Why do we need to have a special Purim seuda, Purim feast, on Purim day? Why does everyone place such an emphasis on drinking and feasting on Purim day? Why does everyone place such an emphasis on drinking wine? Isn’t intoxication frowned upon based on many passages in the Torah and Prophets?
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, better known as the Chofetz Chaim, (Biur Halacha Orach Chaim 695), answers that the Sages obligated us to specifically drink wine at our celebratory feast on Purim because banquets heavy with wine were instrumental in the Purim miracle.
The megillah opens with parties at King Achashverosh and Queen Vashti’s palaces. After Vashti’s exile, Esther is crowned as queen, which has its own afterparty. Esther’s tool of choice to trick Haman and save the Jewish people is two distinct parties.
The word feasts, mishte in Hebrew, comes up 20 times in Megillat Esther out of the 46 total times it appears in the entirety of Tanach. But it is important to mention that perhaps the most critical turning point occurred without any wine or food involved. Before Queen Esther appears before King Achashverosh to ask for the party that leads to Haman’s downfall, she fasts, as do her retinue and all of the Jews in Shushan. Esther goes before the king with a clear mind, focused on what needs to be done, and with God’s help she succeeds.
Both fasting as well as feasting each come with their own health and spiritual opportunities and risks. When we sit down for our Purim feasts or prepare with the fast of Esther, we need to act responsibly, knowing what we are celebrating to ensure that we sanctify God’s name and lift ourselves upwards.
Rabbi Metzger is the director of Night Seder at Midreshet Amudim, an educator worldwide through the Lookstein Center’s Virtual Academy, and a teacher at Orot Etzion in Efrat. He and his family now live in Alon Shvut, Israel. Rabbi Chaim Metzger was Rabbinic Assistant at BAYT from 2020 to 2022, and an Avreich of Beit Midrash Zichron Dov. Please send questions and comments to [email protected].
