Megillat Esther-A Timeless Message

“We are pleased to report that Saturday’s planned neo-Nazi “Day of Hate” came and went without any major antisemitic incidents—in fact, many synagogues reported packed pews in a show of solidarity and Jewish pride.” (NY Jewish Week, Monday, February 27, 2023)

!ברוך השם
Thank God!

This Shabbat is known throughout Jewish communities around the world as “Shabbat Zachor,” the Shabbat of Remembrance. We add three special verses from דברים, Deuteronomy (25:17-19) after the conclusion of this week’s portion, Tetzaveh. Reading these three verses minimally fulfills the requirements, … You shall not forget.” The Amalekites were the original Nazis.

“Remember…don’t forget,” seem like the same thing. However, in the count of 613 mitzvot, each is counted as a separate command. How does that make sense? If I remember, I obviously did not forget; if I didn’t forget, I obviously remember. How are these two distinct mitzvot?

We are commanded, “Remember Shabbat to make it holy.” The Talmud teaches that “remember” means to annunciate or explain. We annunciate about Shabbat by reciting kiddush Friday night. The kiddush states or explains in a concise way what Shabbat is all about. God is creator if the universe. Publicly reading aloud these three designated verses  in synagogue, minimally fulfills the requirement to “remember,” annunciate and explain what Amalek did to us after leaving Egypt.

“Don’t forget Amalek” is a different command. We are charged to always be in a state of mindfulness about what Amalek did to us. As the vicious assault by Amalek took place 3000 years ago, there is a natural tendency to think, “That event happened so long ago, forget it already.” In other words, it is outside of our psychological and emotional sense perception. Time takes even a brutal and cruel experience away from our sensory memory. How many times have we heard the advice, “It’s time to put the past behind you.” In some situations that advice may be helpful. But by Amalek, the Torah is teaching, realize that is just an emotion. Falling subject to that feeling or attitude is exactly what we are warned against by the Torah’s prohibition of “don’t forget.” Rather, that experience is real, ongoing and happening today.

Is there an expanded way to fulfill these 2 commandments of the Torah? Let me suggest that there is, by reading or hearing the “Megillat Esther,” the Scroll of Esther on Purim.

The Megillat Esther is referred to by the Talmud as both an איגרת, “a letter,” and as a ספר, “a book.” In the old days, I’m talking pre-email, a letter was written and sent to inform someone of a current event or situation, the latest news. It could be good or bad news depending on the circumstances such as when I sent my parents a letter from camp imploring them to send more money for the canteen. A letter is “of the moment,” not usually kept for any great length of time, like today’s newspaper. It is read and discarded unless it is a special edition, “Man Lands on the Moon,” or “Phillies Beat the Royals to Win 1980 World Series!” Just two newspapers in my personal memorabilia.

A book, however, is made to be durable. You read it and then generally put it on your bookshelf. Most books are not discarded after reading. Why? Because you sense that its content has a more universal and timeless message. It is not written just for the moment. You will refer to it again later.

The Scroll of Esther is unique, different from the other 23 books in the Tanach, the Bible. It has both features of a letter and features of a book. It records a dire emergency facing every Jew living in the 120 provinces of the Persian empire at the time of King Achashverosh. They were condemned to death by a proclamation instigated by Haman, the Amalekite and chief advisor to the king. The Scroll of Esther also tells us of the wisdom Mordecai and Queen Esther employed to defeat this existential threat. Hidden behind all of these events was God’s providence.

The Talmud Megillah, 4a records a special law concerning the reading of the Megillah. Usually, a mitzvah is done once on the holiday. We have a Seder on the night of Pesach, not again in the daytime. We blow the Shofar in the daytime of Rosh Hashanah, not the night before as well. So too with taking the Lulav on Succot. Yet by Megillat Esther the Talmud says, “And Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi said, a person is obligated to read the Megillah at night, ולשנותה in the day.” What does ולשנותה mean? Rebbe Yehoshua’s students thought the Hebrew word  לשנותה means, as it often does, “to study, to learn, to analyze” the Megillah and its laws in the daytime. Rabbi Yirmiyah explains to them this term simply means “to repeat” the reading in the daytime as people commonly say, “I will finish the section and then repeat it.” The normative law follows Rabbi Yirmiyah, so we reread the Megillah in the daytime of Purim as well.

But what did the students think? They were scholars as well. Is Rabbi Yirmiyah’s understanding radically different from theirs? The students rightfully understood there are deep ideas, universal ideas, timely ideas contained in the Scroll of Esther. All the telltale traits of our worst enemies and the elements of antisemitism are on display in this story. Study them to remember, don’t forget!

We must also analyze each step taken by Mordecai and Esther. Everything they did was based on their deep philosophical knowledge of Judaism coupled with their wisdom and insight into human personality. From them we can learn how and what we can do to defeat or at least quell antisemitism whenever it appears.  We must also study the Megillat Esther to understand and appreciate how God’s השגחה, divine providence, is at work, mostly behind the scenes via the natural unfolding of history, to insure the Jewish people always exist. Toward the end of the Megillah we read that all Jewish people arose and reaccepted the entire Torah. (Esther 9:27)

Rabbi Yirmiyah doesn’t disagree with his students in theory but practically this idea is reduced to rereading the Megillah in the day as well. These important points must be reviewed and emphasized by a rereading the next day. We can’t wait another year to look at the story.  Something caught my attention last night. I must go back and reread it again for a better understanding.

All opinions agree that if you study the Scroll of Esther carefully, you will see for yourself that it is a fantastic book, very different from all the other books of the Bible. Rambam states at the very end of the Laws of Megillah: In the days of Moshiach, all the books of the Prophets and Writings will no longer be read in public except for Megillat Esther which will be established like the  5 Books of  the Torah and Oral Law, permanently and forever.”

Shabbat Shalom, Purim Sameach, Buen Purim, Freilichen Purim!

Rabbi Robert Kaplan