Toward the end of the Book of Esther (Esther 9:22), our story recounts:

וְהַחֹ֗דֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר֩ נֶהְפַּ֨ךְ לָהֶ֤ם מִיָּגוֹן֙ לְשִׂמְחָ֔ה וּמֵאֵ֖בֶל לְי֣וֹם ט֑וֹב לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת אוֹתָ֗ם יְמֵי֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֣ה וְשִׂמְחָ֔ה וּמִשְׁל֤וֹחַ מָנוֹת֙ אִ֣ישׁ לְרֵעֵ֔הוּ וּמַתָּנ֖וֹת לָֽאֶבְיוֹנִֽים׃

The month which was turned for them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

From this, we are taught three out of the four mitzvot we are obligated to perform as part of our Purim celebrations. This week, leading up to Purim itself, we’ll explore each one of these four expectations, and what it might teach us about Purim and about ourselves.

Who is the hero of the Purim story?

I have found that this is a question to ask of all ages, from our youngest learners to those encountering the story for the 85th time … and everyone in between. Over the years of asking this question, I have received almost every answer you can imagine. People have suggested Esther and Mordecai, and I have certainly heard the arguments for Vashti and even Ahasverus. I am pretty sure there has been the occasional rabble-rouser who has tried to offer me Haman.

The last of the four mitzvot of Purim is to read the Megillah. But, while the expression “the whole megillah” has made it into the English vernacular, there was actually a rabbinic debate about how much of the Megillah actually needs to be read. In Mishnah Megillah 2:3, we learn:

Beginning from where must a person read the Megilla in order to fulfill his obligation? Rabbi Meir says: He must read all of it. Rabbi Yehuda says: He need read only from “There was a certain Jew” (Esther 2:5). Rabbi Yosei says: From “After these things” (Esther 3:1).

We meet Ahasverus in the first chapter; Esther and Mordcai appear beginning in Chapter 2. Our first introduction to Haman appears in Chapter 3. And, while there is no clear mention of God in the megillah, the rabbis read the miracle of Purim as beginning with 6:1. Where you decide to start, then, determines the story you want to tell.

So, the rabbis wonder: Whose power are we describing? Who is the hero of our story?

Depending on your answer, you’ll find the starting point to your telling. And so we find this discussion in the Babylonian Talmud, some 200-400 years later (BT Megillah 19):

And the one who said that it needs to be read from “There was a certain Jew” explains that “acts of power” is referring to the power of Mordecai. And the one who said that it needs to be read from “After these things” maintains that “acts of power” is referring to the power of Haman. And the one who said that it needs to be read from “On that night” understands that the expression is referring to the power of the miracle, which began on that night when Ahasverus could not sleep, and therefore one must begin reading the Megillah from there.

In the end, though, the rabbis make clear that we are to read, literally, the “whole Megillah.”

And if we choose not to, we still need to make the entire story available to anyone who wants to read it. Because each of us gets to read the story, and decide what story is being told—and which one we might want to tell.

Chag Purim Sameach!

—Rabbi Sari Laufer