The most widely known mitzvah of Purim is the reading of Megillat Esther. We are used to reading the entire megillah from beginning to end, but the Mishna in Msechet Megillah Chapter 2 Mishna 3 sites a disagreement as to what amount of reading is actually required in order to fulfil the obligation:
ומהיכן קורא אדם את המגילה ויוצא בה ידי חובתו?
רבי מאיר אומר כולה
רבי יהודה אומר מ"איש יהודי"
רבי יוסי אומר מ"אחר הדברים האלה".
Beginning from where must a person read the Megilla in order to fulfill his obligation?
Rabbi Meir says: He must read all of it.
Rabbi Yehuda says: He need read only from “There was a certain Jew” (Esther 2:5).
Rabbi Yosei says: From “After these things” (Esther 3:1).
There are three opinions in the mishna: Rabbi Meir holds that one needs to read the entire Megillah from the beginning. Rabbi Yehudah holds that one is allowed to skip over the feast and exile of Vashti, and should start reading the Megillah from chapter 5 verse 2, when Esther first comes to the king‘s house, starting the story of Mordechai and Esther. Rabbi Yosei claims that one should read the Megillah from the beginning of the 3rd chapter when the story about Haman's decree against the Jews begins until their salvation at the end of the Megillah.
Presumably, the third opinion is reasonable: is the Megillah not the story of salvation from Haman‘s evil degree? Thus, it is evident why this is the minimum, at least in desperate times. The opinion of Rabbi Yehudah is also sound; one still receives the essence of the Megillah by hearing the story of Mordechai and Esther from its beginning. But what is so important about the story of Achashverosh‘s feast, so much so that we ultimately say the Halakha goes according to Rabbi Meir?
Perhaps in order to answer this question, we must adopt a broader perspective on the story. As we know, without the feast, Vashti would have never been exiled; without the exile of Vashti, Esther would have never been chosen to be the next queen; had Esther not been chosen, Haman‘s decree may have been actualised. Only from a thorough and complete reading of the megillah, can one can fully understand the background which indirectly led to the miracle: the salvation of the Jewish people.
This idea is inherently connected to the explicit absence of God from the Megillah. If the Megillah told a story about a heavenly salvation, perhaps it would be enough to begin reading the Megillah once Haman declares his decree to wipe out the Jewish people. However, the story of Purim suggests an alternative outlook: in a world without the revelation of Hashem‘s presence, one needs to take a step back to understand reality in a broader lens. Only then one can start to find the hidden providence.
The Rambam finishes Hilchot Megillah (chapter 2, Halakha 18) with a particularly unique halakha:
כל ספרי הנביאים וכל הכתובים עתידין ליבטל לימות המשיח חוץ ממגילת אסתר ... ואף על פי שכל זכרון הצרות יבטל, שנאמר: "כי נשכחו הצרות הראשונות וכי נסתרו מעיני" (ישעיהו סה, טז), ימי הפורים לא יבטלו, שנאמר: "וימי הפורים האלה לא יעברו מתוך היהודים וזכרם לא יסוף מזרעם" (אסתר ט, כח).
All Prophetic Books and the Sacred Writings will cease [to be recited in public] during the messianic era except the Book of Esther. It will continue to exist just as the Five Books of the Torah and the laws of the Oral Torah that will never cease. Although ancient troubles will be remembered no longer, as it is written: "The troubles of the past are forgotten and hidden from my eyes" (Isaiah 65:16), the days of Purim will not be abolished, as it is written: "These days of Purim shall never be repealed among the Jews, and the memory of them shall never cease from their descendants" (Esther 9:28).
Why will all of the Prophetic Books and Sacred Writings cease to be included in public recitations in the future, excluding the Megillah? The main objective of the Prophetic Books and Sacred Writings works is to reveal the hand of God in our world, or to show how God runs the world. To contrast, Megillat Esther does not mention that explicitly. It tells a story which helps bring us to an understanding that the world we live in is not one of happenstance, we are part of a much larger story. Megillat Esther describes a higher level of faith: even when we do not see God‘s hand in the story, the divine providence accompanies us and shapes our reality. Once the messianic era arrives, when humanity will hopefully mature and progress in order to fix their ways, this will be the more meaningful type of faith.
However, the Megillah simultaneously shifts our attention to the opposite idea. God does not control reality without humankind. When Esther enters into the King‘s court and is willing to risk her life for the Jewish people, as she famously says, ”If I am to perish, I shall perish“ (Esther 4:16), she effectively finishes the process of bringing divine change to the world via human action. The person who understands their mission within the larger story, one is willing to take responsibility upon themselves, is the person who will ultimately actualise the revelation of the Divine. Without Esther, we would have never been saved. This is how the Megillah connects the hidden providence with overt human actions: through faith in the larger story with concurrent regard to the smaller details.
Perhaps because of this, the mitzvot of Purim include all of the required elements in order to effectively bring the Divine message of the Purim story into actuality in our own world. Firstly, we have the reading of the Megillah, the mitzvah which tells the story. We then have the feast, in which we reenact Achashverosh and Esther‘s party. However, these elements should not undermine the other mitzvot of the day: giving to charity and gifts of food to family and friends. In these mitzvot, we truly see our purpose within the larger story: to increase the goodness between fellow humans. These mitzvot are not mutually exclusive; we must understand both the larger story and our individual places within it as partners with God in order to manifest the Divine message embedded within the holiday of Purim.
