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The midrash tells us that mordechai was an observant Jew, and esther married the king in the first place to protect her people, IIUC. OTOH the megillah text itself says little or nothing of mordechai's observance, and esther intermarries with mordechai's encouragement presumably for personal and family advancement. If we read it that way, Esther was an assimilated, intermarried Jew, who found herself in a position to help her people, at personal risk to her high position and luxorious life.
Life threw at her a decision she never bargained for. She considered, decided and did not look back. "if I perish, I perish"
brooklynborndad, there is another theory that Mordecai was really Hadassah's (Esther's) husband and Hadassah has to commit adultery to save the Jewish people then living in Persia from the evil intentions of Haman, the prime minister, by marrying the Persian king.
This latter theory is based on the fact that this is the only book of the Bible that does not mention the name of G-d and this is because a sin is being committed in an effort to save lives. As with the Song of Solomon, many rabbis have great difficulty with this thought.
By the way, this year Purim will occur on the 14th day of Adar II, which is from sundown on Saturday, March 19 to sundown on Sunday, March 20 on the civil calendar (except in Susa, Iran and in Jerusalem, Israel, where it will occur one day later).
The word "Purim" means "lots" and refers to the lottery that the evil Haman (HAH-men), the Persian Prime Minister, used to choose the date for the massacre of the Jews in the 5th Century BCE, which then, because of the intercession by Hadassah (Esther), became the date Haman, and not a single Jew, was hung. The events take place in the Persian capitol of Shushan. Today, that area is the Iranian city of Susa, located southwest of Teheran, near the Iran/Iraq border.
In addition to the synagogue service, the custom on this merry occasion is to deliver baskets of food and sweets called "Mishloach Manot" to family and friends and to have costume parties and, in many communities, a parade and a carnival, as well.
Purim is the second time in the year (the first being Simchat Torah) when Jewish adults are encouraged to celebrate in the Irish manner. Well, actually, the Irish would love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the Jewish manner.
The custom is for Jewish adults to take a goodly drink (and here I share the Hassidic love of bourbon, my favorite being Rebel Yell, which is generally unavailable north of the Mason-Dixon line) every time the name of Haman, the evil one, is mentioned when the Book of Esther is read from the Bima (the raised platform in the front of the sanctuary in the synagogue) until one can not distinguish between the name Haman and the name Mordecai. (The actual Talmudic instruction is that "a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between 'cursed be Haman' and 'blessed be Mordecai'", though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is.)
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