Purim and the Perils of Diaspora

חומר לדרוש לפורים Purim and the Perils of Diaspora Excerpts from Greek Versions of Esther 1. Mordecai s Dream (Old Greek/Septuagint) [Addition A, preceding Hebrew ch. 1:] In the second year when Artaxerxes the Great was king, on the first day of Nisa, Mardochaios the son of Iairos son of Semeias son of Kisaios, from the tribe of Beniamin, saw a dream. 2 He was a Judean man dwelling in the city of Susa, a great man, serving in the court of the king. 3 Now he was of the group of exiles which Nabouchodonosor, king of Babylon, took captive from Ierousalem with Iechonias, the king of Judea. 4 And this was his dream: Look! Shouts and confusion! Thunder and earthquake! Chaos upon the earth! 5 Look! Two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and a great noise arose from them! 6 And at their sound every nation prepared for war, to fight against a nation of righteous people. 7 Look! A day of darkness and gloom! Affliction and anguish! Oppression and great chaos upon the earth! 8 And the whole righteous nation was in chaos, fearing the evils that threatened themselves, and they were ready to perish. 9 Then they cried out to God, and from their cry, as though from a small spring, there came a great river, abundant water; 10 light, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and devoured those held in esteem. 11 Then when Mardochaios, who had seen this dream and what God had determined to do, awoke, he had it on his heart and sought until nightfall to understand it in every detail. 2. Esther 2:19-20 Hebrew: Mordecai sat in the palace gate. 20 But Esther still did not reveal her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai s bidding, as she had done when she was under his tutelage. Old Greek: And Mardochaios was serving in the court. 20 But Esther did not reveal her ancestry. For so Mardochaios had commanded her: to fear God and to do his ordinances, just as when she was with him. So Esther did not change her way of life 3. Esther 4 (Esther fears that she will be executed if she enters the king s presence unsummoned.) Hebrew: 12 When Mordecai was told what Esther had said, 13 Mordecai had this message delivered to Esther: Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape Greek Alpha-text: 9(13) So Mardochaios sent to her and said to her, page 1 of 6

with your life by being in the king s palace. 14 On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis. 15 Then Esther sent back this answer to Mordecai: 16 Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish! 17 So Mordecai went about [the city] and did just as Esther had commanded him. (14) If you ignore your nation and do not help them, then surely God will be to them a helper and deliverance, but you and your father s household will perish. 10 And who knows if for this time you were made queen? 11(15) Then the queen sent saying, (16) Proclaim a religious service, and petition God earnestly, and I and my girls will do likewise. And I will go to the king uninvited, even if it be necessary that I die. 12(17) And Mardochaios did so. 4. The Prayers of Mordecai and Esther (Addition C, immediately following 4:17, above) 1 18 Then Mordecai prayed to the Lord, calling to remembrance all the works of the Lord. 19 He said, O Lord, Lord, you rule as King over all things, for the universe is in your power and there is no one who can oppose you when it is your will to save Israel, 20 for you have made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven. 21 You are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you, the Lord. 22 You know all things; you know, O Lord, that it was not in insolence or pride or for any love of glory that I did this, and refused to bow down to this proud Haman; 23 for I would have been willing to kiss the soles of his feet to save Israel! 24 But I did this so that I might not set human glory above the glory of God, and I will not bow down to anyone but you, who are my Lord; and I will not do these things in pride. 25 And now, O Lord God and King, God of Abraham, spare your people; for the eyes of our foes are upon us to annihilate us, and they desire to destroy the 1 Elaborating on hints in 4:1 (Mordecai s mourning) and 4:16 (Esther s fasting). Biblical models include Dan 9:3-19, Neh 9:6-37, 2 Chr 20:5-12, and Psalm 22. See also Targum Sheni at 4:1 and 5:1. On Esther and Psalm 22, see Meg. 15b: And stood in the inner court of the king's house (Est 5:1) R. Levi said: When she reached the chamber of the idols, the Divine Presence left her. She said, My God, my God, why have You abandoned me (Ps 22:2). Are you punishing an inadvertent offence as intentional, or one committed under compulsion like one committed willingly? Or is it because I called him dog, as it says, Save my life from the sword, my precious life from the clutches of a dog (Ps 22:21). She retracted it and called him lion, as it says, Deliver me from a lion s mouth (Ps 22:22). On Esther likened to ayyelet ha-shahar (Ps 22:1), see Yoma 29a. page 2 of 6

inheritance that has been yours from the beginning. 26 Do not neglect your portion, which you redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. 27 Hear my prayer, and have mercy upon your inheritance; turn our mourning into feasting that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord; do not destroy the lips of those who praise you. 28 And all Israel cried out mightily, for their death was before their eyes. 29 Then Queen Esther, seized with deadly anxiety, fled to the Lord. 30 She took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body; every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair. 31 She prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: O my Lord, you only are our king; help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, 32 for my danger is in my hand. 33 Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that you, O Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our ancestors from among all their forebears, for an everlasting inheritance, and that you did for them all that you promised. 34 And now we have sinned before you, and you have handed us over to our enemies 35 because we glorified their gods. You are righteous, O Lord! 36 And now they are not satisfied that we are in bitter slavery, but they have covenanted with their idols 37 to abolish what your mouth has ordained, and to destroy your inheritance, to stop the mouths of those who praise you and to quench your altar and the glory of your house, 38 to open the mouths of the nations for the praise of vain idols, and to magnify forever a mortal king. 39 Lord, do not surrender your scepter to what has no being; and do not let them laugh at our downfall; but turn their plan against them, and make an example of him who began this against us. 40 Remember, O Lord; make yourself known in this time of our affliction, and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion! 41 Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him. 42 But save us by your hand, and help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, O Lord. 43 You have knowledge of all things, and you know that I hate the splendor of the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien. 44 You know my necessity that I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a filthy rag, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at leisure. 45 And your servant has not eaten at Haman's table, and I have not honored the king's feast or drunk the wine of libations. 46 Your servant has had no joy since the day that I was brought here until now, except in you, O page 3 of 6

Lord God of Abraham. 47 O God, whose might is over all, hear the voice of the despairing, and save us from the hands of evildoers. And save me from my fear! 5. Esther 5:1-3 (Addition D, immediately following the prayer) Hebrew: 1 On the third day, Esther put on royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the king s palace, facing the king s palace, while the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room facing the entrance of the palace. 2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won his favor. The king extended to Esther the golden scepter which he had in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 What troubles you, Queen Esther? the king asked her. Old Greek: And it happened on the third day, as she ceased praying, she took off the garments of service and put on her glory. 2 Then, when she had become majestic, after calling upon the all-seeing God and savior, she took along two of her attendants; 3 on one she leaned gently for support, 4 while the other followed, holding her train. 5 She was radiant with the full flush of her beauty, and her face looked happy as if she were cheerful, but her heart was in anguish from fear. 6 When she had gone through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was seated on the throne of his kingdom, clothed in the full array of his splendor, all covered with gold and precious stones. And he was most terrifying. 7 And when he raised his face inflamed with glory, he gazed at her in the full flush of anger. The queen staggered, her color turned pale from faintness, and she collapsed on the head of the attendant who went before her. 8 Then God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and alarmed, he jumped from his throne and took her in his arms until she was quieted. He kept comforting her with soothing words 9 and said to her, What is it, Esther? I am your brother. Take heart! 10 You shall not die, for our ordinance is only for the common person. 11 Come here. 12 Then he lifted the golden rod and placed it on her neck; he welcomed her and said, Speak to me. 13 She said to him, I saw you, Lord, like a divine angel, and my heart was shaken from fear of your glory. 14 For you are marvelous, lord, and your face is full of grace. 15 And while she was speaking, she fell from faintness. 16 Then the king and all page 4 of 6

And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be granted you. his servants were troubled, and he reassured her 5:3 And the king said to her, What do you want, Esther? What is your request? Even up to half of my kingdom, and it shall be yours. 6. Esther 6:13 (Haman returns home distressed after honoring Mordecai) Hebrew: There Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish stock, you will not overcome him; you will fall before him to your ruin. Old Greek: Haman explained what had happened to him to Zosara his wife and to his friends. His friends and his wife said to him, If Mardochaios is of the race of the Judeans, you have begun to be humiliated before him; you will fall when you fall. You will never be able to ward him off, because a living god is with him. Alpha-text: Haman explained to his wife everything that had happened to him. His wife and his wise men said, Ever since you spoke evil about him, evil things have been coming to you; be quiet, because God is among them. 7. The Letter of the Great King Artaxerxes (Addition E, appended to ch. 8; cf. Targum Sheni at 8:13) (exc.) For Haman son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian (really an alien to the Persian blood, and quite devoid of our kindliness), having become our guest, enjoyed so fully the goodwill that we have for every nation that he was called our father and was continually bowed down to by all as the person second to the royal throne. But, unable to restrain his arrogance, he undertook to deprive us of our kingdom and our life, and with intricate craft and deceit asked for the destruction of Mordecai, our savior and perpetual benefactor, and of Esther, the blameless partner of our kingdom, together with their whole nation. He thought that by these methods he would catch us undefended and would transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians. But we find that the Jews, who were consigned to annihilation by this thriceaccursed man, are not evildoers, but are governed by most righteous laws and are children of the living God, most high, most mighty, who has directed the kingdom both for us and for our ancestors in the most excellent order. You will therefore do well not to put in execution the letters sent by Haman son of Hammedatha, since he, the one who did these things, has been hanged at the gate of Susa with all his household for God, who rules over all things, has speedily inflicted on him the punishment that he deserved. Therefore post a copy of this letter publicly in every place, and permit the Jews to live under their own laws. And give them page 5 of 6

reinforcements, so that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, on that very day, they may defend themselves against those who attack them at the time of oppression. For God, who rules over all things, has made this day to be a joy for his chosen people instead of a day of destruction for them. Therefore you shall observe this with all good cheer as a notable day among your commemorative festivals, so that both now and hereafter it may represent deliverance for you and the loyal Persians, but that it may be a reminder of destruction for those who plot against us. 8. Mordecai Interprets His Dream (Addition F, appended to Est 10:3) 10:4 And Mordecai said, These things have come from God; 5 for I remember the dream that I had concerning these matters, and none of them has failed to be fulfilled. 6 There was the little spring that became a river, and there was light and sun and abundant water the river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen. 7 The two dragons are Haman and myself. 8 The nations are those that gathered to destroy the name of the Jews. 9 And my nation, this is Israel, who cried out to God and was saved. The Lord has saved his people; the Lord has rescued us from all these evils; God has done great signs and wonders, wonders that have never happened among the nations. 10 For this purpose he made two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations, 11 and these two lots came to the hour and moment and day of decision before God and among all the nations. 12 And God remembered his people and vindicated his inheritance. 13 So they will observe these days in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth of that month, with an assembly and joy and gladness before God, from generation to generation forever among his people Israel. [Colophon] 14 In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the preceding Letter about Purim, which they said was authentic and had been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem. page 6 of 6