וְכָל עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁעַר הַמֶּלֶךְ כֹּרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהָמָן כִּי כֵן צִוָּה לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ וּמָרְדֳּכַי לֹא יִכְרַע וְלֹא יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה
“All the king’s servants at the king’s gate kneeled and bowed before Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him. But Mordechai would not kneel or bow.” (Megilat Esther, 3.2).
וַיֹּאמֶר הָמָן לַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים בְּכֹל מְדִינוֹת מַלְכוּתֶךָ וְדָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכָּל עָם וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים וְלַמֶּלֶךְ אֵין שֹׁוֶה לְהַנִּיחָם.
“Haman said to King Achashverosh, “There is one nation scattered and dispersed among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, whose laws are unlike those of any other nation and who do not obey the laws of the King. It is not in the King’s interest to tolerate them.” (Megilat Esther, 3.8)
And because of this intransigence of Mordechai he and with him all the Jews of Persia should be killed , scheduled by lot (“pur”) for the 13th of the month of Adar. It turned out differently. Thanks to the courage of Queen Esther and the provoked resistance, the assassination plan was foiled.
With Purim, we are reminded of the danger of that time, that rebellion against injustice is crucial, and finally that salvation is possible. Purim symbolises trust in the indestructibility of the Jewish people.
That’s why we celebrate!
The Purim events took place in 356 BCE. Any resemblance of this story to people living today and real situations in Europe is not accidental, it is inevitable.