1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
Read article from Temple Institute
1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) , (this [is] Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) which reigned, from Hoddu (India,הדּוּ) even unto Kush, [over] an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
1:2 [That] in those days, when ha melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) sat on the throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,
1:3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his avadim; the power of Paras (Persia) and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, [being] before him:
1:4 When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, [even] an hundred and fourscore days.
1:5 And when these days were expired, ha melekh made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan (Susa; Seleukeia) the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace;
1:6 [Where were] white, green, and blue, [hangings], fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds [were of] gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.
1:7 And they gave [them] drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
1:8 And the drinking [was] according to the law; none did compel: for so ha melekh had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
1:9 Also Vashti (ושׁתי) ha malkah (מלכּה) made a feast for the women [in] the royal house which [belonged] to Melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) .
1:10 On the seventh day, when the heart of ha melekh was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) the king,
1:11 To bring Vashti (ושׁתי) ha malkah (מלכּה) before ha melekh with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she [was] fair to look on.
1:12 But ha malkah (מלכּה) Vashti (ושׁתי) refused to come at ha melekh's commandment by [his] chamberlains: therefore was ha melekh very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
1:13 Then ha melekh said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so [was] ha melekh's manner toward all that knew law and judgment:
1:14 And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of Paras (Persia) and Media, which saw ha melekh's face, [and] which sat the first in the kingdom;)
1:15 What shall we do unto ha malkah (מלכּה) Vashti (ושׁתי) according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of ha melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) by the chamberlains?
1:16 And Memucan answered before ha melekh and the princes, Vashti (ושׁתי) ha malkah (מלכּה) hath not done wrong to ha melekh only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that [are] in all the provinces of ha melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) .
1:17 For [this] deed of ha malkah (מלכּה) shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, ha melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) commanded Vashti (ושׁתי) ha malkah (מלכּה) to be brought in before him, but she came not.
1:18 [Likewise] shall the ladies of Paras (Persia) and Media say this day unto all ha melekh's princes, which have heard of the deed of ha malkah (מלכּה). Thus [shall there arise] too much contempt and wrath.
1:19 If it please ha melekh, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti (ושׁתי) come no more before Melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) ; and let ha melekh give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.
1:20 And when ha melekh's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.
1:21 And the saying pleased ha melekh and the princes; and ha melekh did according to the word of Memucan:
1:22 For he sent letters into all ha melekh's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that [it] should be published according to the language of every people.
The Achaemenid Empire (Persian: هخامنشیان) (559 BCE–330 BCE)
The Achaemenids were finally overthrown by the conquest of Alexander the Great in 330 BCE.
A Soviet Jew was recently asked by a Westerner what he thought would be the outcome if the USSR stepped up its anti-Semitic policies. "Oh, probably a feast!" Asked for an explanation, the Jewish man said, "Pharaoh tried to wipe out the Hebrews and the result was Pesach; Haman tried to exterminate our people and the result was Purim; Antiochus Epiphanes tried to do us in, and the result was Hannukah!"
Ester explains the origin of the Feast of Purim, a colorful Jewish holiday that today features noisemakers sounding off every time Haman's name occurs in the annual public reading of the book.
Ester is unique in several ways. It tells the story of non-observant Jews who preferred prosperity in Persia to the rigors of the small remnant that returned to Yerushalayim under Zerubbabel (Ezra 2). All reference to religion other than fasting is lacking in Ester.
Tempting to exterminate the Jews means to exterminate yourselves, your family, your descendants and your nation. Just think does it pay to go against the Elohei Yisrael.
The story of Purim is based on the book of Esther. - By Rick Aharon
Xerxes I (Persian: خشایارشاه, Old Persian: Khashâyârshâ), was a Persian Emperor (Shahanshah) (reigned 485–465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. "Xérxēs" (Ξέρξης) is the Greek transliteration of the Persian throne name Khashayarsha or Khashayar-shah, meaning "King of heroes". In the Book of Ezra and in Book of Esther, the Persian king Axašweroš (אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ) (Ahasuerus) probably corresponds to Xerxes I.
The story opens in the midst of the 180-day lavish banquet thrown by King Achashveirosh of Persia, detailing his extraordinary wealth and power. When Queen Vashti (ושׁתי) refuses to attend, Achashveirosh has her executed.
Hashem's providential care for His people
The origins of feast of Purim
Threats against the Yehudim Hashem will judge
A women as protoaganist
The Megillah Scroll may be divided as follows:
1. Ester Chosen malkah (מלכּה)
a. The Feast of melekh Achashverosh (אחשׁורושׁ) in the Palace of Susa
b. Deposing of malkah (מלכּה) Vashti (ושׁתי)
c. In search for Vashti (ושׁתי)'s successor
d. Ester 's Accession as malkah (מלכּה)
2. Ester's deliverance of her people, the Yehudim
a. Mordechai's sving of ha melekh's life
b. Haman (המן)'s conpiracy against the Yehudim (Haman, a descendant of Amalekite king Agag,)
c.Mourning among the Yehudim and Ester's discovery of the conspiracy
d. Mordechai (מרדּכי) request to Ester to risk her life for her people
e. Ester's courageous request
f. ha melekh's insomnia
g. Haman (המן) forced to honor Mordechai (מרדּכי)
h. Ester's plea for herself and her people
i. Haman (המן)'s Death
3. The Yehudim's Revenge upon their enemies
a. Defeat of Haman (המן)'s conspiracy through ha melekh's decree
b. Exaltation of Mordechai (מרדּכי)
c. Yehudim's destruction of enemies
d. Institution of the Feast of Purim
e. Mordechai (מרדּכי)'s further Advancement
Susa (Biblical Shushan; also Greek: Σέλεύχεια, transliterated as Seleukeia or Seleukheia; Latin Seleucia ad Eulaeum; modern Shush, coordinates: ) was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran, located about 150 miles east of the Tigris River in Khuzestan province of Iran.