When Enjoyment Became Exile: The Hidden Cause of the Purim Decree

We are approaching the festival of Purim, when the Jewish people celebrate the verse, “And it was reversed, so that the Jews ruled over those who hated them.” The Gemara in tractate Megillah asks a profound question. Why was such a harsh decree issued against the Jewish people, “to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, from young to old, children and women, in a single day”? The Gemara answers in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: because they derived pleasure from the feast of Achashverosh.

This answer raises an obvious difficulty. The Torah clearly defines punishments for each transgression. Eating food prepared by non Jews is a prohibition, but it is a negative commandment that does not carry the punishment of death. If so, why were the Jewish people punished with such an extreme decree for their conduct at Achashverosh’s feast?

A Parable From the World of Business

To understand this, let us begin with a parable.

A bank manager was looking to hire a junior clerk for the customer accounts department. After interviewing several candidates, he chose one and hired him. On his first day of work, the new employee arrived late. He was immediately summoned by the manager and warned to arrive on time. The next day, the clerk again arrived late, offering excuses about traffic and delays. The manager warned him that this was his second and final warning, and that no further excuses would be accepted. If he arrived late again, he would be dismissed.

At the same bank, a position opened for another clerk who would be responsible for opening accounts for new customers. The manager interviewed candidates, selected someone suitable, and hired him. On his first day of work, a new customer entered the bank wishing to open an account. The clerk said to him, “Why open an account here? Go to the competing bank. Their conditions are better, they have lower fees and higher interest rates. It is not worth opening an account with us.” The customer immediately left the bank.

This repeated itself. Every new customer who entered was sent straight to the rival bank.

The Manager’s Decision

The bank manager noticed that not a single new account had been opened that day. He waited for another customer to approach the clerk, and just as the customer was about to leave, the manager called him over and asked why he was not opening an account. The customer replied, “Your clerk advised me to go to the other bank, where I would receive better conditions.”

The manager became furious. On the spot, he fired the new clerk and ordered him to leave the bank immediately.

One of the bystanders asked the manager, “Why did you give the first employee warnings and another chance after he arrived late, while this employee was fired immediately?”

The manager replied, “The difference is simple. The first employee accepted that he belongs to our bank. He failed in punctuality, so I gave him another chance. But this clerk sent customers to other banks. He removed himself from belonging to us altogether. Someone like that has no place here even for a moment, so there is no reason to give him another chance.”

The Deeper Meaning of the Decree

The lesson is clear. When a Jew is happy to belong to the Jewish people and occasionally stumbles because of the evil inclination, he remains part of the nation and is judged within the framework of sin and its punishment.

However, in the story of Purim, the text does not say that the Jews merely ate at Achashverosh’s feast, but that they enjoyed it. They took pleasure in being there, and they felt comfortable and happy among the non Jewish culture.

This was not participation out of necessity or lack of choice. It was enjoyment, a sense of belonging and identification with the surrounding society. That attitude revealed that they had attached themselves to another people and another identity. They abandoned their spiritual source and sought belonging elsewhere. In such a situation, they were no longer judged as Jews who sinned, but as those who had shifted their allegiance. That is why the decree was so severe.

The Turning Point

After the fasting and repentance decreed by Esther and Mordechai, the verse states, “They upheld and accepted upon themselves.” The Sages explain that at that moment the Jewish people accepted the Torah anew out of love rather than coercion. They returned to their true spiritual source. As a result, the miracle occurred, and it was indeed reversed, so that the Jews ruled over those who hated them.

Let us take this message to heart. May we accept upon ourselves to study Torah and fulfill the commandments out of love for the Holy One, blessed be He. Through this, may we merit to see miracles and wonders in our lives.