As Jews around the world celebrated Purim this year, they were reminded of the parallels between October 7 and the Purim story.
By Rachel Avraham
As Jews around the world celebrated Purim this year, they were reminded of the parallels between October 7 and the Purim story. While there are many differences between an attempted genocide and the kinocide that the Jewish people experienced on October 7, there were still many parallels between October 7 and the Purim story, which we can learn from.
According to Rabbi David Golinkin, one of the greatest parallels between the Purim story and October 7th is that the villains in both stories have a desire to “cut down men, women and children and the elderly.” Haman was part of the nation of Amelek and as such, sought to destroy the Jews. Although Amelek no longer exists, Hamas has “no fear of God; they too are like Amalek.” Like Amelek, they also chant “death to Israel.”
Rabbi David Golinkin added that “the second parallel is to a Midrash found in the second half of Esther Rabbah, which was apparently edited in Europe at the end of the 10th century (Midrash Esther Rabbah, eds. Tabori-Atzmon, p. 113). When Haman told Achashverosh to destroy the Jewish people, Achashverosh did not reply that it’s immoral. He said: look what God did to the kings who tried to destroy them!”
Rabbi Golinkin proclaimed, “In other words, I agree with you, but it’s futile. Achashverosh then convened the wise men of the nations and he said to them: Is it your desire that we destroy this nation? They too replied that God is too powerful – look what he did to Pharaoh and Sancheriv! Haman then convinced them that God is old and weak; they then came around to his opinion and agreed to destroy Israel. (Esther Rabbah, pp. 139-141 = David Golinkin, Insight Israel, Vol. 2, pp. 197-198). Just switch “the wise men of the nations” to the United Nations. Many of the members of the U.N. would agree with Hamas to destroy Israel. They have no moral reservations; the only thing holding them back is that the State of Israel is too strong.”
One of the parallels that many people can note but is not mentioned by Rabbi Golinkin is that in both the Purim story and on October 7th, G-d appeared hidden from us. As 1,200 Jews were massacred just for being Jews and 251 were abducted to Gaza, many may ponder, what happened to G-d? Why is he hidden from us? The same was true in the Purim story, where the name of G-d does not appear once in the Megillat Esther. While the Megillat Esther does reference “the king” and shows how G-d worked through Mordechai and Esther in order to save the Jewish people from mass destruction, there is no event like Mount Sinai or the separating of the Red Sea in the Megillat Esther.
However, the Vilna Gaon wrote a commentary on the Megillat Esther that teaches us that even if G-d appears hidden, we should not lose hope. The Lithuanian sage relates the story of a prince who sinned and was punished by his father. So, the son was banished to a forest. However, the king ordered that his servants remain near the prince and protect him, so no one will be able to harm him, yet remain hidden so that he will repent for his actions. At the end of the story, after the servants of the king had rescued the prince from so many threats, the prince realized that his father did not abandon him and he learned to love and appreciate his father.
The Vilna Gaon explains that this story is an analogy for the people of Israel, who sinned against G-d, which led them into the Babylonian Exile. However, he noted that in the Purim story, G-d continued to protect the Jewish people in a hidden manner, just like the servants of the king: “It has been a long time since our Father the King threw us out of the palace and the distance of time sometimes makes us forget that we are still his royal family—a family of princes and princesses, exiled to a dark forest filled with dangerous threats from those who are jealous of us and want to harm us. But we need to realize, just as Mordechai and Esther did, that all our narrow escapes from day to day—as well as all our blessings and joys—come from our Father in Heaven, who is always extending his angels to protect us, nourish us, guide us and elevate us exactly as he desires.”
Throughout the Purim story, the hidden miracles of G-d are there for all to witness. According to the Vilna Gaon’s commentary on the Book of Esther, the advisor of King Ahasuerus who had recommended the removal of Vashti as queen for refusing to appear in front of all the king’s drunk guests was actually Haman. The king had wanted to give her a more lenient sentence, as he lacked noble lineage and got his status through marriage to her. Furthermore, he believed that she was very beautiful and he did not want to lose her.
For that reason, he consulted with his advisors, hoping to get legitimacy for a more lenient sentence. By ensuring that Vashti, a granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar, got removed as queen, Haman himself actually created the necessary conditions for the salvation of the Jewish people by Queen Esther: “Now that the king could unilaterally execute judgement and do whatever he wanted, the noblemen lost all their power. Nevertheless, it was favorable in their eyes. One should be filled with joy and a sense of security from seeing how G-d reverses even the most personal desires of our enemies for the benefit of the Jewish people.”
Another lesson that the Vilna Gaon’s commentary can teach us for our times is how to deal with adversity. Queen Esther was taken against her will to the palace on penalty of death. She lived in fear and was raped by the Persian king, as she did not desire to lie with him. In this manner, all of the victims of sexual violence on October 7th who survived could very much relate to Queen Esther, as she was also a rape victim.
The Vilna Gaon claims that her complexion turned green due to the distress of “having to give pleasure to a wicked king.” For this reason, Queen Esther did nothing to appear beautiful in the eyes of the king. Nevertheless, King Ahasuerus loved her and was attracted to her, as she was slow to anger and had a pleasant disposition despite these challenges. She accepted her fate in stride, without complaints, and in this way was ultimately able to bring about the salvation of the Jewish people.
Although G-d’s presence in our world may seem hidden today, we should all have faith that He knows what He is doing. As the Vilna Gaon wrote on the Megillat Esther, “On that day when Hashem’s name and throne will be complete, we will see that all of Hashem’s ways are compassionate, not separate and negative as was our experience in exile. The redemption that took place during Purim, the destruction of Haman, and afterwards Esther’s and Mordechai’s rise to glory, are a taste of this unity and divine compassion.”
As Rabbi Golinkin noted, “this leads us to the third and final parallel, to the book of Esther, chapters 8-9. After Haman was hanged, Esther asked Achashverosh to rescind Haman’s decree of genocide. Achashverosh replies that he cannot rescind a royal decree, but that Esther and Mordechai can send an additional decree to the Jews. Mordechai then sends a new decree to the Jews and to the Persian officials, that the Jews have the right to defend themselves and to kill their enemies.”
He concluded, “The Jews have learned from bitter experience that they cannot rely on other countries or rulers and certainly not on the UN to defend them. They must rely on themselves. The Jews of Persia defended themselves, and so do we. It says at the beginning of the Book of Esther, chapter 9: “On the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews overpowered their enemies”. This is exactly what happened to the IDF and the State of Israel after October 7th. May God continue to give us the strength to defeat the Hamans of our days.”
