Although the miracle of Purim took place outside Eretz Yisroel, Chazal believe Zion played a significant role in the story. The gemara (Megillah 12a) alludes to the connection between Eretz Yisroel and the Purim story as it attempts to justify the genocidal decree issued against the Jews. According to one opinion in the gemara, the Jews of that generation deserved eradication because they "derived pleasure from the meal of that wicked man [Achashveirosh]." Seemingly, national annihilation is a rather harsh punishment for eating non-kosher food. Therefore, our Sages explain that the main problem with the party was not what was being served, but how and why it was being served. The Talmud states (ibid. 1la) that Achashveirosh made the party in the third year of his reign, when, according to his calculations, the seventy years of golus Bavel were supposed to have ended. When he saw that the Jews had not yet been redeemed, he brought out the holy vessels of the Beis HaMikdash from his storehouses and made an enormous celebration to signify the end of the Bnei Yisroel's special relationship with Hashem. The Sages also mention that Achashveirosh wore the garments of the Kohen Gadol at his party (ibid. 12a), deriving this from a gezeirah shavah of sorts: in Parashas Tetzaveh it says, וְעָשִׂיתָ בִגְדֵי-קֹדֶשׁ, לְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ, לְכָבוֹד, וּלְתִפְאָרֶתAnd you shall make vestments of sanctity for your brother, Aharon, for glory and splendor (Shemos 28:2), and in Megillas Esther (1:4) it says, בְּהַרְאֹתוֹ, אֶת-עֹשֶׁר כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ, וְאֶת-יְקָר, תִּפְאֶרֶת גְּדוּלָּתוֹ, When he displayed the
riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his splendorous majesty. The gemara recognizes the use
of the word תִפְאָרֶת' in these verses and points out that in both instances the reference is to the holy garments of the Kohen Gadol. In consideration of these circumstances, Achashveirosh and his kingdom viewed the
party as a "farewell to Eretz Yisroel" party, signifying the end of the Jewish dream of redemption. Nonetheless, many Jews participated in the party as a joyous resignation to permanent exile.
In this view, Hashem's decree of destruction of the Bnei Yisroel appears justified. A Jew who is happy to remain in exile, giving up all hope of any redemption, denies one of the most basic principles of our faith. He forgets that the Jewish people have a unique purpose in this world, and this purpose can only be fulfilled when the Jews live separately and observe the mitzvos in G-d's Chosen Land, removed from the foreign influences and impurities of the other nations.
However, the author of the Megillah , Mordechai, epitomizes the kind of attitude Jews are meant to exemplify. The Megillah introduces Mordechai with the words: אִישׁ יְהוּדִי, הָיָה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה; וּשְׁמוֹ מָרְדֳּכַי, בֶּן יָאִיר בֶּן-שִׁמְעִי בֶּן-קִישׁ--אִישׁ יְמִינִי. אֲשֶׁר הָגְלָה, מִירוּשָׁלַיִם, עִם-הַגֹּלָה אֲשֶׁר הָגְלְתָה, עִם יְכָנְיָה מֶלֶךְ-יְהוּדָה--אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה, נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל. There was a Jewish man in Shushan, the capital city, named Mordechai son of Yair son of Shimi son of Kish, of the tribe of Binyomin, who had been exiled from Yerushalayim along with the exiles who had been exiled with Yechoniah king of Yehudah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, King of Bavel, had exiled" (2:5-6). The Vilna Gaon explains that the verse uses the verb exile (גלה) three times to teach us that Mordechai never resigned himself to exile. Although Mordechai was exiled numerous times, he always made his way back to Eretz Yisroel, until finally - after the third exile - he was unable to return . But even then, he never forgot where he really belonged, Eretz Yisroel. Some commentators find another allusion to this point in Mordechai's title, איש ימיני. They explain that Mordechai merited this title because he epitomized the verse אִם-אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם - תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי. If I forget you, Yerushalayim, may my right hand lose its cunning" (Tehillim 137:5). If we learn to emulate Mordechai HaTzaddik's attitude and deeds, we will surely merit a "miraculous" salvation even greater than the salvation of Purim.