 |
|
|
The Exchange of
Letters at the End of Megillat Esther By
Translated by
Megillat Esther and the festival of Purim presented a
major challenge for the Men of the Great Assembly. The debate over the
megilla and over the festival is documented, in part, at the end of the
megilla itself. The story of the Megilla ends in
chapter 9, verse 18. From verse 19 onwards, the text records Purim customs and
the acceptance and observance of the festival via an exchange of letters between
Shushan and Eretz Yisrael (apparently), sent over a considerable period
of time (one or two generations). My intention here is to describe this process,
on the basis of my understanding of the closing verses of the
megilla. 1. The record of the popular custom
of the observance of Purim is recorded in the context of a letter that was
sent from Eretz Yisrael: Therefore the outlying Jews
(ha-perazim) who dwelled in the outlying towns observe the fourteenth day
of the month of Adar with joy and feasting and a holiday, and the sending of
portions from one person to another. (9:19) “(The) outlying Jews who dwelled in
the outlying towns” is an unfamiliar expression that is in no way connected with
the story of the megilla. It would seem to originate in Eretz
Yisrael, where this distinction between “outlying towns” and towns
surrounded by walls had both halakhic significance (see mishna
Arakhin, end of chapter 9, and Bavli 32-34)[1]
and implications pertaining to socio-economic life. Had this final unit been a
natural continuation of the story in the megilla, it would have referred
instead to “the Jews who dwell throughout the provinces of King Achashverosh.”
We cannot interpret the term “ha-perazim” to mean “dwelling securely,
following the victory,” since the term is immediately followed by its
definition, to avoid any mistake: “who dwell in the outlying
towns.” The text here tells us nothing about
the custom of the Jews who were living in walled cities. Perhaps the letter here
was shortened. However, it is also possible that the Jews living in the walled
cities had not sensed any particular danger; they had regarded themselves as
suitably protected, and did not feel any need to celebrate at all.[2] 2. Mordekhai’s reaction to the
popular custom: Mordekhai requests a two-day festival instead of a single
day, adding emphases on “the month that was turned over” and on “gifts to the
poor:” And Mordekhai wrote these things and
he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Achashverosh,
both near and far, to accept upon themselves to observe the fourteenth day of
the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, each and every year,
commemorating the days on which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the
month which was overturned for them from anguish to joy and from mourning to a
holiday, to observe them as days of feasting and joy and the sending of portions
to one another, and gifts to the poor. (9:20-22) 3. The reaction of the Jewish
world: Acceptance of the popular custom together with Mordekhai’s suggestion
perhaps came from Eretz Yisrael. It is formulated in the letter that
addresses Jews everywhere and explains briefly the background to the
establishment of the festival and its name: And the Jews confirmed that which they
had begun to do and that which Mordekhai had written to them. For Haman, son of
Hamedata the Agagite, adversary of all Jews, had schemed against the Jews to
annihilate them, and he had cast a “pur” – a lot – to confound them and
to annihilate them. But when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in
writing that the evil scheme that he had schemed against the Jews should come
back onto his own head, and they hanged him and his sons on the gallows.
Therefore these days were called “Purim,” commemorating the “pur:” hence
all the words of this letter, and what they had seen in this regard, and what
had happened to them. (9:23-26) The abbreviated description here is
different from the account of the story recorded earlier in the megilla.
In the story, the king claims that it is impossible to retract the letters that
Haman sent; he merely permits the Jews to defend themselves by dispatching new
letters. Likewise, in the megilla, Haman is hanged because he is
suspected of having assaulted Esther, and his sons are hanged eleven months
later. In the abbreviated description in the
letters, no mention is made of Mordekhai or Esther, the festival is not named
after them, and the main message of the name “Purim” given to the two days is
that it recalls the “pur,” the lot that was cast by Haman and which
ultimately turned against him. Similarly, there is no mention of a “yom
tov,” a holiday accepted by the Jews; there are only “these days” which are
called “Purim.” This represents clear evidence of the
controversy between Shushan and Eretz Yisrael concerning the very idea of
adding a new “yom tov”[3]
into the calendar, since the festivals represent a fundamental body of laws in
the Divinely-given Torah. 4. Acceptance of the days of Purim
for future generations: The Jews confirmed and accepted upon
themselves and upon their descendants, and all those who were joined to them,
that they would not cease to observe these two days, as written and at their
appointed time, each and every year. And these days were remembered and observed
in every generation, in every family, in every province, and in every city. And
these days of Purim will not case from among the Jews, nor will their memory
leave their descendants. (9:27-28) This letter speaks about future
generations; it reinforces the status of the days of Purim and establishes them
for all future generations, obligating the Jews of future generations, as well
as future converts (“those who were joined to them”), by virtue of the
“acceptance by the Jews,” forever (“would not cease”) as a remembrance for all
future generations (“nor will their memory leave their
descendants”). It is possible – even probable – that
such a letter was written after the passage of some time, perhaps even a
generation later. Here again, no mention is made of Mordekhai and Esther. The
expression “as written and at their appointed time” (or “at their time”) may be
a first hint a different time period, as discussed in the sugya at the
beginning of Massekhet Megilla. Once again, no mention is made of
“yom tov;” there is only a reference to “these days” – evidence of
intensified opposition to the idea of adding a “yom tov” to the festivals
listed by the Torah. 5. The second letter of Esther
(and Mordekhai) seems to have been written by Esther with Mordekhai’s
authorization. The description “second” apparently means the second letter to be
sent from Shushan, that is, subsequent to the dispatch of Mordekhai’s letter
recorded previously. The letters from Eretz Yisrael, or from elsewhere in
the Jewish world, do not feature in the Shushan count. This letter has a dual nature: it is
directed externally, as an official royal document (dispatched by Queen Esther),
and also internally, to the Jews. The internal content speaks of Mordekhai and
Esther in the third person, and it may have been written by whoever succeeded
Mordekhai in his position as “Minister of Jewish Affairs.” The letter testifies
to continued controversy surrounding the festival (“words of peace and truth”
are obviously meant to calm the opposition): And Queen Esther, daughter of
Avihayil, and (by authority of) Mordekhai the Jew, wrote with full authority to
fulfill this second letter of Purim. (9:29) And they sent letters to all of the
Jews – to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of
Achashverosh – [with] words of peace and truth, to fulfill these days of Purim
at their appointed times, as Mordekhai the Jew and Queen Esther had established
for them, and as they had accepted upon themselves and upon their descendants –
the matter of the fasts and the crying out. (9:30-31) And Esther’s word established these
matters of Purim, and it was written in the book. (9:32) Esther’s letter appears to have been
written while she was still able to authorize, with a royal stamp of approval,
an internal letter sent to the Jews to give royal validity to the days of
Purim. The internal letter (verses 30-31)
makes mention of Mordekhai and Esther as figures of status, whose introduction
of the festival is binding, and it also mentions the establishment of Purim that
is binding on their descendants and on future generations. The “words of peace
and truth” testify to opposition and controversy, as recorded in rabbinical
tradition (Yerushalmi Megilla chapter 1, 3d; Bavli Megilla 14a,
7a). Here, the parties in Shushan agree to define the festival as “these days of
Purim,” acceding to the demands emanating from Eretz Yisrael, and finally
relinquishing the campaign to define them as “yom tov.” “At their
appointed times” hints at the possibility, perhaps born out of the controversy,
that everyone would commemorate the festival at his own time; the time for some
(those living in the outlying towns) would not be the same as the time for
others (those living in walled cities), as reflected in the midrash and
in the Talmudic discussion in Megilla.[4] This final letter also introduces a
new element by establishing for future generations the “matters of the fasts and
their crying out” in memory of the mortal threat and the anguish, along with the
commemoration of the salvation and the joy. This was formalized by the Halakha
as the Fast of Esther after the destruction of the 6. Official reference: Mention
is made of Mordekhai the Jew in proximity to the description of the king’s
“power and might,” and following the verse, “King Achashverosh placed a tax on
the land and on the isles of the sea” (10:1), as being recorded in the royal
chronicles of Persia and Media. The brief and sole[6]
mention of Mordekhai to appear in the royal chronicle is the final verse of the
megilla (recording the official recognition of his status and the
validity of his decisions on behalf of the king): For Mordekhai the Jew was
second-in-command to King Achashverosh, and great among the Jews, and accepted
by his many brethren (rov ehav),[7]
seeking the welfare of his people and speaking peace to all of his descendants.
(10:3) The citation of this verse from the
Persian royal book of chronicles at the end of the megilla is intended to
lend added validity to the megilla and to the days of Purim. Hence, it is
an integral part of the exchange of letters at the end of the megilla.
Indeed, this is how the Sages of Eretz Yisrael understood the process
according to the Yerushalmi (Megilla 1:5, 70d), as well as in more
general terms in the Bavli (Megilla 7a):
Clearly, according to the Yerushalmi,
the “second” letter is the second one to have been written and dispatched from
Shushan; we must therefore conclude that the end of the megilla describes
at least four letters. It is likewise clear that the end of the megilla
is the quotation from the “Chronicles of the Kings of Medea and
We can therefore understand the
assertion of the midrash that what the Jews “enjoined and accepted”
refers to the entire Torah,[9]
and not just to the megilla and Purim, as a literal reading of the verse.
They first accepted upon themselves the Torah, with its renewed endowment of
sanctity, and thereafter argued over the megilla until it was
accepted. Finally, the Sages emphasize that the
Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with the Sages of Eretz Yisrael,[10]
and they express this in various ways (as reflected in the above-mentioned
parallels in the Yerushalmi); for example, we find in Midrash Ruth
Rabba, parasha 4: Three things were decreed by the
earthly court, and the heavenly court agreed to them. They are: Asking after
someone’s welfare using the Name of God, and Megillat Esther, and the
tithes. The tithes – once they were exiled, they were exempt, but they assumed
the obligation of their own initiative. What did the Men of the Great Assembly
do? They wrote a book and placed it in the courtyard [of the And in the Bavli we
find: Rabbi Eliezer said: Esther was given
over through Divine inspiration… Rabbi Akiva said: Esther was given over through
Divine inspiration… Rabbi Yossi, son of Dormaskit, said:
Esther was given over through Divine inspiration… Shmuel said: “… They confirmed
and accepted” – they confirmed above that which had been accepted below.
(Megilla 7a) (Additional articles by
[1] See Tosafot on
Arakhin 89b and the Rambam’s contrasting view in his Hilkhot
Shemitta ve-Yovel 12:15. In any event, it is clear from Hillel’s
enactment that “outlying towns” and “walled cities” were part of the reality of
life during the Second Temple Period (mishna, ibid. 32a), while the
reading of the megilla was considered a controversial
innovation. [2] As suggested in
Megilla 2b. This distinction, and a generally similar analysis of the end
of the megilla is offered by R. Nachman Krochmal, Moreh Nevukhei
Ha-Zeman, chapter 11, siman 7. I discovered his discussion on this subject
only after formulating my own analysis. According to the literal
text, “the Jews accepted” the observance of Purim – but “accepted” is written in
the singular form. We may interpret this to mean that “the Jewish nation
accepted” or – as Ibn Ezra suggests – that each and every individual accepted.
The midrash teaches that God accepted, on High, that which the Jews had
accepted; see Megilla 7a. [3] The gemara proves
this (Megilla 5b) from close scrutiny of these verses, according to
Rava’s view. At the same time, the discussion there provides no decisive
conclusion as to whether the Jews accepted the “yom tov’ or not. Rabbi
Yehuda ha-Nasi, in Eretz Yisrael, planted a sapling on Purim
(demonstrating that he did not consider the day a “yom tov”), while Rav,
in [4] Bavli and Yerushalmi,
beginning of Massekhet Megilla. [5] This took place after
the annulment of the special status of dates listed in Megillat Ta’anit
as days of celebration when fasting and eulogies were forbidden. One such date
was the Day of Nikanor, which fell on the 13th of Adar (such that the
Fast of Esther could not have been established for that date). See mishna
Ta’anit, chapter 2; Yerushalmi Ta’anit chapter 2, halakha
13. [6] This verse is crafted
with great political caution: Mordekhai did not harm anyone, he did not endanger
anyone, nor was he responsible for any intrigues. He simply “sought the welfare
of his people” and worked for the benefit of the Jews. Therefore, he is suitable
for inclusion in this royal book. It is difficult to accept the view of the
commentators that such a provocative story – in its entirety or even in part –
would have been recorded in some official chronicle; this would have been an
even greater miracle than that of Purim! [7] “Rabbi Yochanan taught:
[‘Rov ehav’ – meaning ‘most of his brethren,’] but not all of his
brethren, since some members of the Sanhedrin distanced themselves from him”
(Bavli Megilla 16b). [8] Krochmal, in his
Moreh Nevukhei Ha-Zeman, chapter 11, interprets this expression in
accordance with the decision of the Men of the Great Assembly that the
Tanakh includes only three parts – Torah, Prophets, and Writings, and
that there is no place for a fourth section including such texts as Megillat
Esther, or perhaps even Kohelet (or Shir Ha-Shirim);
therefore, some textual support must be found for the megilla in all
three parts of the Tanakh. [9] Shabbat 88a –
“Rava said… the generation accepted it in the days of
Achashverosh…” [10] Heavenly approval was
especially necessary since this was at a time when prophecy had already been
withdrawn and the Tanakh was complete, so that everything depended on the
willing earthly acceptance of the generation of the
Covenant. [11] See parallels in
Bereishit Rabba, parashat 96, Midrash Tehillim 57:2;
Tanchuma Bereishit, Va-Yehi siman 8; Makkot
23b. |
LinksCourses 5772 16 courses S.A.L.T. - 5 minutes of Torah
KMTT - Daily audio shiur Keshet - Hebrew audio
Donations
Yeshivat Har Etzion
|