The edict issued against the Jews was revoked by Ahasuerus in the
following terms:
"King Ahasuerus sends this letter to all the inhabitants of water and
earth, to all the rulers of districts, and to generals of the army, who
dwell in every country; may your peace be great! I write this to you to
inform you, that although I rule over many nations, over the
inhabitants of land and sea, yet I am not proud of my power, but will
rather walk in lowliness and meekness of spirit all my days, in order
to provide for you great peace. Unto all who dwell under my dominion,
unto all who seek to carry on business on land or on sea, unto all who
desire to export goods from one nation to the other, from one people to
the other unto them all, I am the same, from one end of the earth to
the other, and none may seek to cause excitement on land or on sea, or
enmities between one nation and another, between one people and
another. I write this, because in spite of our sincerity and honesty
with which we love all the nations, revere all the rulers, and do good
to all the potentates, there are nevertheless people who were near to
the king, and into whose hand the government was entrusted, who by
their intrigues and falsehoods misled the king, and wrote letters which
are not right before heaven, which are evil before men, and harmful for
the empire. This was the petition they requested from the king: that
righteous men should be killed, and most innocent blood be shed, of
those who have not done any evil, nor were guilty of death such
righteous people as Esther, celebrated for all virtues, and Mordecai,
wise in every branch of wisdom, there is no blemish to be found in them
nor in their nation. I thought that I was requested concerning another
nation, and did not know it was concerning the Jews, who were called
the Children of the Lord of All, who created heaven and earth, and who
led them and their fathers through great and mighty empires. And now as
he, Haman, the son of Hammedatha, from Judea, a descendant of Amalek,
who came to us and enjoyed much kindness, praise, and dignity from us,
whom we made great, and called 'father of the king,' and seated him at
the right of the king, did not know how to appreciate the dignity, and
how to conduct the affairs of state, but harbored thoughts to kill the
king and take away his kingdom, therefore we ordered the son of
Hammedatha to be hanged, and all that he desired we have brought upon
his head; and the Creator of heaven and earth brought his machinations
upon his head." (192)
As a memorial of the wonderful deliverance from the hands of Haman, the
Jews of Shushan celebrated the day their arch-enemy had appointed for
their extermination, and their example was followed by the Jews of the
other cities of the Persian empire, and by those of other countries.
Yet the sages, when besought by Esther, refused at first to make it a
festival for all times, lest the hatred of the heathen be excited
against the Jews. They yielded only after Esther had pointed out to
them that the events on which the holiday was based, were perpetuated
in the annals of the kings of Persia and Media, and thus the outside
world would not be able to misinterpret the joy of the Jews.
Esther addressed another petition to the sages. She begged that the
book containing her history should be incorporated in the Holy
Scriptures. Because they shrank from adding anything to the triple
Canon, consisting of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa, they
again refused, and again they had to yield to Esther's argument. She
quoted the words from Exodus, "Write this for a memorial in a book,"
spoken by Moses to Joshua, after the battle of Rephidim with the
Amalekites. They saw that it was the will of God to immortalize the
warfare waged with the Amalekite Haman. Nor is the Book of Esther an
ordinary history. Without aid of the holy spirit, it could not have
been composed, and therefore its canonization resolved upon "below" was
endorsed "above." (193) And as the Book of Esther became an integral
and indestructible part of the Holy Scriptures, so the Feast of Purim
will be celebrated forever, now and in the future world, and Esther
herself by her pious deeds acquired a good name both in this world and
in the world to come. (194)