Two generations ago, a nation attempted to wipe the Jews off the
face of the earth. Purim is a holiday that takes us back to the
first time in history such a genocide against the Jews had been
attempted – some 2,300 years ago. The holiday of Purim marks the
Jews’ salvation from the plot of Haman, a high officer of the
Persian Empire, an advisor to King Achashveirosh. Haman’s rage
against the Jews was incited by the failure of a single Jew,
Mordechai, to bow before him as he passed by. Rather than
seeking to do away with Mordechai alone for this slight, Haman
plotted revenge against Mordechai’s entire people. Haman sought,
and gained, permission from King Achashveirosh to do as he
pleased against the Jews, and Haman took this license and ran
with it. He legislated a pogrom that would wipe out every living
Jew in the empire on a single, blood-soaked day. Haman’s message
was unmistakable: A casual roll of the dice would seal their
end, while the Jews’ God would stand helplessly by. In an act
laden with symbolism