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The miracle we celebrate on Purim took place during a very vulnerable time in Jewish history. Approximately seventy years earlier, the Babylonians had destroyed the First Temple, and exiled the Jewish people from their Land. In the meantime, the Persian Empire arose, deposed the Babylonian Empire, and ruled all the countries in the area. Cyrus, the great Persian king, issued an edict permitting the Jews to return to their Land and rebuild the Temple. Regrettably, only a small minority actually did so. Due to the small numbers of Jews, their opponents were able to cause trouble and convince the Persian king to stop the rebuilding. Meanwhile, the large Jewish population who lived throughout the Persian Empire were assimilating and copying the gentiles' behavior. It seemed as though the great vision the Jewish people were meant to spread was fading away. There would no longer be hope for a return to Zion, and the Jewish people would not bring God’s word to the world.
In heaven, a great accusation was leveled against the Jews: God chose them from all the other nations, gave them His Torah, and manifested the Divine Presence in their midst, yet they were acting like the gentiles, bowing to idols, and neglecting to return to their Land to build the Holy Temple! At the same time, Haman, Amalek's wicked descendant, rose to prominence in Persia. His hatred led the Persian Empire to enact a decree which would allow antisemites “to destroy, massacre, and exterminate all the Jews, young and old, children and women, on a single day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month (the month of Adar), and to plunder their possessions” (Esther 3:13).
Ultimately, it became clear God had provided the solution to the problem in advance. About five years earlier, after Ahasuerus had killed Queen Vashti, his wife, his minions started gathering virgins from all the nations of the Empire, so the king could choose one as his new wife. Esther, a Jewish orphan adopted by Mordecai, her cousin, was among those young women. Following Mordecai’s guidance, Esther kept her Jewish identity secret. The king chose her as his queen. Later, with the edict to exterminate the Jews, Mordecai requested that Esther risk her life on behalf of her people. Despite the danger, she found a way to foil wicked Haman’s plans. Esther revealed to the king that Haman was planning to exterminate her people. Ahasuerus was also informed that Haman, who was jealous of Mordecai, had prepared a tall tree, upon which he was planning to hang Mordecai. Mordecai had earlier proved his loyalty to the king by exposing a plot against the king’s life. So, Ahasuerus ordered that Haman be hung on the very same tree he had prepared for Mordecai. The king also appointed Mordecai to Haman’s position of prime minister. Finally, the Jews were given permission to defend themselves and kill the enemies scheming to kill them. In a tremendous reversal, the Jews killed their enemies instead of being killed by them. (This was made easier since their enemies were already frightened because Haman had been hanged and Mordecai had ascended to power.) The nations gained a new respect for the Jews. All this is described in Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther).
Let us analyze this in depth. According to tradition, Haman’s evil edict was the Jews' wake-up call. They renewed their faith and devotion to God, repented, and increased their prayer and Torah study. They were inspired to return to and settle the Land of Israel, and build the Second Temple. The door was opened to a quantum leap in the study of the Oral Torah, the main spiritual accomplishment of the Second Temple era.
The Purim story thus expresses the Jewish people's eternal sanctity. Even though our unique spiritual capacity is sometimes concealed by our sins, it never disappears. God directs the world so it is eventually revealed again.
