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| Queen Esther and the King. |
Note: We
bring you a second post, a rare two-fer, today to celebrate the Jewish festival
of Purim. This is one of those annual
holiday posts and one I particularly enjoy.
The poem is one of my personal favorites.
Last night at sundown the Jewish holiday
Purim began and continues until
tonight's sun set. Back in 2012 the
celebration coincided with International
Women’s Day on March 8. This year
the slippery Jewish lunar calendar missed
that by more than two weeks. But
what the hell, like horseshoes and hand grenades we’ll declare close good
enough.
Back then I was intrigued because at the center of Purim is one of the few women of the Hebrew Bible or Old
Testament to take a leading role
in the story. The lovely Queen Esther always struck me as wonderfully subversive and feminist. So I wrote her a poem imagining her sitting
down with some contemporary sisters.
But first to familiarize folks with
her story and the joyous festival which commemorates
it—I’m talking to my fellow Goyim—a
pause to review just what the hell went on.
A young girl, Esther, is
picked by a drunken Persian king to
be his new bride. She keeps her Jewish identity a secret. Meanwhile her protector and cousin Mordecai discovers a plot to kill the king and by informing
saves his life. The King appoints the vain and treacherous Haman as his new vizier. Haman is offended
when Mordecai is insufficiently
obsequious to him in public. Miffed,
he plots to have not just Mordecai, but all
of the Jews of kingdom killed. He
gets the king, who has been participating in public drinking festivals for six months and is perhaps a tad addled, to sign such a decree.
After sending words to the
Jews of the kingdom to join in a three day fast and prayer Esther gets the king
drunk yet again at a royal drinking
festival that she hosts with Haman among the guests. After the first
night of debauchery Esther reads to the King the annals of Mordecai’s life saving service.
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| Mordecai is glorfied. |
She then asks Haman what boon the King should give to a man who has done him great
service. Vainly thinking she means him,
Haman says the honoree should be dressed in the royal robes and paraded
before the people on the king’s own
horse.
The king astounds Haman
by bestowing the boon on Mordecai and orders him to see that the command is
carried out.
On the second night of
the Festival Esther reveals that she
is Jewish as is her cousin and that by the edict the king himself had signed
all of her people, and she herself were marked
for death. Outraged, the king orders
Haman hung on the gallows built for Mordecai and names
the Jew as his new Vizier. He cannot revoke his own edict, but he
issues another which allows Jews to arm
themselves and slay their attackers. On the 13th
Day of Adar the planned attacks are launched
but the Jews slay their attackers by the hundreds and thousands, including all seven sons of Haman.
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| Esther denounces Haman to the King. |
The Jewish people are saved and flourish for a while as
never before in exile
.
Purim celebrates the deliverance exuberantly with costumed recreations of the story, noise makers meant to drown out Haman’s name whenever it is read in the telling of
the story, special foods, and, of
course plenty of drinking and merrymaking.
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| In Israel colorful street parades celebrate Purim with people welcome to join in their costumes. |
The story of Esther, heroine and savior of her People, resonates with women
whether Jewish or Gentile.
Purim/International Women’s Day
14th day of Adar 5772/March 8, 2012
Queen Esther tossed her head,
gleaming black hair
tumbling to those
lovely shoulders
that had enticed a
lecher King.
She
laughed.
Her people, the Women of another age,
leaned toward her
waiting her word.
She cast her blazing eyes upon them,
laughed again
and spoke at last.
“So many Hamans. Where shall we
begin?”
—Patrick Murfin
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