Esther and the Spies

by Rabbi Dr. Mark Smilowitz '88.

Rabbi Smilowitz holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has taught in schools and seminaries in the United States and Israel.

Halakha mandates a separate date for Purim for cities that had walls during the era of Joshua. Commentators have been puzzled by the selection of the era of Joshua in particular, as opposed to other, more obvious choices (such as the period of the Purim story itself). The Talmud points to a source which seems to rely on a mere technicality without providing a satisfying thematic connection between Joshua and Esther. The attached essay probes the broader context of source through an exploration of the early chapters of Deuteronomy alongside the story of the sin of the spies in order to demonstrate a thematic parallel between the development of the faith of Esther and the development of the faith of the Jewish people over time, from the sin of the spies through the conquering of walled cities in Canaan under Joshua’s leadership. The article argues that the halakha about walled cities in the time of Joshua is meant to point to this particular message about the dynamism of faith as illustrated by those two stories.

This article first appeared in Tradition Fall 2024 Issue 56.4 .

As is well known throughout the Jewish world, Jerusalem celebrates Purim one day later than practically everywhere else. This halakhic rule seems perplexing and difficult to explain. The general reason that Purim has varying dates is not itself difficult to understand. The dictum arises from the different dates that Jews of different cities succeeded in defeating their enemies during the original Purim story. The Jews of most cities defeated their enemies on the thirteenth of Adar and celebrated on the fourteenth. The Jews of the capital city of Shushan, on the other hand, required an extra day of Jewish resistance, and the victory only arrived on the fourteenth, with the celebration occurring on the fifteenth (Esther 9:13–19). As a result, the halakha states that any city that was fortified with a wall at the time of Joshua, such as Jerusalem, celebrates on the later date, like Shushan (Mishna Megilla 1:1). 

But why is that the criterion? We would understand it if Jews in the city of Shushan itself would celebrate a different date, but why Jerusalem? More specifically, why are the days of Joshua the determining period for walled cities? If, in recognition that Jews would not always be in Shushan, the Sages aimed to eternalize the uniqueness of Shushan by extending its special status to any and all walled cities, why not define that category by cities that currently have walls? Or that had walls in the time of Mordecai and Esther? Or in the time of Moses? Why specifically Joshua?