A Complex Conversation About the Final Chapters of the Megillah

There’s a part that’s almost always left out of the family-friendly Purim Spiel: In Chapter 9, Mordecai and the Jews kill Haman’s ten sons, and then claim to slaughter 75,000 of their “enemies.” Despite the commandment to read “the whole Megillah,” modern Jews often gloss over this section, which doesn’t lend itself to catchy songs about good prevailing over evil. 

Since there is no historical evidence for such a massacre, are we justified in ignoring it? Or should we take this section seriously and grapple with it? Can we assume that any killing done by the Jews was for the greater good? Or might a modern interpretation of the end of the Megillah offer lessons about the moral responsibilities of military power and the blurry line between good and evil?   

Join Rabbi Dara for a complicated conversation as we look headlong at the text and discuss its implications. 

Date: Thursday, March 2

Run time: 8-9pm

Location: ZOOM

DEADLINE TO RSVP: Thursday, March 2 at 4:00 PM