The Talmud (Megillah 6b; Yerushalmi Megillah 1:5) discusses whether, in a leap year, Purim should be celebrated in first or second Adar. Both opinions are cited, and it might seem as though Purim should be celebrated in the first Adar: after all, several times Megillat Esther refers to the events of Purim as occurring in “the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar” (3:7, 3:13, 8:12, 9:10), implying that Purim should be celebrated in the twelfth month. In a leap year, the first Adar is the twelfth month and the second Adar is the thirteenth month. However, the final decision is that Purim is celebrated in the second Adar, “in order to put redemption adjacent to redemption”, meaning, to put Purim adjacent to Pesach (Rashi, Megillah 6b).
Purim and Pesach have much in common: both are festivals which commemorate redemption (Purim the second redemption, from Babylon/Persia; Pesach the first redemption, from Egypt). Purim and Pesach fall on the self-same day, forty-five days after the first of Adar: in a leap year, the forty-fifth day after the first of Adar is Purim; in a non-leap year, the forty-fifth day after the first of Adar is Pesach. There is a general principle that we begin studying the halachot of any given Festival thirty days in advance, which means that we begin studying the halachot of Pesach on Purim. Wine is a central component both of Purim and of the Seder night. Another crucial component on the Seder plate is karpas (a green vegetable), and the only time in the entire Tanakh that the word karpas appears is in Esther 1:6.
In several places (Esther Rabbah 8:7; Yalkut Shimoni, Esther 1056; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 50; Seder Olam Rabbah, Chapter 29; Targum, Esther 5:1 et. al.), the Midrash tells us that the day that Esther risked her life by donning royal apparel and going to King Achashverosh (Esther 5:1), the day that she began the salvation that would culminate with Purim, was the first day of Pesach. Haman had promulgated his decree of genocide on the 13thof Nisan (3:12), so the three days of fasting that Esther decreed (4:16) were the 13th, 14th, and 15thof Nisan. Hence “the third day” (5:1) of the fast, the day that Esther approached King Achashverosh, was the 15thof Nisan.
(Incidentally, the inference of Esther’s words that “I have not been called to come to the king these last thirty days” , which she said on the 13thof Nisan, is that the previous time she had been called to Achashverosh had been on the 13thof Adar, the day which Haman decreed as the day of extermination, and the day which would later become Ta’anit Esther.)
It is of course appropriate that Esther would have chosen this most auspicious of days to begin the Redemption. It is fundamental to Judaism that history is not random, that there is indeed a G-d Who controls events, and that the events which occurred to our ancestors continue to influence us. “On the 15thof Nisan they were redeemed from Egypt, on the 15thof Nisan they will in the future be redeemed from subjugation in exile” (Tanhuma, Bo 9) is a very natural concept in Judaism, so it was natural for Esther to begin her scheme to redeem the Jews from extermination on the day of the redemption from Egypt.
Destroying our enemies, who are also the enemies of G-d Himself, is one of the inseparable components of redemption. The first redemption, that from Egypt, climaxed with the death of all Egyptian firstborn sons in the Tenth Plague, and the subsequent drowning of their entire army in the Red Sea a week later. The second redemption, that from Babylonian/Persian exile, climaxed with the Jews of the Persian Empire “striking at all their enemies by the sword, slaughtering and annihilating; they did as they wanted to their enemies” (Esther 9:5).
Haman’s ultimate ancestor was Amalek – the first nation to attack us as we were on our way out of Egypt (Exodus 17:8-16). After defeating Amalek in that skirmish, “Moshe built an altar and called it ‘Hashem is my Banner’ [or ‘my Miracle’], and he said: Because the hand is on the Throne of Hashem; Hashem’s war against Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:15-16). Two words in Moshe’s declaration are incomplete: “throne” appears here as keis (kuf-samech) instead of kissei (kuf-samech-alef), omitting the alef; and the Name of Hashem appears as Yud-Heh, omitting the Vav-Heh. The Midrash explains: “As long as Amalek’s seed is in the world, Hashem’s Name is incomplete and His Throne is incomplete; when his seed is annihilated, His Name is complete and His Throne is complete” (Tanhuma, Ki Teitze 11; Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms 643).
And this applies not only to Amalek, but to all evil people: “As long as the evil people rule in the world, so to speak G-d cannot sit on His Throne… And when will He sit on His Throne? – When ‘the saviours will ascend Mount Zion, to judge the Mountain of Esau – then the Kingdom will be Hashem’s’ (Obadiah 1:21)” (Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms 754).
As with the first two redemptions, so with the third and final redemption – the redemption through which our most blessed of generations is living: physically destroying evil was and is an essential component of the redemption. True, we are back in our Land; true, we are closer to sovereignty and independence than any time since Queen Sh’lom-Zion (Salome) Alexandra, 2,080 years ago.
But as long as murderers stalk our midst, as long as Jews are slaughtered just for being Jews – the redemption is not complete, G-d does not sit on His Throne, His Name is incomplete and His Throne is incomplete. When the blood of an innocent baby lying in her crib screams from the ground, G-d’s Name is defiled, His very Throne trembles.
The story of Purim ends with “Mordechai the Jew as second in command to King Achashverosh, great for the Jews, beloved by the multitude of his brethren; he sought good for his nation, speaking peace for all his seed” (Esther 10:3). And immediately after this came the return to the Land of Israel and the re-building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem which was to stand for 420 years. But to achieve this true peace and prosperity, we had first of all to destroy our enemies – evil, vicious, brutal enemies who sought to slaughter every Jew, old or young, just for being Jewish.
The words of the Torah resound throughout our generations: “Remember what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt – that he chanced upon you along the way, and he attacked the hindmost of those who were weak, straggling behind you, when you were tired and weary, and he did not fear G-d. So it will be, when Hashem your G-d grants you respite from all your surrounding enemies, in the Land which Hashem your G-d gives you as a heritage to inherit – wipe out the very memory of Amalek from under the Heavens. Do not forget!” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).
As long as Amalek yet lives among us, no Jew will ever be safe. As long as those who glorify Amalek remain, it is inevitable that more Jewish blood will be spilt, more Jewish throats will be slashed. It is not sufficient merely to proclaim Jewish sovereignty in part of the Land of Israel while allowing Amalek and his allies to continue with their murderous schemes.
The war against Amalek will continue even when G-d grants us respite from all our surrounding enemies, in our Land. The Targum Yonatan paraphrases: “And it will be, when Hashem your G-d gives you respite from all those who hate you surrounding the Land which Hashem your G-d gives you as a heritage to inherit – wipe out the very memory of Amalek from under the heavens. And even in the days of the Mashiach the king – do not forget”. Because the days of Mashiach – those glorious, halcyon days – will not be for bloodthirsty murderers to enjoy. That will be the time for us to complete the story of Esther for all time – to enthrone G-d on His Throne, in the days when “Hashem will be One and his Name will be One” (Isaiah 8:10).