry and sent servants to find out what was wrong with him. Mordecai told the servants everything and asked them to beg Esther to talk to the king. Esther replied that anyone who went before the king without being summoned would be punished by death (unless the king were to hold out his scepter). The servants told this to Mordecai, who replied that Esther should remember that she herself would not be exempt from Haman's decree. Esther was convinced and asked that her uncle and all the Jews of Shushan fast and pray for her before she went before the king and she said, "I will go unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)

When Esther went before Ahasuerus, he was happy to see her and therefore held out his scepter, thus sparing her life. The king asked Esther what she wanted and she invited the king and Haman to a banquet that she wished to prepare that evening. That night at the meal, Esther told the king that she wished to prepare yet another banquet for him and for Haman the following night.

Haman was thrilled to have been the only one of the king's advisors to have been invited to the two banquets. But on his way home from the first banquet, he saw Mordecai sitting outside the palace gates and just the site of him made Haman furious. Haman told this to his wife, Zeresh, who suggested that he have a gallows built and that the following morning, he ask the king's permission to hang Mordecai. That way, he could attend the evening banquet in a good mood. Haman liked the idea and he had the gallows built immediately.

That night, the king had trouble sleeping, so he asked that his book of chronicles be read to him. From the chronicles, he learned of the good deed that Mordecai had done for him by warning Esther of the potential assassins. The king asked what reward Mordecai had received for this good deed and learned that there had been no reward.

Just then, Haman arrived at the king's court to ask permission to hang Mordecai. He was brought before the king, who asked him what could be given to a man who the king had decided to honor. Haman couldn't imagine who the king would want to honor besides him, so he said that this man should be given royal apparel and one of the king's horses, on which he should ride through the city. Ahasuerus then commanded Haman to bring the royal apparel and the horse to Mordecai and to have him ride through the city. Having no other choice, Haman obeyed.

That night at the banquet, Ahasuerus asked Esther what she wished of him. The queen replied that she and her people were to be slain and she asked the king to save them. The king then asked who it was who wished to destroy her people and she answered that it was Haman. The king was furious with Haman and he left the room. In the meantime, Haman begged Esther to spare his life. When the king returned, one of the servants pointed out the gallows that Haman had had built to hang Mordecai, who had saved the king. Ahasuerus declared that Haman was to be hanged on the gallows.

After Haman had been hanged, Mordecai became the king's chief advisor. Esther then asked that the king cancel the order to kill the Jews. He had Mordecai write another letter, cancelling the "death warrant" and send it throughout the kingdom. On the day that the Jews were to be slain, they destroyed all of their enemies, instead. On the following day, Ahasuerus had Haman's ten sons hanged. That day, the 14th of Adar, is the day on which we celebrate Purim.

The name Purim is the plural of the Hebrew word "pur", meaning "lot" or "fate", as Haman had cast a lot against the Jews to destroy them, yet this lot had been reversed and cast against Haman and the enemies of the Jewish people.