(Sicha, Purim 5711)
Behind the Scenes of the Purim Story
The Megillah’s tale takes us back to Jewish life under Achashverosh’s rule (Source 1). The atmosphere of Achashverosh’s party was lewd and depraved, as demonstrated by the incident with Vashti (Source 2). The Jews’ invitation to the party illustrates to us the honor the empire accorded them, yet also shows how far removed they were from Jewish culture.
The megillah refers to Mordechai as “HaYehudi,” the Jew (Source 3). Originally, the Jewish people were called “Ivrim,” Hebrews, after Abraham the Ivri. As the years went on, segments of the people began to view their identity as nationalistic in nature, even as others kept observing the Torah and mitzvot. The former group can be called Ivrim, while the latter, Yehudim. That’s why the Megillah calls Mordechai the Yehudi – despite him being a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin.
When Haman became aware that Mordechai wouldn’t bow to him, because he was a Jew, he decided to annihilate this entire Jewish people (Source 4). In his arguments to Achashversoh, he claimed that the Jews harm the economy by not working on Shabbat and holidays, and he therefore suggested killing them all, men, women and children (Sources 5-6). It was a collective decree against all Jews, Ivrim and Yehudim alike.
Esther went into action, asking Mordechai to gather all the Jews to fast for her success (Source 7). Mordechai succeeds in uniting all the Jewish factions, and fans the flames of faith deep within their hearts, starting by stressing the importance of educating children. Then all Jews were willing to sacrifice their lives for G-d. And then salvation arrived.
The Rebbe Rayatz concluded his talk by drawing parallels between those days and the era of the Holocaust.
Who is a Jew?
Why was Mordechai – a Benjamite – called Yehudi? And why were all the Jews? collectively called Yehudim, despite their tribe of origin.
The Rebbe quotes the Talmud, which explains that a Yehudi is one who repudiates idolatry (Source 8). Tanya explains that when pushed into a corner, every Jew, no matter when or where, refuses idolatry, and is willing to give their life for G-d (Source 9). This characteristic was present among all the tribes, because every Jew was willing to lay down their life.
The Megillah continues: “The Jews had light, joy, jubilance and honor.” The Talmud interprets these words to mean Torah study, Jewish holidays, circumcision and tefillin (Source 10). The Rebbe explains that “the Jews” refers to their self-sacrifice, and the Megillah is saying that after the victory, the Jews channeled that devotion into observing these mitzvot.
