The Rabbis long ago made a curious comment: 'In the messianic end of days it will no longer be necessary to celebrate Shabbat or the High Holy Days. But even then, the Jews will continue to observe Purim.'

So, why Purim? The Book of Esther tells the story of a buffoon of a king of Persia, who in a moment of drunkenness and at the misogynistic urging of his advisors, dethrones his queen for refusing to debase herself dancing before his inebriated guests. Ahasueros, the buffoon, is now in need of a new queen. So he calls for all the available maidens in his empire to parade in front of him so that he can select the most beautiful one to be his mate. This turns out to be Esther, a Jewish young woman being raised by her older cousin, Mordecai. Mordecai advises Esther to keep her Jewishness a secret from the king (presumably to protect against anti-Semitism in the royal court).

In the meantime, two minor events occur involving Mordecai, which become major factors in the ensuing drama: Mordecai overhears two men plotting against the king, reports their plan and thus saves the king's life; and Mordecai refuses to bow down to the king's egomaniacal Grand Vizier, Haman, because Jews only bow down to God (which, by the way, wasn't always true - Jews historically have frequently bowed in respect to royalty . . . but that's irrelevant).

As the story unfolds, Haman - angry over Mordecai having bruised his starving ego -- tricks Ahasueros into permitting him to kill all of the Jews. Ahasueros learns one sleepless night, when he has the royal records read to him, that Mordecai had earlier saved his life! Asking Haman how he, the king, should show appreciation to a loyal subject (Haman thought the king was referring to him), Haman advised Ahasueros to have a respected member of the royal court walk the loyal subject around the capitol and sing his praises. The king then ordered Haman to do so . . . for Mordecai! This was, of course, a foreshadowing of Haman's demise at the hands (indirectly) of Mordecai.

The wicked anti-Semite is later outwitted by Mordecai's cousin Esther, who reveals her Jewish identity to her husband and, thus, her vulnerability to death as a result of Haman's plan to kill all of Mordecai's coreligionists. Enraged that Haman would harm his now-favorite wife, Ahasueros has Haman and his sons executed. Mordecai secures the king's permission to allow the Jews to defend themselves, and they do so to a frankly embarrassing degree of success (something which we don't really go into in Religious School). The End.

So, what is it about this story that makes the celebration of Purim an eternal observance? We know that the incidents depicted aren't historical. There may be allusions to historical people, but the story itself is not actual history. I believe that the reason Purim is so dear to our hearts is actually that it isn't factual. The Book of Esther is a farce. It delightfully demonstrates how pathologically driven some people can be (Haman) who seek the downfall of the Jews, and how incredibly foolish some leaders are (Ahasueros), to their own and their people's detriment. It provides a surprising - maybe even shocking -- example of when it may be wise to downplay our separation from other groups in society, so long as we proudly emphasize our uniqueness when it really matters (both Mordecai and Esther). Most of all, Purim provides us with a grand opportunity to be completely silly, which simply is a lot of fun. We wear costumes, we enact the Purim story in exaggeratedly farcical plays, and in some circles - I don't recommend this - we drink in a manner that makes us resemble Ahasueros more than Mordecai. Now that's very, very silly!

So even in the end of days, when the world will be perfected in messianic peace, there will still be opportunities to laugh, enjoy and celebrate.

But why wait? We can all laugh, enjoy and celebrate this month! During Purim!

Chag Purim samie'ach! Happy Purim!

Rabbi Howard Laibson