An Odd Law

One practical answer is that on Purim, you are supposed to get so drunk that you can't tell the difference between the statement "Blessed be Mordechai" and the statement "Cursed be Haman." [Gematria lovers please note: in Hebrew, those two phrases have the same numerical value! So in some fundamental sense, there is no difference between them!]. So if you're so drunk you can't tell that difference, you're probably so drunk that you can't tell whether you're coming or going, which end is up, or whether Hebrew is read from right to left or left to right! So the Rabbis wanted to warn you to be careful!

Another answer, more historically grounded, is that the Megillah held a special fascination for our rabbinic teachers since the name of G-d does not appear in it. And since, to our Rabbis, "there is no place that is free of G-d's presence," G-d's name had to be hidden in there somewhere. Reading the text backwards could perhaps reveal the name of G-d in a place where it otherwise seems absent. In fact, we do know that the text of the Megillah, read backwards, was used for magical purposes.

Yet another answer, of a more philosophical bent, is that the major theme of the Megillah is that the world of politics is a castle built in the air, a dream palace that only offers the illusion of safety and certainty. In the Book of Esther, it appears that Haman (may his name be blotted out) will win, and Mordechai will lose. Their respective fates are reversed, and Haman (yemach shmo) is killed on the very gallows he had erected for Mordechai. Similarly, the enemies of the Jews had expected to be able to murder the Jews with impunity. In fact, though, the tables are reversed and, as the text points out explicitly, the Jews do to them what they had thought to do to the Jews.

A final suggestion, made first by Rabbi Yitzchak of Volozhin: "Reading the text backwards" means reading the text as if it only refers to a time in the past, thereby implying that the text lacks contemporary relevance. Anyone who thinks the ancient text has no bearing on today's situation has not fulfilled his obligation to hear every word of the Megillah. Just ask the politicians, who see their fortunes changing with every exit poll. Just ask the countries of the Middle East, whose stars rise and fall with dizzying speed. And just ask our Jewish leaders, who (legitimately) have trouble deciding whether we live in the best of times or the worst of times.

Fulfilling our obligation to hear the Megillah means, according to this interpretation, to have the courage to address the inherent uncertainties of the political life. We must recognize that, over and above having good connections in Washington and powerful lobbies to protect our interest, we must have solidarity, fidelity and faith.

That is the message of Purim. Let us learn it, and enjoy our holiday to the fullest.

Rabbi Robert Wolkoff