Toward the conclusion of Megillat Esther, there is a description of the reversal that takes place in the narrative:
“…On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned, and it was the Jews who overpowered their enemies” (9:1)
The turning of the tables is also expressed in the reverse parallel literary structure of the entire narrative, as shown in the Structure of Esther diagram created by Rabbi Dr. Shuky Reiss and Rabbi Dr. Yonatan Grossman.
Herzog College’s pedagogy experts have created an exciting interactive lesson based on the structure of Megillat Esther and the idea of plot twists. It encourages students to explore the “nahafoch hu” paradigm in the Megillah, and reflect on experiences in their lives where something unfair turned out well in the end.
To download the full lesson plan, Megillah structure chart and
worksheet for your Purim class, click here.
