בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוק בְּדִבְרֵי תורָה:
Blessing for Torah Study
Barukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha'Olam Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu La'asok Bedivrei Torah
Blessed are you Adonai, our God, Sovereign of Eternity, who has made us holy through Your sacred obligations and obligated us to immerse ourselves in the words of Torah.
(א) וּבִשְׁנֵים֩ עָשָׂ֨ר חֹ֜דֶשׁ הוּא־חֹ֣דֶשׁ אֲדָ֗ר בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁ֨ה עָשָׂ֥ר יוֹם֙ בּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגִּ֧יעַ דְּבַר־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וְדָת֖וֹ לְהֵעָשׂ֑וֹת בַּיּ֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר שִׂבְּר֜וּ אֹיְבֵ֤י הַיְּהוּדִים֙ לִשְׁל֣וֹט בָּהֶ֔ם וְנַהֲפ֣וֹךְ ה֔וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁלְט֧וּ הַיְּהוּדִ֛ים הֵ֖מָּה בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶֽם׃
(ב) נִקְהֲל֨וּ הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים בְּעָרֵיהֶ֗ם בְּכָל־מְדִינוֹת֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֳחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ לִשְׁלֹ֣חַ יָ֔ד בִּמְבַקְשֵׁ֖י רָֽעָתָ֑ם וְאִישׁ֙ לֹא־עָמַ֣ד לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־נָפַ֥ל פַּחְדָּ֖ם עַל־כָּל־הָעַמִּֽים׃
(ג) וְכָל־שָׂרֵ֨י הַמְּדִינ֜וֹת וְהָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִ֣ים וְהַפַּח֗וֹת וְעֹשֵׂ֤י הַמְּלָאכָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מְנַשְּׂאִ֖ים אֶת־הַיְּהוּדִ֑ים כִּֽי־נָפַ֥ל פַּֽחַד־מָרְדֳּכַ֖י עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃
(ד) כִּֽי־גָ֤דוֹל מָרְדֳּכַי֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְשָׁמְע֖וֹ הוֹלֵ֣ךְ בְּכָל־הַמְּדִינ֑וֹת כִּֽי־הָאִ֥ישׁ מָרְדֳּכַ֖י הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְגָדֽוֹל׃
(פ) (ה) וַיַּכּ֤וּ הַיְּהוּדִים֙ בְּכָל־אֹ֣יְבֵיהֶ֔ם מַכַּת־חֶ֥רֶב וְהֶ֖רֶג וְאַבְדָ֑ן וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֥וּ בְשֹׂנְאֵיהֶ֖ם כִּרְצוֹנָֽם׃
(ו) וּבְשׁוּשַׁ֣ן הַבִּירָ֗ה הָרְג֤וּ הַיְּהוּדִים֙ וְאַבֵּ֔ד חֲמֵ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת אִֽישׁ׃
(ז) וְאֵ֧ת ׀ פַּרְשַׁנְדָּ֛תָא וְאֵ֥ת ׀ דַּֽלְפ֖וֹן וְאֵ֥ת ׀ אַסְפָּֽתָא׃ (ח) וְאֵ֧ת ׀ פּוֹרָ֛תָא וְאֵ֥ת ׀ אֲדַלְיָ֖א וְאֵ֥ת ׀ אֲרִידָֽתָא׃ (ט) וְאֵ֤ת ׀ פַּרְמַ֙שְׁתָּא֙ וְאֵ֣ת ׀ אֲרִיסַ֔י וְאֵ֥ת ׀ אֲרִדַ֖י וְאֵ֥ת ׀ וַיְזָֽתָא׃ (י) עֲ֠שֶׂרֶת בְּנֵ֨י הָמָ֧ן בֶּֽן־הַמְּדָ֛תָא צֹרֵ֥ר הַיְּהוּדִ֖ים הָרָ֑גוּ וּבַ֨בִּזָּ֔ה לֹ֥א שָׁלְח֖וּ אֶת־יָדָֽם׃
(יא) בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא בָּ֣א מִסְפַּ֧ר הַֽהֲרוּגִ֛ים בְּשׁוּשַׁ֥ן הַבִּירָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ (ס) (יב) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ לְאֶסְתֵּ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֗ה בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן הַבִּירָ֡ה הָרְגוּ֩ הַיְּהוּדִ֨ים וְאַבֵּ֜ד חֲמֵ֧שׁ מֵא֣וֹת אִ֗ישׁ וְאֵת֙ עֲשֶׂ֣רֶת בְּנֵֽי־הָמָ֔ן בִּשְׁאָ֛ר מְדִינ֥וֹת הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מֶ֣ה עָשׂ֑וּ וּמַה־שְּׁאֵֽלָתֵךְ֙ וְיִנָּ֣תֵֽן לָ֔ךְ וּמַה־בַּקָּשָׁתֵ֥ךְ ע֖וֹד וְתֵעָֽשׂ׃
(יג) וַתֹּ֤אמֶר אֶסְתֵּר֙ אִם־עַל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ ט֔וֹב יִנָּתֵ֣ן גַּם־מָחָ֗ר לַיְּהוּדִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּשׁוּשָׁ֔ן לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת כְּדָ֣ת הַיּ֑וֹם וְאֵ֛ת עֲשֶׂ֥רֶת בְּנֵֽי־הָמָ֖ן יִתְל֥וּ עַל־הָעֵֽץ׃
(יד) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ לְהֵֽעָשׂ֣וֹת כֵּ֔ן וַתִּנָּתֵ֥ן דָּ֖ת בְּשׁוּשָׁ֑ן וְאֵ֛ת עֲשֶׂ֥רֶת בְּנֵֽי־הָמָ֖ן תָּלֽוּ׃
(טו) וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ היהודיים [הַיְּהוּדִ֣ים] אֲשֶׁר־בְּשׁוּשָׁ֗ן גַּ֠ם בְּי֣וֹם אַרְבָּעָ֤ה עָשָׂר֙ לְחֹ֣דֶשׁ אֲדָ֔ר וַיַּֽהַרְג֣וּ בְשׁוּשָׁ֔ן שְׁלֹ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת אִ֑ישׁ וּבַ֨בִּזָּ֔ה לֹ֥א שָׁלְח֖וּ אֶת־יָדָֽם׃
(טז) וּשְׁאָ֣ר הַיְּהוּדִ֡ים אֲשֶׁר֩ בִּמְדִינ֨וֹת הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ נִקְהֲל֣וּ ׀ וְעָמֹ֣ד עַל־נַפְשָׁ֗ם וְנ֙וֹחַ֙ מֵאֹ֣יְבֵיהֶ֔ם וְהָרֹג֙ בְּשֹׂ֣נְאֵיהֶ֔ם חֲמִשָּׁ֥ה וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים אָ֑לֶף וּבַ֨בִּזָּ֔ה לֹ֥א שָֽׁלְח֖וּ אֶת־יָדָֽם׃
(יז) בְּיוֹם־שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה עָשָׂ֖ר לְחֹ֣דֶשׁ אֲדָ֑ר וְנ֗וֹחַ בְּאַרְבָּעָ֤ה עָשָׂר֙ בּ֔וֹ וְעָשֹׂ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ י֖וֹם מִשְׁתֶּ֥ה וְשִׂמְחָֽה׃
(1) And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power.
(2) Throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the Jews mustered in their cities to attack those who sought their hurt; and no one could withstand them, for the fear of them had fallen upon all the peoples.
(3) Indeed, all the officials of the provinces—the satraps, the governors, and the king’s stewards—showed deference to the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.
(4) For Mordecai was now powerful in the royal palace, and his fame was spreading through all the provinces; the man Mordecai was growing ever more powerful.
(5) So the Jews struck at their enemies with the sword, slaying and destroying; they wreaked their will upon their enemies.
(6) In the fortress Shushan the Jews killed a total of five hundred men.
(7) They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, (8) Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, (9) Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, (10) the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the foe of the Jews. But they did not lay hands on the spoil.
(11) When the number of those slain in the fortress Shushan was reported on that same day to the king, (12) the king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress Shushan alone the Jews have killed a total of five hundred men, as well as the ten sons of Haman. What then must they have done in the provinces of the realm! What is your wish now? It shall be granted you. And what else is your request? It shall be fulfilled.”
(13) “If it please Your Majesty,” Esther replied, “let the Jews in Shushan be permitted to act tomorrow also as they did today; and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on the stake.”
(14) The king ordered that this should be done, and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan. Haman’s ten sons were impaled:
(15) and the Jews in Shushan mustered again on the fourteenth day of Adar and slew three hundred men in Shushan. But they did not lay hands on the spoil.
(16) The rest of the Jews, those in the king’s provinces, likewise mustered and fought for their lives. They disposed of their enemies, killing seventy-five thousand of their foes; but they did not lay hands on the spoil.
(17) That was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar; and they rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day of feasting and merrymaking.
In literary analysis, the book of Esher is best understood as a farce. This can make the violent aspects of the story easier to bear. The story is a kind of Jewish communal fantasy blown out of proportion. For Jews who lived under oppression and fear, or who experienced brutality and exile, the Book of Esther and the Purim holiday provided comic relief. The tables are turned on our enemies several times during the story, with some reversals more humorous than others. In fact, the book acknowledges this theme of reversals explicitly:
For much of history, the Jews have been powerless victims of a series of oppressors. It is against this backdrop that the closing chapters of the Book of Esther can be understood. Without other means of defending themselves, the Jews repeatedly turned to the one recourse they had at their disposal: story. Through reframing their suffering and asserting their ultimate triumph over their oppressors, the Jews found a way to overcome their circumstances.
The very fact that Esther is part of the Bible—a holy book with religious authority and religious teachings—forces us to make it fit the expectations we have about what the Bible is and what kinds of writing it contains. We expect a biblical book to be serious and its message to be congruent with the messages of other biblical books as they have been interpreted by the tradition... [T]he canonical status of Song of Songs deters us from reading it as an erotic love poem and compels the reading of it as a metaphor for the relationship between God and Israel. The same is true for Esther... [As Moshe Halbertal observes] “Paradoxically, then, the canonization of a work sometimes serves to suppress its most plausible readings.”
To the ancient reader an imaginative story was just as worthy, or even as holy, as a historically accurate one, so to declare Esther to be imaginative does not does not in any way detract from its value.
The thought arises, “the theatre is inciting my children to hate the home if not to commit murder and arson. We must have more censorship!” It is overlooked that such fantasies are kept for dreams and pictures and plays just because each of us already has within him so strong a censorship, and it is wrongly inferred from the power of fantasies that people are likely to fail to distinguish between fantasy and reality…
The function of farcical fantasies, in dreams or in plays, is not as provocation but as compensation.... The violent release is comparable to the sudden relieving hiss of steam through a safety valve…. [It is] an essentially temporary truancy from the family pieties, and, like farces, if it has any appreciable effect at all, helps those pieties go on existing.
What we have in chapter 9 is the orgy, riot, the revelry, that fits so well with farce and carnival. The violent free-for-all in which the Jews kill their enemies is transmuted into the revelry of the festival. The make-believe victory is the safety valve for Diaspora Jewry that permits the continuation of the belief in the security of their lives and their community.
אמר רבא מיחייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי
Rava said: A person is obligated to become intoxicated with wine on Purim until he is so intoxicated that he does not know how to distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordecai.
The Jewish festival cycle is full of different moods—the bittersweet joy of Pesah, the mourning of the Three Weeks, the awe of Yom Kippur, the rejoicing of Simhat Torah, among others. Each if us in our own life experiences the same range of feelings, and part of the festival cycle's effort is to provide a context for those feelings. Each of us probably has difficulty expressing one or more of them—for example, grief or joy or guilt. Surprisingly, perhaps, many people find it less difficult to feel contrite on Yom Kippur than to act the joyous fool on Purim. Purim calls upon us to give free rein to that dimension of our personalities signified by the phrase ad lo yadah. Ad lo yadah -- the state of not knowing the difference between Haman and Mordechai -- is a time when all our rules and inhibitions are swept away, when the superego is pushed away by the untrammeled id. We enter into the world of the drunk, a world of blissful ignorance of reality.
By acting out all this unsavory energy in such a contained setting, maybe it helps to keep us from acting more of it out in real life. But I don’t think that Purim does much to encourage compassion for our enemies. To the contrary, if anything. Probably the most salutary aspect of the celebration is the hangover the next day, and perhaps the vague transgressive sense left over from all that carrying on in front of the ark. Maybe some people can make the leap from being sick to their stomachs to being queasy about dancing in enemy blood. Or maybe that’s just "spin" I tell myself since I am responsible for making Purim happen in our shul year after year.
By mocking law and authority this one day, we testify to our submission to them all the rest. The sacred order contains our inevitable drive to cast it off, by letting us do so for one day, and then calling us back to business. Even knowing how it works, we have a great time tearing down the barriers we will simply put back up—and reinforce—the very next day.
In Purim... there is not a complete breakdown or reversal of norms (as many discussions would have it), but a symbolic or partial reversal of norms. To me this signifies the miming of a reversal, imitating or pretending to turn society's norms on their head, knowing all the while that it is just pretend. In carnival the world of make believe takes the place of the real world. Costumes and masks, excessive drink, noise, rowdiness, and even (mock) violence are some of the common manifestations that symbolize both the aura of make believe and the permissible reversing of the rules of society.