The Scroll of Esther – The First Purim Torah

by Rabbi Henry A. Zoob

There are a number of things that make human life unique. Among them are the fact that human beings are the only species who blush from embarrassment as well as the only species who recognize their grandchildren. Human beings are also the only species who have a sense of humor. I believe humor is extremely important in making life livable. We all know humorless individuals; it is hard to imagine that their lives are enjoyable. A person who does not have the capacity to laugh at himself, to enjoy a good joke, to share a funny story is surely a miserable being. A marriage in which a husband and wife cannot laugh with each other is a dismal match indeed. And so it is not surprising that Jewish tradition in its great wisdom sets aside a day for fun and laughter, the day of Purim.

What is the origin of Purim humor? Most probably Purim was modeled on an ancient spring New Year festival in which a battle between winter’s chill and spring’s warmth, the dark side and the light side, the forces of evil and chaos (Haman) vs. the power of good and order (Mordechai and Esther) takes place. The onset of spring is a time to celebrate the end of human hibernation, a time to shake off our winter pallor and enjoy the lush bright green of early spring. It is a natural time for joy and revelry which has survived down to our own day in the Christian Mardi Gras – Carnival celebration. When the spring sun begins to shine and the winter ice and snow start to melt, we humans want to go out and kick up our heels and have some fun. Purim gives us the green light to do so!

The festival of Purim is thought by most scholars to be the creation of Jews in the Hellenistic era (333 - 63 BCE) who lived in places such as Persia, Babylonia, Syria and Egypt under the periodic fear that anti-Semitic rulers might rise to power to imperil their security at a moment’s notice. That theme appears in the Scroll of Esther as we read the fictional account of how the Jews of the walled city of Shushan in the kingdom of Persia and Media were nearly liquidated by Haman, the King’s vizier. The Purim story has faint echoes of the struggle of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt under the oppression of the cruel Pharaoh. The account of our redemption from Egyptian slavery that we read in the Book of Exodus however is appropriately humorless, while the story of the escape from Haman’s evil plot in the Book of Esther is full of humor, and that I believe, is its unique contribution to Jewish life.

So where is the humor and revelry in the Scroll of Esther? All over the place. Exaggeration and hyperbole are often the tools of the humorist. Thus King Ahasuerus puts his riches on display for 180 days (1:5) and when at the end of this period he decides to have a seven day blast, there are no restrictions on the serving of the royal wine (1:8)! We can only imagine that with that much wine the guests are “swinging from the chandeliers.” And when many beautiful maidens of Persia are assembled for the King to choose a new queen, they are provided with an entire year of beautification, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics (2:12).

Farce, an appeal to the ridiculous, is also present in the Megillah. When King Ahasuerus orders Vashti to display her beauty wearing her royal diadem (some suggest that that was all she was supposed to wear!), she refuses. The comical King becomes angry (he does this quite often in the story, but is unable to effectively act upon his anger) and turns to his sage counselors to decide how to respond. One adviser, Memucan warns him that Queen Vashti’s act of rebellion might become a model for all the wives of Persia and Media so that they will all come to disobey and despise their husbands. At his suggestion, the King and his ministers send an order throughout the country that “every man should wield authority in his home!” (1:10-22) Suuuure!

I happen to love slapstick comedy as exemplified by Sid Ceasar or the Marx brothers. One of the great visual slapstick moments in the book of Esther is when the King and Haman are invited to a banquet (more wine) by the Queen. When Esther reveals to the King that Haman has initiated a plan to exterminate her and her people, the King becomes angry (yet again) and in his fury runs out to the palace garden (what a decisive guy!). Ahasuerus cools down and reenters the banquet room only to find Haman pleading for mercy on the same couch where Esther is reclining. The foolish King makes the obvious wrong observation “Does he intend to ravish the queen in my own palace?! (7:8)

Of course, the entire Purim story is a joke. Haman, who comes to power and plots to get rid of the Jews is hoisted on his own petard for he is hanged on the very gallows which he had built to execute Mordechai. A well known synagogue tradition of Purim is “Purim Torah.” Purim Torah is a like a d’var Torah, a brief exposition on a biblical passage or a sacred topic, except that it is meant to be humorous. An example of Purim Torah might be an exposition on why sacramental wine is better for you and more kosher than water. The Book of Esther therefore would seem to be the first “Purim Torah,” for it is a spoof of a rather serious story about Jewish survival. We might also suggest that the Jewish love of humor, especially gallows humor (humor that can be called on when Jews are in dire circumstances), can be traced to the Megillah. Ultimately, the primary lesson for me that springs from the artfully crafted comedic story of Esther is to try to remind ourselves to take time to have fun and to laugh on a regular basis. Why else did God create in us a sense of humor?