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Purim

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The story of Purim

When Achashverosh was king of Persia, he gave a royal banquet for the nobility of Persia. This banquet lasted no less than 180 days. After these 180 days, he gave another banquet for all the inhabitants of the royal city of Shushan. This banquet lasted for only seven days. On the last day of this banquet, when the king's heart was merry because of the wine, he demanded that his queen Vashti, who had her own banquet with the women of Shushan, should come to his palace, as he wanted to show her off.

The queen boldly refused. In his anger the king sent the queen away, and her royal status was taken from her. After a while, when the king's anger had subsided, his personal attendants suggested that a new wife should be found for the king.
Servants went on their way to find beautiful girls and take them to the royal palace. One of the girls taken to the palace was the Jewish girl Esther, who lived with her uncle Mordechai ever since the death of her parents. The king choose her to become his new queen.

***

Much later Haman, one of the kings highest officials, became to outrank all of the king's other officials, and so he wanted all people to prostrate themselves before him. But Mordechai, Eshter's uncle, refused to do so. This enraged Haman and made a plot to kill, destroy and annihilate all Jews in all the Persian kingdom. To decide on which day this massacre was to take place, he threw lots. After this, Haman went to king Achasverosh to get his permission to have a decree written that all Jews in all the Persian kingdom were to be killed, destroyed and annihilated on the thirteenth day of the month Adar.

Soon the word spread, and all Jews in all the kingdom mourned greatly, put on sackcloth and ahshes and weeped and fasted. When Mordechai learned what misfortune had befallen the Jewish people, he tore his clothes too, put on sackcloth and ashes and went into the city, crying out loud. He even went to the gates of the palace, but couldn't enter the gates, because no-one was allowed inside the gates wearing a sackcloth.

When queen Esther was told that her uncle was just outside the gates, wearing sackcloth and ashes, she was greatly distressed and sent him proper clothes to wear, but he refused to put them on. Then Eshter sent one of her servants to learn from Mordechai what was wrong, and her told him about what was going to happen to the Jewish people, and gave him a transcript of the decree to show it to the queen. He also told him to ask Esther to go to the king and to beg for mercy for her people.

Queen Esther was afraid to go to the king, because in approaching her husband, the king, without being summoned she would risk her own life. But Mordechai told her:

"Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house,
more than all the Jews.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time,
then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed:
and who knoweth whether
thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
(Esther 4: 13, 14)

Then Esther sent word to her uncle:

"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan,
and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day:
I also and my maidens will fast likewise;
and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law:
and if I perish, I perish."
(Esther 4: 16)

***

As it turned out, the king was pleased to see queen Esther, when she finally approached him, and he promised to give her everything she wanted, even up to half the kingdom.
Queen Esther asked the king to come to a banquet at her palace, together with Haman. The king gladly consented, and at the banquet he asked her again what it was, that she wanted from him. She asked him that he and Haman would come to another banquet at her palace the next day, and then she would make her request known to the king.
And so the king and Haman had another banquet with queen Esther and the king asked his queen again what her request was. Then queen Esther answered her husband:

"If I have found favour in thy eyes, O king, and if it please with the king,
let my life be given me at my petition,
and my people at my request:
4 For we are sold, I and my people,
to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish."
(Esther 7: 3, 4)

The king, of course, wants to know who this evil person is, that wants to do such a thing, and Esther tells him:

"The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman."
(Esther 7: 6)

So in the end, Haman gets hanged, and the Jews are allowed to defend themselves on the day set for their destruction, and to destroy and kill their enemies on that day.

***

The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
And in every province, and in every city,
whithersoever place the king's commandment and his decree came,
the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day.
And many of the people of the land became Jews;
for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.
(Esther 8: 16, 17)

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© Leah, True2Torah, 2002-2008, all rights reserved.