It oftentimes feels like there’s a familiarity to history. We seem to experience some similar events again and again, no matter what the historical setting. Pandemic, unfortunately, goes back as far as the Justinian Plague and the Black Death to Swine Flu and COVID. Despite all progress in human history, we see the same sorts of wars constantly repeating themselves.
This feeling is certainly apparent in Jewish history. As Ramban, or Nachmanides, famously wrote “מעשה אבות סימן לבנים”, the acts of the fathers are a sign to the children, or to put it more succinctly, history repeats itself.
Although they predate Ramban, the sages of the Talmud take this idea even further. As they write, many events in Jewish history are not just similar but occurred at similar times in the year:
רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר בְּנִיסָן נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם בְּנִיסָן נוֹלְדוּ אָבוֹת בְּנִיסָן מֵתוּ אָבוֹת בְּפֶסַח נוֹלַד יִצְחָק בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה נִפְקְדָה שָׂרָה רָחֵל וְחַנָּה בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יָצָא יוֹסֵף מִבֵּית הָאֲסוּרִין בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה בָּטְלָה עֲבוֹדָה מֵאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּנִיסָן נִגְאֲלוּ בְּנִיסָן עֲתִידִין לִיגָּאֵל
Rabbi Yehoshua says: In Nisan, the world was created; in Nisan the Patriarchs were born; in Nisan the Patriarchs died; on Passover, Isaac was born; on Rosh HaShana Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered by God [and conceived sons;] on Rosh HaShana Joseph came out from prison; on Rosh HaShana our forefathers’ slavery in Egypt ceased; in Nisan the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt; in Nisan in the future, the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption.
(TB Rosh Hashanah 11a)
The idea of history coming to a head at similar times of the year is true regarding two of Judaism’s greatest holiday stories of redemption: Purim and Pesach.
In both, a Jew ends up in the royal palace by some happenstance; whether by floating down the river or winning a beauty contest. In their new royal roles, they have the ability to be shielded from the existential threats to their people, in the forms of Pharaoh and Haman. However, these two leaders, Esther and Moshe chose to step up in moments of crisis, intervening and risking their own lives. This point of action would, in both cases, lead to the redemption of the Jewish people.
These two events also lead to revelation as well. In the case of the Exodus, it was at Sinai. In the case of Purim, the Talmud describes a different kind of revelation:
״וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר״, אָמַר רַב אַבְדִּימִי בַּר חָמָא בַּר חַסָּא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּפָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הָהָר כְּגִיגִית, וְאָמַר לָהֶם: אִם אַתֶּם מְקַבְּלִים הַתּוֹרָה מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — שָׁם תְּהֵא קְבוּרַתְכֶם. אָמַר רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: מִכָּאן מוֹדָעָא רַבָּה לְאוֹרָיְיתָא. אָמַר רָבָא: אַף עַל פִּי כֵן הֲדוּר קַבְּלוּהָ בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, דִּכְתִיב: ״קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים״ — קִיְּימוּ מַה שֶּׁקִּיבְּלוּ כְּבָר.
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: The verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a barrel, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to the obligation to fulfill the Torah. Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The Jews [willingly] ordained what they had already taken upon themselves.
(Shabbat 88a)
During the Exodus, and at Mount Sinai, the Israelites accepted God’s rulership and the Torah by force. God metaphorically (or in the case of the Talmud, perhaps literally) held a mountain over their head. How could they say no to such a powerful deity who had performed massive miracles during the escape from Egypt?
In the Persian era, however, the Jewish people did not accept the Torah out of force, but rather reaffirmed their commitment to God and the Torah out of joy and appreciation for the new lease on life they had been granted, through hidden miracles.
There is, however, one even more glaring difference that makes these stories differ.
In the Passover story, the Israelites celebrate Passover for the first time at the original Seder, on the fourteenth day of Nisan. It is on this night that the firstborn of Egypt are slayed by God, and Pharaoh finally lets the Jewish people go.
However, in the Purim story, something else is going on that night while the Jews would usually be celebrating Passover. As the Midrash describes:
וַתֹּאמֶר אֶסְתֵּר לְהָשִׁיב אֶל מָרְדֳּכָי (אסתר ד, טו), אָמְרָה לוֹ לֵךְ כְּנוֹס אֶת כָּל הַיְּהוּדִים הַנִּמְצְאִים בְּשׁוּשָׁן וְצוּמוּ עָלַי וְאַל תֹּאכְלוּ וְאַל תִּשְׁתּוּ שְׁלשֶׁת יָמִים, אֵלּוּ הֵן י”ג וְי”ד וְט”ו בְּנִיסָן.
שָׁלַח לָהּ וַהֲרֵי בָּהֶם יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל פֶּסַח, אָמְרָה לוֹ זָקֵן שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, לָמָּה הוּא פֶּסַח. מִיָּד שָׁמַע מָרְדֳּכַי וְהוֹדָה לִדְבָרֶיהָ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וַיַּעֲבֹר מָרְדֳּכָי וַיַּעַשׂ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוְתָה עָלָיו אֶסְתֵּר. תַּמָּן אָמְרִין שֶׁהֶעֱבִיר יוֹם טוֹב שֶׁל פֶּסַח בְּתַעֲנִית.
“And Esther said to respond to Mordechai”: She said to him, “‘Go and gather all of the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me – do not eat or drink for three days’ – these are the 13th, 14th, and 15th of Nissan.” He (Mordechai) sent to her, “Behold, in them is the first day of Pesach.” She said to him, “The Elder of Israel, what is Pesach for?” Immediately, Mordechai understood and conceded to her words. That is [the meaning of] that which is written, “Mordechai passed and did like everything that Esther commanded him.” There they say, that he passed the holiday of Pesach in a fast.
(Esther Rabbah 8:7)
Rather than being saved on the first day of Pesach, on the night of the Seder, the Jewish people of Shushan were fasting, hoping for redemption.
Instead they found redemption a day later.
As the Megillah records, on the evening of the fifteenth day of Nisan, Esther invited Ahasuerus and Haman to her party. However, the text goes out of its way to note one particular drink served.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְאֶסְתֵּר בְּמִשְׁתֵּה הַיַּיִן מַה־שְּׁאֵלָתֵךְ וְיִנָּתֵן לָךְ וּמַה־בַּקָּשָׁתֵךְ עַד־חֲצִי הַמַּלְכוּת וְתֵעָשׂ
At the wine feast, the king asked Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half the kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
(Esther 5:6)
Much like at the Seder, wine was central to Esther’s meal. It was through this meal that the redemption of the Jews began.
Esther’s meal, perhaps, represents the original “Second Seder” in Jewish history. She did not recount the story there necessarily, but rather fully reenacted it in exile, acting as Moses while her husband and Haman took on roles as Pharaoh.
It was after this Seder that:
On that night the king could not sleep…
בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ…
ַּ(Esther 6:1)
Not merely could Ahasuerus not sleep, but on that very night, the second Seder night, God themself could not sleep (Megilah 15a). God remembered Their intercession on behalf of the Israelites centuries ago, and knew They had to act once again. At this moment, the redemption of the Jews of Persia began.
Perhaps this is the magic of the second seder night. In the midst of the exile, there has been, since the time of Esther, an ongoing reenactment of redemption. Jews, “stuck” with a second Seder night outside of Israel reaffirm each and every year that redemption can be found, in its own small way, in exile. And perhaps, in its own way, this redemption may be even greater, then the Exodus itself.
