in the Jewish calendar that is light-hearted, although serious in its record of a momentous event. The Jewish Mishnah (an important collection of codes and laws, forming the first section of the Talmud, a collection of Jewish writings of the early Christian centuries) lays down the rule that on this feast the people are to drink until they are unable to distinguish between ‘Blessed be Mordecai!’ and ‘Cursed be Haman!’ The danger of such feasting is excessive drinking and careless speech in which