Purim – The World of Kabbalah

Purim

פורים

Celebrating the deliverance from Haman

In the Hebrew calendar Purim is celebrated annually on the 14^thof Adar.

In the Gregorian calendar, Purim is celebrated early in March.

Purim is a joyous Jewish holiday commemorating the saving of the Jewish people from genocide by Haman, the prime minister of the ancient Persian Empire under King Xerxes, around 473 BC.

The Story of Purim

The story of Purim is told in the Torah, in the Book of Esther.

The key players are the orphan Esher, her husband Xerxes the King of the Persian Empire, Haman the prime minister serving under Xerces, and Esther’s cousin Mordechai, who raised her.

When Esther entered the royal palace to marry the King, her cousin Mordechai directed her not to reveal their Jewish identities.

However, Mordechai incurred the wrath of Haman, the Kings prime minister, by refusing to bow to him.

Jews do not bow, not even to God.

Haman chose a date, the 13th of Adar, to exterminate all Jews in the Persian Empire.

Mordechai became aware of Hamans’s plan to exterminate the Jewish people. He persuaded his cousin Esther, at the risk of their lives, to inform her husband the King, of her Jewish identity and of Hamans plot.

The King was enraged at Haman’s deception, and hanged Haman on the gallows.

Mordechai, and the Jews were granted the right to defend themselves, leading to a great victory and the establishment of the holiday of Purim.

The Kabbalistic interpretation of Purim

Kabbalah teaches that the story of Esther is an allegory.

The lesson is that even in the darkest, most material situations, Divine light is waiting to be revealed. Esther’s act of revealing her identity shows how to bring light into darkness.

The Book of Esther has 10 chapters, which Kabbalists map to the 10 Sefirot, showing how divine energy flows from the highest Sephira Keter, to the lowest Sephirah Malkut, the Kingdom of Earth.

Esther represents the Shekinah, God’s feminine presence in the world.