Purim
A rare holiday celebrating total victory
Today is Purim (Purim sameach to those celebrating!). Purim is one of the strangest and most dazzling of Jewish holidays. It’s celebrated as a holiday of bright festivity and dress-ups, but its central Megillah text (the Scroll of Esther) tells an intriguing palace drama where the Jews narrowly escape extermination in Persia, and turn the tables and wreak terrible vengeance on the would-be murderers.
Chapter 9
And in the twelfth month-which is the month of Adar-on the thirteenth day thereof, when the king's order and his edict drew near to be put into execution, on the day that the Jews' enemies looked forward to ruling over them, it was reversed, the Jews should rule over their enemies.
The Jews assembled in their cities, in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to lay hand on those who sought to harm them, and no one stood up before them, for their fear had fallen upon all the peoples.
And the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword and with slaying and destruction, and they did to their enemies as they wished.
And the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces assembled and protected themselves and had rest from their enemies and slew their foes, seventy-five thousand, but upon the spoil they did not lay their hands
— Book of Esther
It’s a short and operatic story — compact, lush, and dark. I love its details. Take the preparation of maidens for the King: they are each held for twelve months, perfumed and lacquered — “six months with myrrh oil, and six months with perfumes” (Esther 2:12).
The story ends with the arch-villain Haman hanged on his own gallows, his ten sons hanged, and over 75,000 Hamaniks massacred by the Jews. On Purim Jews eat hamantaschen — triangular cookies sweet-filled with chocolate or jam. They represent Haman’s ears. It’s exactly as macabre as it sounds. But sweet and festive. A rare holiday celebrating total victory. You can be sure that most synagogues around the world will see not few parallels between the Purim story and the war in Gaza.
It’s a tale of deep intrigue and deception. Esther (Hebrew name Hadassah — two named) hides her Judaism from the King. Haman plots against the Jews but they turn his plotting against him. God is not mentioned once in this biblical episode. Jews begin the story vulnerable then ascend to power — so much so that many in the land even convert to Judaism with Mordecai’s growing stature (Esther 8:17).
The names Esther and Mordechai are today as Jewish as they come. But that is relatively new: they entered Jewish lore from this story. Esther is believed to originate from the Babylonian Ishtar or the Persian Setareh. Mordecai springs from the Babylonian Marduk.
To me the tenor of holiday — jovial and lighthearted — is not quite in tune with the depth of the story.
I thought of the Purim story after the fantastic The Ronin and the Bride episode of The Blue Eyed Samurai. Perhaps no one TV episode has moved me as much since the Free Churro episode of Bojack Horseman. While Free Churro’s power is in its ability to deliver an entire episode as a monologue, Ronin delivers an operatic story of love turned betrayal and tragedy, partly through a Japanese puppet show (bunraku). A few snippets from the puppet show, showing the assassination of a lord and then the ending when the bride is betrayed and returns as a terrifying Onryō to wreak her vengeance:
Stylistically simple, elegant, powerful. Whilst the Book of Esther has no tragic love story — an important part of many a good opera — it does share its tragedy, horror, vindication.
And so I tried to portray elements of the Purim story as a bunraku (thanks GPT4!). It didn’t really work, instead I ended up creating a Japanese-style animation. I’d say the results are neat but mixed. I suspect a bunraku needs puppet movements and accompanying music to work, not mere images.
So then I wondered, how else might the story of Purim be conveyed? Perhaps the dark, mysterious, vast and majestic universe of Denis Villeneuve would work. I think it does, but judge for yourself. I’d watch this!
Thanks Misha! I really like your unapologetic, full-of-personality Jewish writing. It's so refreshing yet endearing.
Insightful, and incredible art! As a Christian, I respect the well-earned right of Mordecai, Esther, and the exiled Jews to their harsh victory over an evil leader and his followers. Disturbing current parallels.