In Those Days and In Our Times

Lior Asks:"Hello and blessings, I would like to know why Hashem's name is not mentioned at all in the Book of Esther? And how is this holiday connected to us today in the 21st century?"

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Hello Lior,

Your two questions are actually connected in one answer. The very fact that Hashem's name is hidden in the Megillah teaches us the most important lesson of the holiday, a lesson that was as relevant in ancient Persia as it is in our generation.

The sages claimed that the Megillah is built on divine revelation within hiddenness, and thus they said, "Where is Esther hinted at in the Torah? It's said, 'And I will surely hide'" (Chullin 139b). The Megillah can represent the concealment that will exist in exile until the redemption, where Hashem acts "behind the scenes" of the stage of history. This is the spiritual reason for Hashem's name being hidden in the Megillah, to teach generations an essential lesson about faith and divine providence.

However, there might be an external natural reason for this writing: Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra wrote in his introduction to his commentary on the Megillah that the name of Hashem was concealed in it because the Megillah was written by Mordechai under the auspices of the Persian empire. There was concern that the Persians would translate the Megillah and insert names of gods from Persian mythology into it.

Either way, it was Hashem's will for the Megillah to hide His explicit name. Biblical commentators taught us that Hashem's name hides within the designation of King Ahasuerus. Interestingly, the word "king" appears about two hundred times in the Megillah, sometimes as "King Ahasuerus" and sometimes just as "the king". This implies the true King of the world, hiding behind the events.

Now to your second question, "How does the holiday relate to us today?" The answer is within the Megillah itself! On one hand, all the miracles that happened on Purim occurred naturally, behind the scenes of the stage of history. But no one reading the sequence of events in the Megillah can fail to see the clear hand of divine providence in every detail.

To this day, we see adults and children smiling with enjoyment at hearing Haman’s plans, which turned against him measure for measure:

A. When Haman is asked by King Ahasuerus, "What should be done for the man the king wishes to honor?" he is sure Ahasuerus means him—but the king wants to honor Mordechai the Jew, and now Haman has to dress Mordechai in the royal garments and parade him on the king’s horse through the city streets.

B. Esther reveals Haman’s plan to the king, who in his great turmoil falls at Esther's bed to plead for his life—but King Ahasuerus walks in at that exact embarrassing moment and assumes Haman was plotting to assault the queen.

C. Haman prepared a gallows 50 cubits high (approximately 25 meters) to hang Mordechai upon—but Haman himself was hanged on the same gallows.

D. The enemies of Israel were ready to annihilate all the Jewish people in one day—but finally, the Jews killed in Susa the capital five hundred enemies, Haman’s ten sons, and many other foes.

Purim is an eternal holiday because it teaches the most important lesson there is: a lesson in faith and providence in a reality of hiddenness, which is the period we are currently in before the coming of salvation. Precisely through parody customs, through disguises, and through wine and the reversal of roles that have become part of the holiday’s traditions, we also remember that behind everything we see in the world—another reality entirely is concealed, opposite to this material world and its deceptive nature, and it is the hand of divine providence doing everything.

Even though we currently face harsh decrees against the world of Torah in the Holy Land, we must remember that Hashem orchestrates all events, and despite the external concealment, there is none besides Him. In His power, He can overturn everything in a moment, and then we will tangibly see how "The Jews had light and joy, gladness and honor."