Community Magazine March 2014

14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE P urim is a great day of joy and festivity, but there seems to be just one problem with it: It’s celebrated on the wrong day! Of course, this is not intended literally. If our Sages enacted celebrating Purim on the 14 th of Adar, then this is the correct date. But when we take a careful look at the story told in Megilat Ester, we have good reason to wonder why. Commemorating a MiraculousWar As we all know, Haman wanted to annihilate the Jews, drew lots to determine the date, and received the king’s permission to kill every Jew in the Persian Empire on the 13 th of Adar. This happened 11 months earlier, during the month of Nissan. Gd foiled Haman’s scheme by making Ester the queen already before Haman entered onto the scene. Ester petitioned Ahashverosh, Haman was hung, end of story. Actually – no, this is not the end of the story. Not even close. Although Haman was executed, the Jews were still in danger. His edict was issued with the royal signet, and according to Persian law, laws signed by the king’s stamp could not be repealed. Ester pleaded with Ahashverosh, and Ahashverosh authorized her and Mordechai to issue new decrees to help the Jews, so they decreed that the Jews were granted permission to defend themselves on the 13 th of Adar. In the interim, the Jews prepared themselves for battle, and when the 13 th of Adar came, they observed a fast, prayed for Gd’s help, and went out to war. The outcome was astonishing. The Megilah (9:16) tells that the Jews killed 75,000 people (!!!) during the single day of battle, plus 800 in the city of Shushan (over the course of two days). These events, which do not generally receive much attention, are remarkable. As the Megilah (9:1) states, “ Venahafoch hu ” – everything was turned upside down. The Jews, who had always been the victims of persecution and forced to fear for their lives, suddenly found themselves in the position of the powerful nation subduing its adversaries. This is no less a miracle than Ester’s “coincidentally” becoming queen in advance of Haman’s edict. The battle waged on the 13 th of Adar was miraculous, a resounding and a decisive victory achieved by a nation in exile that less than a year earlier faced annihilation. Later in the Megilah, we read that Mordechai and Ester instituted that this great miracle be commemorated each year through the Purim festivities, which are held on…the 14 th of Adar. We celebrate Purim not on the day of the miraculous war, but rather on the day after the miraculous war. As the Megilah tells, the 14 th of Adar was the day when the Jews “rested” and celebrated after their successful military campaign, and this was the day chosen for the annual Purim celebration. Surprisingly, we celebrate not on the day of the RABBI ELI J. MANSOUR and the IRS P u r i m Do we relish the opportunity to do mitzvot, or do we treat them like…tax returns?