Jewish Antiquities Book 11 Chapter 6
"As to this whole book of Esther in the present Hebrew copy, it is so very imperfect, in a case where the providence of God was so very remarkable, and the Septuagint and Josephus have so much of religion, that it has not so much as the name of God once in it...no religious Jew could well be the authors of it, whose education obliged them to have a constant regard to God..."
- William Whiston footnote
ESTHER 1:12
אָמַר רַבִּי אִילְעַאי, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים אָדָם נִיכָּר: בְּכוֹסוֹ, וּבְכִיסוֹ וּבְכַעְסוֹ. וְאָמְרִי לֵיהּ אַף בְּשַׂחֲקוֹ.
(Eruvin 65b)
(Herodotus was born around 484 BCE. Incidentally, that would have been the 3rd year of Xerxes' reign, which began in 486 BCE. The Purim story begins in Achashverosh's 3rd year.)
"...Masistes son of Darius, who happened to have been present at the Persian disaster, reviled the admiral Artayntes very bitterly, telling him (with much beside) that such generalship as his proved him worse than a woman, and that no punishment was too severe for the harm he had done the king's estate. Now it is the greatest of all taunts in Persia to be called worse than a woman. These many insults angered Artayntes so much that he drew his sword upon Masistes to kill him, but Xenagoras son of Praxilaus...saw him run at Masistes, and caught him round the middle and lifted and hurled him to the ground...." (Herodotus, The Histories 9.107)
ESTHER 1:15
"They (the Persians) are very partial to wine...it is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk; and what they approve in their deliberations is proposed to them the next day, when they are sober,...and if, being sober, they still approve it, they act on it, but if not, they drop it. And if they have deliberated about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk." (Herodotus, The Histories 1.133)
(Tacitus was a young man around the time of the destruction of the 2nd Temple, around 550 years later)
"To pass an entire day and night in drinking disgraces no one. Their quarrels, as might be expected with intoxicated people, are seldom fought out with mere abuse, but commonly with wounds and bloodshed. Yet it is at their feasts that they generally consult on the reconciliation of enemies, on the forming of matrimonial alliances, on the choice of chiefs, finally even on peace and war, for they think that at no time is the mind more open to simplicity of purpose or more warmed to noble aspirations... (W)ithout either natural or acquired cunning, they disclose their hidden thoughts in the freedom of the festivity. Thus the sentiments of all having been discovered and laid bare, the discussion is renewed on the following day, and from each occasion its own peculiar advantage is derived. They deliberate when they have no power to dissemble; they resolve when error is impossible." (Tacitus, Germany and its Tribes 22)
One of the strangest customs of Purim is the focus on drinking, an activity that is usually frowned upon in Jewish thought:
- Noach got drunk when he first stepped out of the ark, with disastrous consequences.
- Lot got drunk, allowing his two daughters to rape him and become pregnant.
- According to R' Yishmael, Nadav and Avihu were killed because they entered the Mishkan drunk and offered an אש זרה
- A Ben Sorer u'Moreh is defined as a gluttonous child who gets drunk
- Mishlei has very harsh things to say about drunken behavior
- Guide III:8 - it is better to be naked than drunk because nakedness is mere social convention while being drunk erodes the mind
- According to the CDC, over 140,000 Americans die every year due to excessive alcohol consumption
אָמַר רָבָא: מִיחַיַּיב אִינִישׁ לְבַסּוֹמֵי בְּפוּרַיָּא עַד דְּלָא יָדַע בֵּין אָרוּר הָמָן לְבָרוּךְ מָרְדֳּכַי.
(Megilah 7b)
רַבָּה וְרַבִּי זֵירָא עֲבַדוּ סְעוּדַת פּוּרִים בַּהֲדֵי הֲדָדֵי. אִיבַּסּוּם. קָם רַבָּה שַׁחְטֵיהּ לְרַבִּי זֵירָא. לְמָחָר, בָּעֵי רַחֲמֵי וְאַחֲיֵיהּ. לְשָׁנָה, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: נֵיתֵי מָר וְנַעֲבֵיד סְעוּדַת פּוּרִים בַּהֲדֵי הֲדָדֵי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָא בְּכֹל שַׁעְתָּא וְשַׁעְתָּא מִתְרְחִישׁ נִיסָּא.
(Megilah 7b, cont.)
כֵּיצַד חוֹבַת סְעֻדָּה זוֹ...שׁוֹתֶה יַיִן עַד שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּכֵּר וְיֵרָדֵם בְּשִׁכְרוּתוֹ
(Rambam, Hilkhos Megilah 2:15)
חייב אינש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי: הגה וי"א דא"צ להשתכר כל כך אלא שישתה יותר מלימודו (כל בו) ויישן ומתוך שישן אינו יודע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי (מהרי"ל) ואחד המרבה ואחד הממעיט ובלבד שיכוין לבו לשמים
(Shulchan Arukh Orach Chaim 695:2)
וישן ומתוך שישן וכו' - וכן ראוי לעשות
(Mishneh Berurah 695:5)
Ra'avad I - Abraham ibn Da'ud (Sefer haKaballah, Emunah Ramah)
Ra'avad II - Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne (Sefer haEshkol, Rebbe of Zerachiah haLevi)
Ra'avad III - Abraham ben David of Posquierres (-> Isaac the Blind -> Azriel of Gerona
-> Ramban)
A man got so drunk on Purim that he stabbed another man to death. Given that we don't have a Sanhedrin anymore and can't give anyone the death penalty, what should be done here?
First of all, ignorant people get too drunk on Purim because they take that Gemara too literally. A severe penance must be imposed on this person.
1) He should be flogged twice a day, morning and evening, for a full year
2) If his victim has young children, he must support them
3) Like Iyov, he must shave his head and beard as a sign of mourning
He should also be encouraged to mortify himself further, such as by fasting.
Once he has done this, however, no one ought to refer to him as a murderer, and especially not to shame his wife or children about it.
The busiest day of the year at the Maimonides Hospital ER in Brooklyn is Purim. Hatzalah ran a "Let me father enjoy Purim" campaign. This is no joke.
"As to this whole book of Esther in the present Hebrew copy, it is so very imperfect, in a case where the providence of God was so very remarkable, and the Septuagint and Josephus have so much of religion, that it has not so much as the name of God once in it...no religious Jew could well be the authors of it, whose education obliged them to have a constant regard to God..."
- William Whiston footnote
ESTHER 1:12
אָמַר רַבִּי אִילְעַאי, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים אָדָם נִיכָּר: בְּכוֹסוֹ, וּבְכִיסוֹ וּבְכַעְסוֹ. וְאָמְרִי לֵיהּ אַף בְּשַׂחֲקוֹ.
(Eruvin 65b)
(Herodotus was born around 484 BCE. Incidentally, that would have been the 3rd year of Xerxes' reign, which began in 486 BCE. The Purim story begins in Achashverosh's 3rd year.)
"...Masistes son of Darius, who happened to have been present at the Persian disaster, reviled the admiral Artayntes very bitterly, telling him (with much beside) that such generalship as his proved him worse than a woman, and that no punishment was too severe for the harm he had done the king's estate. Now it is the greatest of all taunts in Persia to be called worse than a woman. These many insults angered Artayntes so much that he drew his sword upon Masistes to kill him, but Xenagoras son of Praxilaus...saw him run at Masistes, and caught him round the middle and lifted and hurled him to the ground...." (Herodotus, The Histories 9.107)
ESTHER 1:15
"They (the Persians) are very partial to wine...it is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk; and what they approve in their deliberations is proposed to them the next day, when they are sober,...and if, being sober, they still approve it, they act on it, but if not, they drop it. And if they have deliberated about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk." (Herodotus, The Histories 1.133)
(Tacitus was a young man around the time of the destruction of the 2nd Temple, around 550 years later)
"To pass an entire day and night in drinking disgraces no one. Their quarrels, as might be expected with intoxicated people, are seldom fought out with mere abuse, but commonly with wounds and bloodshed. Yet it is at their feasts that they generally consult on the reconciliation of enemies, on the forming of matrimonial alliances, on the choice of chiefs, finally even on peace and war, for they think that at no time is the mind more open to simplicity of purpose or more warmed to noble aspirations... (W)ithout either natural or acquired cunning, they disclose their hidden thoughts in the freedom of the festivity. Thus the sentiments of all having been discovered and laid bare, the discussion is renewed on the following day, and from each occasion its own peculiar advantage is derived. They deliberate when they have no power to dissemble; they resolve when error is impossible." (Tacitus, Germany and its Tribes 22)
One of the strangest customs of Purim is the focus on drinking, an activity that is usually frowned upon in Jewish thought:
- Noach got drunk when he first stepped out of the ark, with disastrous consequences.
- Lot got drunk, allowing his two daughters to rape him and become pregnant.
- According to R' Yishmael, Nadav and Avihu were killed because they entered the Mishkan drunk and offered an אש זרה
- A Ben Sorer u'Moreh is defined as a gluttonous child who gets drunk
- Mishlei has very harsh things to say about drunken behavior
- Guide III:8 - it is better to be naked than drunk because nakedness is mere social convention while being drunk erodes the mind
- According to the CDC, over 140,000 Americans die every year due to excessive alcohol consumption
אָמַר רָבָא: מִיחַיַּיב אִינִישׁ לְבַסּוֹמֵי בְּפוּרַיָּא עַד דְּלָא יָדַע בֵּין אָרוּר הָמָן לְבָרוּךְ מָרְדֳּכַי.
(Megilah 7b)
רַבָּה וְרַבִּי זֵירָא עֲבַדוּ סְעוּדַת פּוּרִים בַּהֲדֵי הֲדָדֵי. אִיבַּסּוּם. קָם רַבָּה שַׁחְטֵיהּ לְרַבִּי זֵירָא. לְמָחָר, בָּעֵי רַחֲמֵי וְאַחֲיֵיהּ. לְשָׁנָה, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: נֵיתֵי מָר וְנַעֲבֵיד סְעוּדַת פּוּרִים בַּהֲדֵי הֲדָדֵי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָא בְּכֹל שַׁעְתָּא וְשַׁעְתָּא מִתְרְחִישׁ נִיסָּא.
(Megilah 7b, cont.)
כֵּיצַד חוֹבַת סְעֻדָּה זוֹ...שׁוֹתֶה יַיִן עַד שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּכֵּר וְיֵרָדֵם בְּשִׁכְרוּתוֹ
(Rambam, Hilkhos Megilah 2:15)
חייב אינש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי: הגה וי"א דא"צ להשתכר כל כך אלא שישתה יותר מלימודו (כל בו) ויישן ומתוך שישן אינו יודע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי (מהרי"ל) ואחד המרבה ואחד הממעיט ובלבד שיכוין לבו לשמים
(Shulchan Arukh Orach Chaim 695:2)
וישן ומתוך שישן וכו' - וכן ראוי לעשות
(Mishneh Berurah 695:5)
Ra'avad I - Abraham ibn Da'ud (Sefer haKaballah, Emunah Ramah)
Ra'avad II - Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne (Sefer haEshkol, Rebbe of Zerachiah haLevi)
Ra'avad III - Abraham ben David of Posquierres (-> Isaac the Blind -> Azriel of Gerona
-> Ramban)
A man got so drunk on Purim that he stabbed another man to death. Given that we don't have a Sanhedrin anymore and can't give anyone the death penalty, what should be done here?
First of all, ignorant people get too drunk on Purim because they take that Gemara too literally. A severe penance must be imposed on this person.
1) He should be flogged twice a day, morning and evening, for a full year
2) If his victim has young children, he must support them
3) Like Iyov, he must shave his head and beard as a sign of mourning
He should also be encouraged to mortify himself further, such as by fasting.
Once he has done this, however, no one ought to refer to him as a murderer, and especially not to shame his wife or children about it.
The busiest day of the year at the Maimonides Hospital ER in Brooklyn is Purim. Hatzalah ran a "Let me father enjoy Purim" campaign. This is no joke.