“V’nahafoch Hu” (וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא) is a Hebrew expression that means “and it was reversed” or “the opposite happened.” It comes from the Book of Esther and describes the reversal of fortune at the end of the Purim story, in which the Jews avert the evil decree against them:
And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month — that is, the month of Adar — when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power. (Esther 9:1)
V’nahafoch hu has become a catchphrase symbolizing the essence of Purim. There are many significant reversals in the Book of Esther: Esther rises from unknown orphan to queen of Persia and goes from hiding her Jewish identity out of fear to revealing it in order to save her people. At first, Mordecai is a citizen who is receives no recognition when he saves the king’s life and by the end of the story he has been elevated to the position of king’s trusted chief advisor. Meanwhile, Haman follows a reverse path, from chief advisor to executed prisoner. Most significantly, the Jews themselves go from a helpless minority marked for death to an empowered citizenry who can and do defend themselves against armed enemies.
The customs of Purim emphasize this topsy-turvy experience. Costumes allow participants to adopt new identities while the talmudic suggestion (Megillah 7b) that revelers drink enough wine that they cannot distinguish between “blessed is Mordecai” and “cursed is Haman” contributes to the celebration of the notion that anything is possible.
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Outside of Purim, the phrase v’nahafoch hu may be used to remark on any surprising reversal, from the personal to the communal. In moments of unrelenting hardship, it can be invoked to draw on the Purim story’s message of hope. The Midrash (Esther Rabbah 10:10) remarks that the miracle of v’nahafoch hu was arguably the greatest miracle the Jewish people ever witnessed: “this is the miracle that the Holy one blessed be He performed, the like of which has never been performed. Was there ever in the world an event like this miracle where Israel extracted vengeance against the nations of the world and did to their enemies as they wished?” The phrase has thus taken on added resonance, a reminder that things which seem impossible may in fact be possible.
