between the Torah and its festivals on the one hand and the Megillah and its festival on the other. The Megillah makes no suggestion that Purim is an ancient festival that had been forgotten or neglected. Purim is clearly a new festival, of recent origin. The Megillah gives legitimacy to this first post-Torah festival in a mode that is quasi-traditional but at the same time quite contemporary. Following tradition, the book’s explanation of Purim as a “historical” event to be commemorated harks back