THE Many
ADVENTURES
OF ESTHER
The story of Purim
The Story of Purim
The story of Purim is found in The Megillah, the
Scroll on which the Book of Esther is written. It tells
the story of Queen Esther, King Ahasuerus, Esther's
uncle (or cousin) Mordechai, and the king's chief
advisor Haman
Though Synagogues are mostly solemn places, it
becomes festive as children dress up as their favorite
Purim characters and rattle graggers
(noisemakers) at every mention of
Haman's name.
The Story of Purim
One day the King of Persia,
Ahashverosh, decided to have a
feast. During the feast he called for
his wife, Queen Vashti, because he
wanted to show all the guests how
beautiful she was.
Vashti was very insulted and refused
to appear. The king got very angry. He
was worried that all the women in his
kingdom would stop obeying their
husbands if they found out that the
queen didn't come when the king
called her. He decided to teach her a
lesson and find a new queen.
The King decided to bring beautiful
women from all over the world and give
them beauty treatments for a year, so he
could choose a new queen. A Jewish
man called Mordechai lived in Shushan.
He looked after Esther, his cousin,
because she was an orphan. Esther was
chosen to live in the palace and prepare
to be seen by the king. She didn't tell
anyone that she was Jewish. The king
liked Esther best and chose her to be his
queen.
Mordechai spent a lot of time near the palace so that he could
keep in touch with Esther. One day he overheard two guards
plotting to kill the king. He told Esther, who told the king in
Mordechai's name. The guards were hanged and a note made in
the king's chronicles.
The King chose Haman
to be
his chief advisor. Everyone had to
bow down whenever
Haman
passed, but Mordechai, who was
often outside the palace, refused
to bow because Jews bow only
before G-D.. This made
Haman
very angry and he decided to kill
Mordechai and all the Jews in the
kingdom as a punishment.
He cast lots or PURIM to determine the day of destruction.
Haman
went to the King and
and convinced him to go along with
his plans. When Mordechai heard
about what had happened, he tore his
clothes, wore sackcloth and ashes,
and walked through the city crying
loudly. Mordechai told Esther about
the evil decree and asked Esther to
intercede for the Jews.
Esther sent a message back that the law states that anyone who
goes to the king without being called must be put to death. Only
if the king points his golden scepter to a person, will he live.
Esther said that she would fast for 3 days and asked that all the
Jews in Shushan should fast too. "...then I will go to the king,
even though it is against the law, and if I must die, then I will
On the third day, Esther put on royal
clothes and stood in the inner courtyard
of the palace. The king was happy to see
Esther and pointed the gold scepter at
her. "What is it you wish, Queen Esther?
Even if you want half the kingdom, I will
give it to you." Esther said, "I would like
to invite the king and Haman
to a
feast." At the feast, while King Ahashverosh and Haman
were happily
drinking wine, Esther asked them to
come back the next day for yet another
feast.
Haman
left in a very good mood - until he saw Mordechai who
wouldn't bow down. He arrived home very angry. He told his wife and
their friends that all his wealth and power meant nothing to him as
long as he had to look at Mordechai. They suggested that he build a
big gallows and ask the king to hang Mordechai on it in the morning.
Haman
liked the idea, and built the gallows.
That night, the king could not sleep, and
asked for his book of chronicles. He read
how Mordechai had saved him from the
two guards, and had never been rewarded.
At that moment Haman
arrived to
speak with the king about hanging
Mordechai.
"Haman,
" said the king. "What should be done for a man whom the
king wants to honor."
"Who would the King want to honor more than me?" Haman
thought. So he said: "Bring him the kings clothes and the king's horse,
give him a crown to wear and lead him through Shushan."
"Hurry," said the king. "You must do exactly what you just said to
Mordechai the Jew."
And that's what Haman
did.
Afterwards he went home sad and embarrassed.
It was the second feast that Queen Esther made for
the king and Haman.
"What is your wish?"
asked the king, "you can have half the kingdom if
you want."
So Queen Esther told the king that she and all her
people were about to be killed. "Who dares to do
this?" cried the king. "The evil Haman." said Esther.
The king jumped up in anger and stormed out into
the palace garden. Haman started to beg Queen
Esther for his life. When the king came back,
Haman
was kneeling on Esther's bed, which
made the king even more angry.
One of his servants said, "Haman
has prepared gallows to hang
Mordechai, who helped the king. "Hang him on it!" the king said. So they
hanged Haman
on the gallows he had prepared for Mordechai.
That same day, King Ahashverosh gave Queen
Esther everything that had belonged to Haman.
Mordechai was put in charge of Haman's
household. Now Esther had to plead again with
King Ahashverosh, because the law that the
Jews were to be killed had been sealed with the
king's ring and could not be changed. So a new
law was made and sent to all the countries and
provinces. It allowed the Jews to join together
and defend themselves and take the property of
anyone who tried to attack them.
Mordechai left wearing royal
clothes and a big gold crown. The
city of Shushan and Jews
everywhere were joyful and happy.
Many people even pretended that
they were Jewish because they
were afraid of the Jews.
On the 13th of Adar, the day that the
enemies of the Jews had believed they
would kill them, the opposite happened,
and the Jews rose up over their enemies.
The Jews gathered in all the countries of
King Ahashverosh, to attack those who
wanted to hurt them. No one stood in
their way because they were afraid. The
Jews killed their enemies but did not
take any of their property.
Queen Esther and Mordechai wrote that the Jews should remember what
happened, and make a festival for themselves and their children, with
feasts and giving food to each other. Because Haman had held a pur, a
lottery, for when the Jews would be killed, the festival was called Purim.