Purim ( , ) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people by Queen Esther from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther.
According to the Book of Esther, Haman was the royal vizier to the Persian king Ahasuerus (likely Xerxes I or Artaxerxes I; and in Old Persian, respectively). His plans were foiled by Mordecai of the tribe of Benjamin, who previously warned the king about an assassination attempt, and Esther, Mordecai's cousin and adopted daughter who had become queen of Persia after her marriage to Ahasuerus. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing among Jews. Although the Book of Esther is traditionally viewed as a historical document, modern scholarship generally regards it as a historical novel with legendary elements, not a reliable account of Purim’s origins.
According to the Scroll of Esther, "they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor". Purim is celebrated among Jews by: Exchanging gifts of food and drink, known as Donating charity to the poor, known as Eating a celebratory meal with alcoholic beverages, known as or "Mishteh" Public recitation of the Scroll of Esther ( ), or "reading of the Megillah", usually in synagogue Reciting additions to the daily prayers and the grace after meals, known as Applying henna (Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews)
Other customs include wearing masks and costumes, public celebrations and parades (), eating (), and drinking wine.
According to the Hebrew calendar, Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar (and it is celebrated in Adar II in Hebrew leap years, which occur 7 times in every 19 years), the day following the victory of the Jews over their enemies, the 13th of Adar, a date now observed in most years with the fast of Esther.
In cities that were protected by a surrounding wall at the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month of Adar on what is known as , since fighting in the walled city of Shushan continued through the 14th day of Adar.Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayyim 685:1 Today, only in Jerusalem is Purim observed on the 15th, and in several other biblical settlements (such as Hebron and Tiberias) it is celebrated on both dates because of doubts regarding their status as cities surrounded by a wall since the days of Joshua. Small minorities also celebrate both in other ancient Israeli cities as well as several cities outside Israel including Prague,Chayei Adam 155:8 Damascus, İzmir, and Baghdad.
Name Purim is the plural of the Hebrew word פור (loan from Akkadian 𒁓 puru) meaning "lot". Its use as the name of this festival comes from Esther 3:6–7, describing the choice of date:
The book itself describes the naming of the holiday after the lots (Esther 9:26):
Purim narrative
The Scroll of Esther begins with a 180-day drinking feast given by King Ahasuerus of the Persian Empire for the army and Media and the satraps and princes of the 127 provinces of his kingdom, concluding with a seven-day drinking feast for the inhabitants of Shushan (Susa), rich and poor, and a separate drinking feast for the women organized by Queen Vashti in the pavilion of the royal courtyard.
At this feast, Ahasuerus becomes thoroughly drunk and, prompted by his courtiers, orders his wife Vashti to 'display her beauty' before the nobles and populace, while wearing her royal crown. Vashti's refusal embarrasses him in front of his guests and prompts him to demote her from her position as queen. Ahasuerus then orders all of the beautiful women throughout the empire to be presented to him, so that he can choose a new queen to replace Vashti. One of these is Esther, who was orphaned at a young age and is being fostered by her first cousin Mordecai, a member of the Sanhedrin. She finds favor in the King's eyes, and is made his new wife. Esther does not reveal her origins or that she is Jewish, as Mordecai told her not to. Based on the choice of words used in the text some rabbinic commentators state that she was actually Mordecai's wife.
Shortly afterwards, Mordecai discovers a plot by two palace guards Bigthan and Teresh to kill Ahasuerus. They are apprehended and hanged, and Mordecai's service to the King is recorded in the daily record of the court.Esther chapters 1 and 2
Ahasuerus appoints Haman as his viceroy. Mordecai, who sits at the palace gates, falls into Haman's disfavor as he refuses to bow down to him. Having found out that Mordecai is Jewish, Haman plans to kill not just Mordecai but the entire Jewish minority in the empire. Obtaining Ahasuerus' permission and funds to execute this plan, he casts lots () to choose the date on which to do this—the 14th of the month of Adar. When Mordecai finds out about the plans, he puts on sackcloth and ashes, a sign of mourning, publicly weeping and lamenting, and many other Jews in Shushan and other parts of Ahasuerus' empire do likewise, with widespread penitence and fasting. Esther discovers what has transpired; there follows an exchange of messages between her and Mordecai, with Hatach, one of the palace servants, as the intermediary. Mordecai requests that she intercede with the King on behalf of the embattled Jews; she replies that nobody is allowed to approach the King, under penalty of death.
Esther says she will fast and pray for three days and asks Mordecai to request that all Jews of Persia fast and pray for three days together with her. She will then approach the King to seek his help, despite the law against doing so, and declares, 'If I perish, I perish.' On the third day, she seeks an audience with Ahasuerus, during which she invites him to a feast in the company of Haman. During the feast, she asks them to attend a further feast the next evening. Meanwhile, Haman is again offended by Mordecai's refusal to bow to him; egged on by his wife Zeresh and unidentified friends, he builds a gallows for Mordecai, with the intention to hang him there the very next day.Esther chapters 3–5
That night, Ahasuerus suffers from insomnia, and when the court's daily records are read to him to help him fall asleep, he learns of the services rendered by Mordecai in the earlier plot against his life. Ahasuerus asks whether anything was done for Mordecai and is told that he received no recognition for saving the King's life. Just then, Haman appears, and King Ahasuerus asks him what should be done for the man that the King wishes to honor. Thinking that the King is referring to Haman himself, Haman says that the honoree should be dressed in the King's royal robes and led around on the King's royal horse. To Haman's horror, the king instructs Haman to render such honors to Mordecai.Mindel, Nissan. The Complete Story of Purim .
Later that evening, Ahasuerus and Haman attend Esther's second banquet, at which she reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman is planning to exterminate her people, which includes her. Ahasuerus becomes enraged and instead orders Haman hanged on the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai. The previous decree against the Jewish people could not be nullified, so the King allows Mordecai and Esther to write another decree as they wish. They decree that Jewish people may preemptively kill those thought to pose a lethal risk. As a result, on 13 Adar, 500 attackers and 10 of Haman's sons are killed in Shushan. Throughout the empire 75,000 of the Jewish peoples' enemies are killed.Esther chapters 9–16 On the 14th, another 300 are killed in Shushan. No spoils are taken.Esther chapters 6–9
Mordecai assumes the position of second in rank to Ahasuerus, and institutes an annual commemoration of the delivery of the Jewish people from annihilation.Esther chapters 9–10
Scriptural and rabbinical sources
The primary source relating to the origin of Purim is the Book of Esther, which became the last of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible to be canonized by the Sages of the Great Assembly. According to the Talmud, it was a redaction by the Great Assembly of an original text by Mordecai.Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bava Basra 15a.
The in the Mishnah (redacted CE) records the laws relating to Purim. The accompanying Tosefta (redacted in the same period) and Gemara (in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud redacted CE and CE respectively) record additional contextual details such as Queen Vashti having been the daughter of Belshazzar as well as details that accord with Josephus, such as Esther having been of royal descent. Brief mention of Esther is made in Tractate ( 139b) and idolatry relating to worship of Haman is discussed in Tractate ( 61b).
The work Esther Rabbah is a Midrashic text divided in two parts. The first part dated to CE provides an exegetical commentary on the first two chapters of the Hebrew Book of Esther and provided source material for the . The second part may have been redacted as late as the 11th century CE, and contains commentary on the remaining chapters of Esther. It, too, contains the additional contextual material found in the (a chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus believed to have been written by Josippon or Joseph ben Gorion).Moshe David Herr, Encyclopedia Judaica 1997 CD-ROM Edition, article Esther Rabbah, 1997
Historical views Traditional historians
The 1st-century CE historian Josephus recounts the origins of Purim in Book 11 of his Antiquities of the Jews. He follows the Hebrew Book of Esther but shows awareness of some of the additional material found in the Greek version (the Septuagint) in that he too identifies Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes and provides the text of the king's letter. He also provides additional information on the dating of events relative to Ezra and Nehemiah. Josephus also records the Persian persecution of Jews and mentions Jews being forced to worship at Persian-erected shrines.William Whiston, The Works of Flavius Josephus, the Learned and Authentic Jewish Historian, Milner and Sowerby, 1864, online edition Harvard University 2004. Cited in Contra Apionem which quotes a work referred to as Peri Ioudaion (On the Jews), which is credited to Hecataeus of Abdera (late fourth century BCE).
The Josippon, a 10th-century CE compilation of Jewish history, includes an account of the origins of Purim in its chapter 4. It too follows the original biblical account and includes additional traditions matching those found in the Greek version and Josephus (whom the author claims as a source) with the exception of the details of the letters found in the latter works. It also provides other contextual information relating to Jewish and Persian history such as the identification of Darius the Mede as the uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus.David Flusser, Josephus Goridines (The Josippon) (Vols. 1–2), The Bialik Institute, 1978