Chapter 1

וקבל היהודים את אשר החלו לעשות

“And the Jews took upon themselves that which they had begun to do.”1

The Gemara comments: At that time [when the miracle of Purim took place], Jews fulfilled that which they had undertaken to do a long time before. This means to say that the Jewish people repented, and resolved to observe all that we had pledged to do when the Torah was given.

When Purim took place, Jews were to be found in every corner of Achashveirosh’s kingdom. From time to time, these Jews became more distant from the observance of mitzvos. There are two reasons2 given as to what caused this spiritual degradation. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says our spiritual downfall came as a result of the opinion, held by many during the time of King Nevuchadnetzer, that man’s greatest glory lies in achieving physical perfection. Man, they believed, was to use his intellect and skills to further develop the world. This was also the foundation of Nevuchadnetzer’s philosophy.

This is what is meant by Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai’s statement that [the sin of the Jewish people was that] “they bowed to an icon of Nevuchadnetzer.” Bowing implies permitting another’s opinion to supersede one’s own.3 This ill-grounded logic eventually led many Jews to desecrate the Shabbos and profane the Torah and mitzvos.

The second opinion is that the spiritual downfall was a result of the cordial relationship that existed between the Jews and the Persians, Medes and Babylonians. The Jewish people enjoyed extremely close ties to the royal court, and enjoyed the non-kosher royal banquets. This led them to [further] distance themselves from Torah and mitzvos. Several years before the redemption from the Babylonian exile, Satan may Heaven protect us began to agitate the Jewish people so as to make them sin. Satan’s intent was that by getting the Jews to sin, G-d would Heaven forbid continue to allow them to languish in exile. The Jewish people, unable to withstand the test, succumbed to temptation.

Mordechai and the members of the Sanhedrin [the Jewish supreme court] tried to stem this tide of rebellion, but to no avail. A number of impudent and insolent individuals placed themselves at the head of the impious and irreligious faction, and scoffed at any efforts to get the Jews to repent. Mordechai and the Sanhedrin attempted to get the Jews to repent by relating to the Jews the glad tidings of redemption from Babylonian exile, which was to take place in the not too distant future.

Through their mockery, the insolent ones Satan’s messengers managed to influence some of the better Jews who had up to that time sincerely believed in the coming redemption. After listening to the non-religious leaders, they too began having doubts.

The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that aside from Mordechai and some members of the Sanhedrin, nobody ventured to speak about the coming redemption. Others were completely mute on this subject. It was impossible for them to say that G-d forbid the redemption would not be coming, for they firmly believed in it. They were, however, uncertain as to when it would take place. They also did not believe that Mordechai and the members of the Sanhedrin knew the appointed time. They therefore remained completely silent about the matter. Their silence lent strength to the words of Satan’s messengers, enabling them to scorn Mordechai and the Sanhedrin itself, and to lead the Jewish people further down the sinful path of eating forbidden foods, desecrating the Shabbos and marrying non-Jews. This in turn brought about an even greater proximity between the Jewish people and the other inhabitants.

This silence of the believers cast shadows of doubt in the Jewish population at large. These doubts and uncertainties manifested themselves in various ways. Some Jews, for example, totally abandoned belief in the redemption, Torah and mitzvos. Others, while adhering to some aspects of Torah and mitzvos, lost a certain degree of faith in the coming redemption, and in various matters became close to the evil leaders.

So it was that Jews of that time were sinking into the depths of sin. This came about through the corrupt influence of the misbegotten leaders, who denied the existence of G-d and the validity of His Torah, as well as through those who were silent on the subject of redemption.

In summary: There were two fundamental reasons for the Jewish people’s sinful state at the time of the Purim miracle: a) the opinion that a good material life is all-important, and can be attained through one’s own power and craft; b) the opinion that it is necessary to become totally integrated, or at the very least united with the country’s inhabitants. The free thinkers mocked Mordechai’s call to repent in preparation for the coming redemption, while some of the Jewish leaders were mute on the subject. This led to doubt and uncertainty among some erstwhile believers, and strengthened the hands of the heretics.