Purim always carries a different rhythm for Jerusalem’s residents. The battle to defend ourselves from our enemies raged across the Persian kingdom on the 13th of Adar. The victorious celebration followed on the 14th, marking this day as Purim for generations to come.
Things unfolded differently in Shushan. An extra day was required to root out terrorist remnants and to publicly hang Haman’s murderous sons as a deterrent to future threats. With the battle extending into the 14th, the celebration was postponed until the 15th. Thus, the Jews of Shushan forever marked Purim on that day.
Since Shushan was a fortified city, all ancient walled cities in Israel were included in this designation. Jerusalem, whose walls have stood since our initial arrival in the Holy Land after leaving Egypt, continues to celebrate Purim on the 15th.
When the 15th of Adar falls on Shabbat, as it does this year, Purim in Jerusalem transforms into a multi-phased celebration. Due to the halachic complexities of reading the megillah (Purim story) and holding the Purim seuda (festive meal) on Shabbat, the megillah is read on Friday, along with the distribution of charity.
Purim prayers and Torah readings take place on Shabbat, while the festive meal and the mishloach manot (Purim gift baskets) are postponed to Sunday.
This unique sequence stretches Purim into a grand three-day celebration. Purim in Jerusalem always carries a singular rhythm, but this year it unfolds in an even more extraordinary fashion – and for good reason.
The epicenter
The events in Shushan were never merely about the Jews of Persia. Just a few years before Esther’s miraculous rise, we had begun our return to Jerusalem, laying the foundations of the Second Temple.
But our efforts were met with fierce resistance from local adversaries who opposed Jewish resettlement and expansion in our homeland. They penned letters to the Persian throne, demanding a halt to construction.
And so, as the Temple lay in suspended animation and the Jews of Jerusalem faced hostility, the Purim story unfolded – a saga of survival, resilience, and the struggle to reclaim our destiny.
When Esther pleads for the king’s assistance, Ahasuerus responds with a grand offer: “I will grant you anything you desire – up to half my kingdom.” Our sages see in this a veiled reference to the halted and partially rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, which stood at the heart of his vast and ever-expanding Persian empire.
Like his predecessors, he refused to authorize its completion, ensuring that the spiritual center of the Jewish people remained in a state of limbo.
This is what made Jewish participation in Ahasuerus’s feast so insidious. The food may have been kosher, but the setting was morally repugnant. While Jews in Jerusalem struggled to rebuild their history, Persian Jews indulged in 180 days of revelry and intoxication.
It is one thing to remain in Persia and not join the heroic mission of rebuilding Jerusalem. It is another to drown in celebration while fellow Jews labor under siege, facing violence and fighting to restore their homeland.
Purim in Jerusalem is always different because the true epicenter of the Purim story was never Shushan – it was Jerusalem. The Purim miracle provided the final push, reigniting the will to resume construction and rebuild the city’s ruins.
It infused our people with moral courage, national pride, and an unshakable reminder that God had not abandoned His people – nor His promise to return us home.
Wars are always about Jerusalem. It was true then, and it remains true now. Whether in the forests of Lebanon, the sand dunes of Gaza, the campuses of America, or the boulevards of Europe, the battle is always about our right to our homeland, anchored in our eternal capital.
This year, the Jews of Jerusalem will stretch their Purim celebration across three days – an act of defiance against a world that seeks to deny us this city.
Finally, a three-day Purim reminds us that history, like redemption, unfolds in stages. Just as Purim is not celebrated all at once, so too the great victories of our people do not arrive in a single, sweeping moment.
We yearn for a decisive triumph over our many enemies, but history suggests otherwise. The path to redemption is a steady march, not a sudden conquest. Step by step, we advance toward our destiny. One by one, they all fall. Day by day, we celebrate what we have reclaimed, even as we carry the weight of those who paid the steepest price – and those who cannot yet fully rejoice alongside us.
Not every Purim is created equal. This year, Jerusalemites are granted enough days of Purim to embrace the full substance of history – to hold all the emotions, all the struggles, and all the vision that this moment demands of us. One day we will all celebrate in Jerusalem.
The writer is a rabbi at the Hesder Yeshivat Har Etzion/Gush. His recent book, Reclaiming Redemption: Deciphering the Maze of Jewish History (Mosaica Press), is in bookstores and at www.mtaraginbooks.com.
