[Avodah] When did Ta'anis Esther begin?

[David E Cohen]

R' Zev Sero wrote:
> First we need to know what, if anything, Megilas Taanis actually
> says about Taanis Esther.  If it's mentioned, then it would be a
> clear exception to the general rule, and thus no problem.

The 13th of Adar is mentioned in Megillas Ta`anis, but as the celebratory
day of "Yom Nikanor," which seems to suggest pretty strongly that Ta`anis
Esteir was not being observed on that date before the churban.

Here's my own theory:

>From the Mishnah and Tosefta, one gets the impression that the mitzvah of
mikra Megillah is by daytime only, and that like most mitzvos `aseih
shehazeman gerama, women are exempt.  Perhaps this was the original takanah
in the days of Mordekhai and Esteir.

R' Yehoshua` ben Levi tells us that one is obligated to read at night (since
the Jews cried out at night also -- "velailah lo dumyah li"), and that women
are obligated (since they, too, were included in the miracle).  Perhaps this
reflects a different, later takanah of Chazal, which gave the observance of
Purim the additional aspect of attempting to relive the experience that the
Jews went through.  Once Chazal decided to remodel Purim by adding this
layer to its observance, it became relevant to expand the chiyuv of mikra
Megillah based on when the Jews cried out (both day and night) and who was
involved (both men and women).

If this correct, perhaps one could suggest that Ta`anis Esteir was not part
of the original observance of Purim, but came as part of the "reliving the
experience" framework of this later takanah.  In order to relive the
experience, we can't just have a day of rejoicing in a vacuum, but need for
it to come on the heels of tze`akah and teshuvah.

--D.C.