Purim 5782 – A Theory Connecting Purim to Yom ha’Kipurim Which is NOT Based on Specious Linguistics – Part 1 (Facts and Questions)

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Purim 5782 – A Theory Connecting Purim to Yom ha’Kipurim Which is NOT Based on Specious Linguistics – Part 1 (Facts and Questions)

One of my “Purim pet peeves” is when someone gives a dvar Torah about the thematic relationship between the holidays of Purim and Yom ha’Kipurim on the sole basis of their similar sounding names. This claim rests on two pillars: (1) that both names contain the transliterated word “purim,” and (2) that the prefix “k-” means “like” in Hebrew. The claimant usually starts off with saying: “Yom ha’Kipurim is a yom (day) which is like Purim!” and then goes on to weave their own tapestry of ideas on that foundation.

This cute play on words can serve as a platform for an idea that stands on its own two feet, but anyone who thinks that this constitutes actual evidence hasn’t carefully read the megilah. The pasuk says:

In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Achashverosh, he cast a pur, which is a lottery, before Haman, from day to day and from this month to the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. (Esther 3:7, translated by Neima Novetsky)

Why does the pasuk need to clarify what “pur” means? Ibn Ezra (ibid.) answers: because it’s a Persian word. Neima Novetsky, citing the BDB entry for פור, suggests that “pur” might stem from the Akkadian "puru," meaning “stone” or “lot.” Either way, “Purim” is not a Hebrew word, and therefore has no linguistic relationship to Yom ha’Kipurim – a Hebrew word from the root K.P.R. meaning “atone.”

Folk etymology aside, I was curious about the origins of the claim that there exists any sort of relationship between Purim and Yom ha’Kipurim. Despite the ubiquity of this notion, I barely found any references in the early sources. The Maharal of Prague (16th century) writes about this in his introduction to Ohr Chadash, referencing material from the medieval (11th century) Midrash Mishlei (9:2, Buber). This relationship is also mentioned in Tikkunei Zohar (21, 57b). Still, I wasn’t able to find any direct references in the works of Chazal, the Geonim, or the Rishonim … until yesterday. Rambam (Hilchos Megilah v’Chanukah 2:17) writes:

It is better for a person to be excessive in gifts to the poor than to be excessive in his meal and in sending [gifts] to his fellows, for there exists no greater or more glorious simchah (joy) than to bring simchah to the hearts of the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the converts, for one who brings simchah to the hearts of these downtrodden individuals resembles the shechinah (divine providence), as it is stated: “to bring life to the spirit of the lowly and to bring life to the heart of the oppressed” (Yeshaya 57:15).

Where do we hear this pasuk in Yeshayahu every year? In the haftarah of Yom ha’Kipurim. This makes Rambam the earliest source (to my knowledge) who relates the two holidays, albeit indirectly. Even though the application of this pasuk from Yeshayahu to Purim is a chidush (novel insight) on the Rambam’s part, caring for downtrodden individuals is undeniably one of the major themes of Purim. Moreover, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (The Rav Thinking Aloud, by David Holzer, p.65) notes that it is always preferable to base a philosophical idea on a halachic (legalistic) source rather than an aggadic (homiletical) one:

With aggada, we are not sure that what we say is correct. We have no tradition as to the interpretation of the maxim, as we do in halachah. When testing philosophical ideas, it is thus preferable to introduce a halachic, rather than aggadic, motif.

Now that we’ve established that there is a thematic relationship between Purim and Yom ha’Kippurim which is reflected in halacha, the question remains: What is that relationship?

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