I'm going to be reading the whole Megillah, which is a short story.
It's part of a series of stories about a common character.
Eliezer Ben Avraham is a Jewish wizard.
He poked around in the Kabbalah a little too much, and his punishment for delving into
forbidden knowledge was to use, he's required to use his powers to help anybody who asks
for his help, and the tasks that he has been given have been very odd.
Anyway, he has arthritis and a telepathic horse.
When the young armed guard asked, who are you, Eliezer wasn't sure what to answer.
As Meluch impatiently scraped ruts in the hard-packed sand with his hoof, Eliezer considered
his words and said, I am he who was summoned.
Beyond the two guards, who both wore thin red eye masks that failed to hide their beardless
chins, Eliezer could see the city's glow above the vast iron gates rivaling the dust's purple
gleam.
Lions of Judah, crowned and roaring and wielding swords at each other, stood out in shallow
relief against the black gates, so typical fighting with each other.
Summon, the other guard demanded, by whom?
Your masters, sir.
Eliezer replied, standing as haughty a posture as he could, given his arthritis.
Ay, the arrogance of youth.
Meluch made a comment about the arrogance of age, but Eliezer ignored him.
We know of no summons.
Listen, Eliezer said slowly and with a degree of her strength, it was costing his blood
pressure dearly.
I am Eliezer Benavraham.
He waited for recognition to dawn on their faces, despite the dust.
The wizard!
Ah, oh, the young fools replied.
Enter and good yon tough to him.
Good yon tough, Eliezer said, and watched the gates swing open before him.
They revealed a city blazing with lamps.
Eliezer didn't deign to look at the guards as he passed through.
Meluch recommended they first find the stable.
You know better.
His blue pouch with the Moghin David stitched in gold on the side, nearly slapped the pitcher
on the right as it jounced against Meluch's side.
Eliezer suspected the horse had swayed just enough to cause that.
The whole city glowed with fire, its highest towers wreathed in swirls of smoke.
Meluch's steel shoes clanked against the cobbles, the sound barely audible against
a distant steady roar.
Suddenly there rose the burr of noisemakers like a cicadas call.
It faded just as quickly.
Haman's name was abroad, yet the reading of the Magillah should not have begun yet.
Maybe these people had a different Purim service from others.
Eliezer, though it was a dirty habit, spat on the ground, his own private and silent
condemnation of Haman the evil one.
May he roast an eternity in the goyim's hell, Eliezer said, and Meluch nodded.
Eliezer steered them between the high flat buildings of sandstone and seemed ready to
crush them in a giant spice.
He followed the sound.
The groggers, wielded by what sounded like thousands of children, burred again.
Why weren't the worshippers in shul listening respectfully to the recitation of the Magillah
like proper Jews?
He passed the city frequently in his rounds, but no one had ever summoned him inside before
to perform a task or even just offer some accommodations.
It would have been a mitzvah to provide food and shelter, basic hospitality, without asking
for assistance from his Magillah.
Few, however, were that generous, usually yet to work for his supper.
They found the people at last jammed into the town square, circle really, of ancient
looking buildings.
The eastern curve was dominated by a pile that could only be a palace three stories
high with massive doors.
Thousands of masks and costume men, women, and children stood crushed together, facing
inward, yelling all at once, condemn him, tear him to pieces.
Blessed is our savior, queen, for she is our lamp.
Kill him.
Such unyuntiffed sentiments coming from the masked horde.
A hundred Mordecai's, a hundred King Ahasuer's, a hundred Queen Esther's, scattered chamberlains
and harem supervisors, and with them a few non-pur figures screamed in rage and devotion.
But they got mad, Eliezer shouted above the din.
Meluch expressed an opinion about humans in general that wasn't at all helpful.
How dare such a beast, Romar's streets, drive Haman out.
At the name, the groggers burst into life, and Eliezer covered his ears.
Meluch shook his head violently at the deafening noise.
The children spun their groggers, filling the air with their cacophony.
It was one thing to show your displeasure with Haman.
It was another to deafen the world.
He had no space to ride through the crush, so he dismounted and allowed Meluch to sniff
out literally and figuratively stable.
Meanwhile, with a few simple repetitions, he transformed himself into a sizable
but otherwise inconspicuous moth.
Anyway, so he flies into the palace, and he's shown inside.
He, by the way, has this insane fear of mice.
Beyond was a round chamber, so he goes through these halls.
Beyond was a round chamber.
The throne room, he quickly recognized, decorated in brightly colored tapestries,
hanging jewels and gold-leafed festoons.
Bronze doors were set in the walls to the right and to the left,
while stretching beyond the throne was a long hall that seemed to be for dining.
Not bad. Fit for a king or a prince or woman.
May God have mercy.
May God explain, for there upon an ivory throne and flowing gown,
maskless but with painted face, bejeweled hair, glittering ears.
In the midst of guards and attending women in lean courtiers,
Sattwood was unmistakably a woman.
From the depths of his mind, Eliezer pulled out the relevant brocha,
the one unseen, a freak of nature, and recited it in a rushed whisper.
Welcome, she, she, said to the city of Shushan.
We are Queen Hadassah, otherwise known as Esther, a coincidence.
To whom do we speak and to what do we owe the pleasure?
Your majesty, I am the wizard, Eliezer Ben-Avraham, come to do your bidding.
Her expression changed, puzzlement beneath the paint.
When she offered no reply, he said slowly, as you are no doubt aware,
I must wander the world using the powers I so foolishly gained
to aid all who request my such help.
Still no word.
This is my penance for it, no interruption, no sign of recognition.
My explorations of forbidden knowledge, goes on.
Your reputation is well known, great wizard, the woman said.
And it is fortuitous that you have come, for we have evil in our midst.
Fortuitous?
What is she talking about?
I am glad as well as obliged to help, but I came in response to your summons.
But great wizard, replied the queen, her tone matching the bewilderment in her face.
We did not summon you.
You, Eliezer's lips froze in the position of pronouncing the words.
Somewhere in the distance, audible in the back of Eliezer's mind, a horse laughed.
Mysteries on mysteries, the queen said.
Who summoned you?
How did you know of our plight?
Tell her.
Mellor cried in his ear.
Tell her what?
Use an old cliche.
Yet, like all cliches, it possessed a grain of truth, and in this case, far more.
I received a visition.
You've been about to say visit or visitation, but thought better of it.
Till he understood the matter himself, it was best to exercise discretion.
Mellor chortled, if a horse could do such a thing.
And waves of insulting skepticism flowed from the beast's mind.
When he had told Mellor about the gleaming white dove that stood upon the rock above Eliezer's
awakening form, and carefully enunciated the summons and accented Hebrew, please,
help, come to Shushan.
Mellor had made half-joking insinuations about Eliezer's sanity, and reminded him of such
things as dreams.
But could it have been only a dream?
The bird had cried, oh, then flown like an arrow in the direction of the city, such magic,
so much like his own wizard.
Excuse me, your majesty, and says, when did Jews have queens?
Even in the days of the ancients, forgive an old man's confusion.
Let us speak of this later, she said, soothingly.
For now, you must partake of our feast.
We have dined already, but you should have food and wine.
So they give him a lot of stuff to eat and drink.
So anyway, she starts to explain, he has great wizard.
Only now did he notice the specks of dirt beneath her fingernails.
What?
You see, Haman walks at the sound of the enemy's name.
The entire congregation of guards and lackeys put their tongues between their lips and blue
rude noises.
Eliezer nearly jumped out of his skin, among us.
Haman, he cried, before he could stop himself and drop his cutlery.
Sure enough, the hall resounded again with a grating noise.
He covered his food with his hand.
You have had the evil one in your midst?
Let me see if I understand this.
Someone has dressed up like Haman, or filled the hall, echoed from a tie's ceiling, pierced
his eardrums for once he wished he were more hard of hearing.
You're upset because someone chose a costume representing you-know-who, is such a costume
not acceptable among you?
This is no costume, wizard, he is here.
Eliezer chewed some fried yam, exquisite, slowly to look thoughtful, but all he could
think was that he had encountered yet more lunatics, so many sick people in the world.
So he has risen from the dead, the queen nodded.
King Ahasuerus had him hoist on his own gibbet for counseling the slaughter of the Jews,
but he woke up and decided to visit your fair city.
I see.
Mela, who was eavesdropping from his stall, recommended a hasty, if polite, exit.
Eliezer reminded him that it was not possible.
A task is a task.
Your majesty, forgive my skeptical nature, but trust us, great wizard, Haman lives.
She rose from her seat and was surrounded by her vicious minions.
We must go to services, for the rabbi is about to begin the reading of the Megillah.
That night, as we read from the book of Esther, we will watch for the presence of the enemy,
but we ask that you join us.
No, finish him, and go forth, find him, and remove him.
Use your powers to free us from his vile presence.
This hateful being of yours, how can you believe he is real?
Our people have seen him, she said, and they are frightened.
It is not one lone soul, but many say he is evil incarnate.
You are a devotee of the Kabbalah.
We know of this power.
Just use it to help us.
If I can, your majesty, may I ask a question?
Please.
Forgive my impertinence, but as you know, I am curious to a fault.
As far as I know, our people have never been ruled by a female monarch, except as the wife
of a king.
How is it then that your people come to be ruled by a queen?
They are not.
Good evening.
And with that, she walked toward the door on the left, followed by almost her entire entourage.
Scared?
He asked, directing the question partly to Melch and partly to Heaven.
Did you hear?
Unbelievable.
A great wizard, she said, now may I ask you a question?
Of course.
What is the name of your horse?
Melch.
Who was?
She smiled.
New?
What's so funny about naming a horse king?
Tell me, wizard, does your king rule you, then?
It's only a name, Melch, as I said, that instantly knew that he had put himself on very shaky
ground philosophically.
And since Adam himself names have carried identity and power, not so.
Of course.
Stupid old hat.
An animal ruling a man?
Such a reversal.
Oh.
Oi.
Your majesty is wise, he said.
For this was the festival of inversions, the Jewish carnival, when everything was topsy-turvy
and nobody was who he or she seemed.
In this city they had chosen to take the principle to its logical extreme, turning everything
upside down.
New?
So skip, and then, of course, he's visited that night by a mouse.
The mouse, by the way, turns into a gorilla just as it's running out the door, but basically
the mouse says, thank God you've come, the mouse said, in excellent Hebrew.
Please help me.
Anyway, he turns himself into an owl, and he goes looking for Haman.
And so he flies around the city.
But no human moved among the buildings, or at least no human sporting the traditional
features of Haman, the black beard, the aristocratic robes.
Above all, the triangular hat that had inspired those tasty hamantash, those pastries that
are triangular.
Oh, for one of those wonderful pastries now, like the ones his mother baked centuries ago
and pruned the best flavor for old men.
He spotted only a dog here, a hunchback child there, a tiger over there.
Eliezer blinked his owl eyes, and the tiger was gone.
Mysteries on mysteries.
He swooped down for a closer look and saw this building, and saw Bet Ari above the door
of the building.
Another reference to the city's beloved mascot, the Lion of Judah, but no mouse.
To solve these mysteries, he would have to be lucky, depending on the whims of chance,
the way Haman threw the lots that would tell him on which day to order the slaughter of
the Persian Jews.
So that's the basis of Purim, Purim means lot, the lots that were thrown.
So I'm going to skip ahead, and finally he decides that he's going to get his horse's
help.
They skirted the crowd in which a dozen dances had begun and rushed from the circle when
someone screamed the unholy name.
So he tells Melech, follow that mouse.
Melech used his nose, and Eliezer used his aged eyes, but still the city offered up no
secrets.
Bleak empty streets, a couple of masked people rushing on some errands, and then a small
child raced out of the darkness, hysterical, clutching a mask in her hands, such suffering
innocence Eliezer had never seen.
She tore down the street toward Eliezer, running as if she had seen the manifestation of every
nightmare and boogeyman haunting her young life, and flew past.
It's wrong.
It's all wrong, Melech said, then headed into the darkness from which the child had fled.
Around the corner they found him.
He stood half in the shadow of a building, a towering figure.
He wore the black beard, and on his head was the triangular half.
This was no mask, this was no costume, for below the point of the infamous half were
eyes that blazed with evil.
No makeup, no special devices to fool gullible souls.
Eliezer was looking into a blank soul.
There was nothing beyond that gaze.
Who are you?
Haman, great wizard.
Melech shied away, but he also shook his head in a gesture of puzzlement.
Where have you come from?
Risen from the dead, wizard.
Help me.
Help us.
Help you.
What is this?
I don't know what sort of demon you are, but if you are evil, what makes you think I'll
help you?
And using the royal we when it suited him as if he were the king of hell, Eliezer dropped
his hand to his pouch and drew his copy of the Seferi yetzirah from it.
This is my power, my guide, my link to the Torah, the knowledge and strength of Kabbalah
stood in proud rows of letters on its pages.
Evil spirit, demon, whatever you may be, this is the way, the way into the words of creation.
For the Torah is the language of God, and the words of creation, and the Sefirot are
the ten symbols, and there are twenty-two paths.
The devil himself speaking the words of wisdom, of chachma, disgusting, how dare this thing
throw the Kabbalah's own words back at him.
And above it all is the caterer, Haman said, and the crown, the kingdom, and the god, kinghood,
and the godhead.
I don't need your lessons in Kabbalah, wizard, I need your help.
You were the one who summoned me.
Yes.
To be your evil bidding, to do good to an evil one.
This smells wrong, Melech said, and offered a thought about a lack of fire and brimstone.
You are not what you seem, Eliezer said, understanding Melech's point at last.
Who are you?
Do you want to know my name?
Would you give it?
For that would grant Eliezer power over him, as anyone who knew the Kabbalah would also
know.
Yes, demon, or whatever creature lies beneath this facade.
I am Yaakov ben Ari.
Ari is the name of my spiritual father.
It became clear now.
The strange building he had seen next to the school, Beth Ari, it was not named for the
animal or even the Judaic symbol, it was named for Isaac Luria, the Ari, the great Kabbalist,
the spiritual father of the whole system.
Beth Ari was itself a school.
You are a Kabbalist, too, yes, and more foolish even than you, wizard.
Eliezer's eyes widened, and now you insult me.
Explain yourself, he said, exercising all his restraint.
I followed your path, wizard.
I learned to tap into the Ya'sud, the foundation.
I gained the power to metamorphose.
That certainly was foolish indeed, as Eliezer knew better than anyone.
More foolish than you know, wizard, I did not learn how to control my changes.
I shift and change without will or choice, and I have nothing left except this nothingness,
this blank.
Of course, Eliezer thought, to be everything is to be nothing.
Eliezer ben Abraham, you can become what you want, but I become what chance decrees
or what others do not want.
That left even Malek speechless.
Eliezer thought about the implications to be a slave to chance, the throwing of the
universe's lots, or the source of fear and loathing on Purim to become Haman, the opposite
and bane of his innocence.
And for a wizard with a hatred of mice, of course, he became a mouse.
Then you have no will.
In my changes, no, and without a will, I am a nothing.
In God's eyes, yes, no self to save.
How old are you?
I am 21, so young to be so cursed.
Eliezer felt sorry for the boy.
He himself had poked around in the mysteries at a more advanced age.
I'll skip a little bit.
What do you want me to do?
Kill me.
Eliezer ben Abraham, how dare you?
You of all people should know I can't do that.
The Kabbalah gave him power over the shape of life, but the power to give or take life
remained the sole prerogative of God.
Listen, if you are so determined to die, why not just walk into that crowd?
They'll oblige you and turn them into murderers.
Besides, I would rather they think me dead or vanished and know what I have done and become.
And then he changes into a mouse and raises down the street.
So Eliezer comes up with a solution.
The people of the city already gathered in the circle now formed a single ring around.
Eliezer and the town's rabbi.
Behind him, Eliezer could feel the rabbi's impatience.
It was in time for morning services and the second reading of the magilla.
But the book of Esther would have to wait a few more minutes.
From his pouch, Eliezer pulled the book that contained the secrets of the Kabbalah's magic.
And from his mind, he pulled the words that would link him into the one.
Both the cries against the demon and the noisemakers were silenced.
Now the people would call as one for a more beneficial purpose.
And so they entered the great circle with Eliezer as their conduit.
Through his magic, they became a city of wizards.
Melch stood apart, but that was only a formality.
Like all the rest in a sense, both real and not, he wore a crown.
We wish an end to suffering and to evil, Eliezer said.
We do not want evil among us.
Summoned by their repudiation, Haman walked from between the walls of the westernmost buildings.
Even in the bright light of the early dawn, he seemed as shadowed as he had last night.
Come not among us! Be gone!
The curses flew, but no one spoke his evil name.
Eliezer silently pronounced his true name, Yaakov.
His ancient namesake also had a true name, but different, Israel.
He was the people and the heart of the people in the center of Adam Katman, the primordial man.
Vile creature, the would-be killer of men and women and children.
And the more they cursed him, the more they condemned his evil.
The closer he came to the center.
He stood before Eliezer, closer now than ever, and Eliezer felt a chill shoot through him, like cold lightning.
Stand still! Eliezer recited the letters.
Aleph, raish, yud.
A-R-I.
Then he turned to the crowd.
Bow your heads and say the brochah in the beginning of the poem.
Excuse me, said the rabbi.
Oh, forgive my presumption.
The rabbi lit the blessing.
And as all their heads were lowered, the queen's too, as she stood on her balcony.
He transformed the evil one.
Eliezer could and would not kill him, but he could slow time for him.
From a life of constant, unwilled, unwilling change, the young man would enjoy a comforting and refreshing stability.
Years would be his seconds, decades his minutes.
Thus, when the people lifted their heads, they saw that in the midst of their cities stood not a demon,
but what they would take to be a statue.
From now on, their town circle would be graced with a supposedly artificial lion.
Roaring and reaching out to Paul, honor the king, honor the crown, honor the father.
And poor Jacob, in his slow movement and slow thinking, would seem to spend only a few moments in blissful solidity
until whatever fate got a decree before him, just as he threw the lots for all foolish mortals.
Eliezer gazed up into the statue's eye and thought he saw a grateful twinkle.
And so, then he goes off and has some hamantaschen for dessert, deadly.
Anyway, it turns out the queen is a servant, and one of the guards is actually the king.
The one with the big paunch.
Outside the palace, under the truly watchful eye of a far more fit-looking guard,
he tied the sack that they give him to mellow saddle and hung his small embroidered pouch on his pommel.
He waited for the horse to lower himself, Melloch engaging in a joke of his own, hesitated to do so,
acting up even here at the palace gates.
Come on, your majesty.
At last, Melloch led a mount and Eliezer said, well, you seem to be in a good mood this afternoon.
Melloch said nothing.
A few people followed them to the city doors and then out and waved goodbye.
Eliezer saluted them and headed into the desert.
And where would he sleep tonight?
He reached into the sack.
It was filled with hamantaschen.
He extracted the topmost and bit into one of his three corners.
The prune filling squirted gloriously into his mouth.
So, you're not going to tell me what you did all day?
Well, Melloch began to make a long story short.
If only Eliezer said, if only.