Purim was different this year. The holiday arrived with its usual costumes, noise and celebration. We booed the villain, cheered the heroes, exchanged gifts, and read a biblical story set at the height of the Persian Empire—the Book of Esther, telling of a vulnerable minority living at the mercy of imperial power.
At the center of the story stands Haman, a senior Persian official who translates ancient hatred into a policy of destruction. Rather than thunder about bloodlust, he speaks coolly of “a certain people, scattered and different,” whose distinct laws make them suspect. Their destruction, he suggests, is not vengeance but good governance. The king signs a decree, and the machinery of state begins moving toward annihilation.
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