Purim: A Misunderstood Holiday
Contrary to much popular opinion, Purim is not just a holiday for kids.
Purim, which this year is celebrated in most places1 from Thursday evening, March 13 to Friday sundown, March 14, commemorates a time when all the Jews in Persia were slated to be massacred, but were not. It is the most misunderstood holiday in the Jewish year.
The story of Purim is written in the Book of Esther, called the Megillah. It is one of five megillot, writings that are part of the Jewish holy books. The version of the Book of Esther included in the Christian Bible is not identical with the Jewish version. I am writing here about the Jewish version, which is available online at www.chabad.org.
God is not mentioned in the book, but the many "coincidences" speak to His unseen presence. This is discussed in many articles on the holiday and will not be discussed here. My focus in these troubled times is on the reminder of a timeless political reality that should be heeded by every generation.
The story begins when King Ahashuerus hosts a half-year party to celebrate his ascension to the throne. In the course of this drunken orgy, he orders his wife to appear—naked. She refuses and disappears from the story. Other Jewish texts say she was killed for her disobedience. The king then holds a contest to find the best replacement and chooses a Jewish woman, Esther, who has not identified herself as Jewish.
Through a complicated series of incidents Haman, an evil man aspiring to power, convinces the king that the Jews are planning to take over the country. The king orders the Jews to be killed on a certain date. Mordechai, Esther's uncle and adopted father, convinces Esther to try to save her people, even though by going to the king without having been invited she risks her own death. In the end, Esther and all the Jewish people are saved, Haman is killed, and Mordechai becomes the king's chief advisor.
Why the holiday is misunderstood​
Several holiday customs make the holiday seem like a day for parties and merrymaking for both adults and children. For one, when the Megillah is read aloud in synagogue (once at night on Purim Eve and then again the next day), congregants "stamp out the name of Haman." That is, when his name is read, people make noise. Many use noisemakers while others boo, hiss, clap, or stamp their feet. How much noise and for how long depends on the congregation; it can go from minimal to total craziness.
Secondly, although wine is used at the festive meals that are part of the Jewish Sabbath and holiday observances, drunkenness is frowned on. However, on Purim we are instructed to drink until we "can't tell the difference between Mordechai and Haman." Spoofs of holy works are often written; in this social media age there will be a slew of funny memes. In some communities, at the festive meal people make up silly verses about each other, like a roast where everyone is fair game.
Children, and in many communities adults as well, wear costumes. The custom reminds us that God is present in the Purim story, although in a hidden form. We also give gifts of food to friends and neighbors. These two customs give some the idea that the holiday is like Halloween—just a day for crazy fun and food.
In many Reform and Conservative congregations, the Megillah is not read in its entirety. The rabbi and/or congregation members might act out the most dramatic scenes of the book with lots of comedic lines and actions, the children might put on a little play, or a movie of the story might even be shown.
Why the story is important today
Because it seems like a children’s holiday and is not read in some temples, many Jews have never read the whole story. They never understand that it contains a a practical, not spiritual, lesson that is very pertinent to our lives, regardless of how traditional or liberal we are.
The story of Esther is a very serious recounting that shows political chicanery at its or worst. It shows that, as the French adage goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." It reminds us to keep an open mind and eye to our situation as Jews. Our safety always depends on the government under which we live. Even Israel, because of its small size, is often forced by larger and more powerful governments to do things that are against its interest.
Ahashuerus was not bright and easily bribed; Hitler was evil. Now "conspiracy theories" about the previous US administration are being discovered to be fact. Evidence has been uncovered showing that Biden became wealthy by peddling his influence, possibly throughout most of his 45 years in government service. (One of the things many Americans like about Trump is that he is so wealthy already that influence-peddling would be for him like us going through dumpsters for bottles to return for the deposit.) We are also learning that Biden's government not only did nothing to stop antisemitic incidents on colleges and anti-Israel rioting, but gave, according the Office of Inspector General, US Agency for International Development,2 over $1.2 billion in "humanitarian aid" to Palestine—money which Israel knows goes directly to Hamas—after the beginning of the October 7 War. At the same time, he withheld promised arms shipments to Israel.
Among the lessons of Purim are these:
When the ruler or governing body is weak or evil, Jews are endangered.
Jews, with our own unique culture, try to fit in wherever we are and have no interest in taking over any other country (we have always known that we have our own country, called Israel). But because Jewish culture is different,3 we always stand out, and we are always small in number. This combination makes us good targets for those interested in obtaining power.
People project their thoughts and dreams on others. They assume that everyone thinks like they do. If they want power, then the Jews must, too. A modern-day example: Palestinian Arabs, whose culture is barbaric, see people who are not barbaric as weak, and assume that given the opportunity those people would also be barbaric. They rape and kill with impunity, so they believe that Israelis do, too. This is another reason we make good targets.
Assimilation as a protective measure does not work; the Jews when Ahashuerus gained the throne were demoralized; just a few generations earlier their Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed and they had been moved to Babylonia, which was then conquered by Persia. They were not unified and they tried to adapt to their new home by assimilating.
Prof. Peter I. Rose, a sociologist at an upstate New York university, wrote his dissertation in the 1950's on the attitudes of non-Jews to Jews living in remote places and how living in small towns affected the Jews. Twenty years later, a doctoral student conducted a follow-up study on the same families. Rose's book, "Strangers in their Midst," was the result. Perhaps the most interesting finding was that non-Jews, at least in the region of this research, respected Jews who followed the laws of traditional Judaism much more than those who assimilated more completely.4,5
Conclusion
When we internalize the lessons of Purim, we know that having a weak ruler who is susceptible to those wanting to ride his coattails can easily be turned against Jews. Understanding this, we keep an eye out for signs of this behavior in whoever is in power. Perhaps this is why Orthodox Jews, who are much more familiar with the story of Purim than those in the liberal branches of Judaism, prefer the limited government of conservatism: our fate is not tightly held in the easily-compromised hands of one or two weak or evil people.
Ignoring these lessons leaves our people very much at risk.
Jerusalem was one of the cities in Israel that were encircled by walls at the time that Joshua secured the Holy Land when the Jews returned from Egyptian exile. Those cities celebrate Purim for two days, not one. This was instituted when the holiday was decreed to commemorate that Jews in the walled Persian city of Shushan. The capital city at the time, the Purim story occurred there. It was Haman’s city. The people there were given an extra day to kill their attackers.
Office of Inspector General, U.S.Agency for International Development, Readout: USAID Inspector General visit to Israel, Press Release, Feb. 03, 2025, https://oig.usaid.gov/node/7418 , accessed March 12, 2025.
Three ways in which our culture is different:
Orthodox tradition keeps socialization between sexes minimal, so common American ways of socializing are uncommon, even among nonreligious Jews who just are comfortable doing what their families did, carrying on traditional forms of behavior even though the reasons behind them are lost. We do often invite friends, including whole families, to share meals on Sabbaths and holidays, but afternoon barbecues with beers and a pick-up ball game is practically unknown.
Traditionally we do not dance with members of the opposite sex. Also, our male tradition is to go to the synagogue study hall in the evening, not to the bars. Put these together, and the "club scene" is just not part of our consciousness.
We value education over athletic prowess and physical appearance.
Bandes, H.H., Isolated: A review of 'Strangers in their midst' by Peter I. Rose. Present Tense Magazine, Autumn 1977, p. 69.
I once knew a man who discovered this truth himself. Not concerned with his Jewish heritage, he took a job in a remote American city where he was one of a small handful of Jews. One man in his office gave him a hard time on a nearly daily basis, using anti-Jewish slurs and worse. The Jewish man became interested in Judaism, began studying, became a vegetarian because kosher meat was not available in his community, and eventually started wearing a yarmulke (skullcap) outside of work. But he was afraid to wear the yarmulke at work for fear of what the antisemite would do. Finally, though, he decided if he had to fight the man, he would. He showed up at work with the yarmulke on. His enemy walked around him three times, said, "Well, you finally decided to live like a Jew," and sat down. He never again harassed the Jew and in time they became friends.
I once knew a man who discovered this truth himself. Not concerned with his Jewish heritage, he took a job in a remote American city where he was one of a small handful of Jews. One man in his office gave him a hard time on a nearly daily basis, using anti-Jewish slurs and worse. The Jewish man became interested in Judaism, began studying, became a vegetarian because kosher meat was not available in his community, and eventually started wearing a yarmulke (skullcap) outside of work. But he was afraid to wear the yarmulke at work for fear of what the antisemite would do. Finally, though, he decided if he had to fight the man, he would. He showed up at work with the yarmulke on. His enemy walked around him three times, said, "Well, you finally decided to live like a Jew," and sat down. He never again harassed the Jew and in time they became friends.