Wait, Haman Was a Barber? 10 Surprising Details Behind the Purim Story

Everyone knows the story: there was a powerful and deeply corrupt king named Ahasuerus, who ruled an empire stretching from India to Ethiopia. There was Vashti, who refused to obey him and was executed. There was Mordechai, who saved the king from an assassination plot. And of course, there was Haman, who demanded that Mordechai bow to him and, when he refused, turned the king against the entire Jewish people.

Then, through hidden divine providence and the courage of Esther, everything flipped. Instead of the Jews being annihilated on the 13th of Adar, Haman was hanged, and the Jews were saved.

Up to this point, the story is familiar.

But if we look into the Midrash of our Sages, teachings passed down through generations, we uncover a deeper and richer picture of what unfolded in Shushan the capital sometime between the destruction of the First Temple and the building of the Second Temple, around 482 BCE.

1. Who was Mordechai the Jew?

Mordechai was far more than a righteous bystander. Before the exile, he was a senior member of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. During the destruction of the First Temple, he was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar and eventually settled in Shushan. There, he rose to prominence and became the spiritual leader of the Jewish people during one of the harshest periods of exile.

2. Where did Ahasuerus come from?

Ahasuerus was not born into royalty. He rose to power through immense wealth and political manipulation. Before becoming king, he served as a sis, a royal horse keeper, for Belshazzar, who was Vashti’s father. By bribing officials, Ahasuerus seized the throne. Because his claim to power was unstable, the feast mentioned in the Megillah, held in the third year of his reign, marked his sense of finally securing the kingdom.

3. Why did Vashti refuse to appear before the king?

Contrary to popular imagination, Vashti’s refusal was not an act of modesty. The Sages teach that she was suddenly afflicted with tzara’at, a humiliating skin condition, and was too ashamed to appear. After ordering her execution, Ahasuerus later sobered up and bitterly regretted his decision.

4. Was Mordechai present at the royal feast?

Absolutely not. Mordechai warned the Jews not to attend, knowing it would be a debauched affair involving forbidden food and moral compromise. The people ignored him, convinced that political survival required participation. They believed he did not understand the realities of power.

5. Who was worse, Ahasuerus or Haman?

According to the Sages, Ahasuerus was no less cruel or dangerous than Haman. The Megillah downplays this because it was written during Ahasuerus’s lifetime by Mordechai and Esther, who were careful not to destabilize the kingdom by openly condemning him.

6. What history did Haman and Mordechai share?

Their hostility ran deep. Earlier in their careers, both served as military commanders under Ahasuerus during a provincial rebellion. Mordechai prepared his soldiers carefully, rationing food. Haman did not. His troops quickly ran out of provisions and nearly killed him in their hunger. Desperate, Haman begged Mordechai for food and pledged himself as his slave, even tattooing this pledge onto his thigh.

Years later, when Haman rose to power and demanded Mordechai bow to him, Mordechai struck his own thigh, silently reminding him who was master and who was slave. In an even earlier chapter of his life, Haman had worked as a village barber in a place called Karzum.

7. Why did Esther ask the Jews to fast and pray?

Beyond the power of prayer, the fast served as spiritual repair. Nine years earlier, the Jews had indulged in Ahasuerus’s feast. Now, they were called upon to abstain, repent, and reconnect.

8. What happened on the 13th of Adar?

As the fateful day approached, Jews hid in fear. But when the day arrived, everything turned upside down. Instead of being slaughtered, the Jews rose and defeated those who had planned their destruction. Haman’s sons were killed, and his wife Zeresh fled into exile, surviving by begging.

9. Is the story historically reliable?

Beyond its status as ancestral tradition, the Megillah reflects deep familiarity with Persian language, culture, and governance. Ahasuerus is commonly identified with the Persian emperor Khshayarsha. The traditional burial place of Mordechai and Esther is in Hamadan, though other traditions place it in the Galilee. Among Persian and Caucasian Jews, the name Esther remains common, pronounced Isteer, from the root hester, concealment.

10. Why do we eat Haman’s ears?

The Sages relate that after his humiliation, Haman returned home with his ears cut off. The triangular shape of the pastry is also linked to the three cornered officer’s hat he wore, and some say the three corners allude to Esther’s three days of fasting.

What emerges is not just a dramatic story of reversal, but a layered narrative of exile, identity, power, repentance, and hidden redemption, one that continues to echo every Purim.