Yes, it is Purim

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
The Jewish calendar is filled with holidays and observances that relate to our spiritual development and well-being. The year begins with Passover, the birth of freedom. The lesson of Passover is simple: we are free to choose a life of meaning and purpose or a life of emptiness, void of any significance. We move on to Shavuot, the birth of laws and commitments. The lesson of Shavuot is also simple: To live in a world of orderliness signified by respect for judicial conduct. This is followed by Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the birth of completion through human relationships determined by contrition and self-evaluation. The lessons of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not so simple because they require a look into our inner-selves. It is like looking into a mirror and seeing two people: One who we are and one who we would like to be.

One more holiday before we enter the world of lost souls, Purim. The holiday immediately preceding Purim is a minor holiday which has become a major event in modern times, Hanukkah. Hanukkah is now celebrated as a time for re-dedication, a time to revive our pride in sacrifice and fulfillment. The lesson of Hanukkah is a prelude to the commemoration of Purim because it leads us to understand that only with perseverance can we fully determine our destiny. We won the battle of wills but in the process we forgot to remember that might alone is not the salvation for independence.

Purim! It doesn’t fit anywhere in the cycle of spiritual enrichment. At least Hanukkah was given a sacred dimension when the rabbis of the Talmud instructed us about the cruise of oil that lasted eight days instead of one. They taught us the value of and respect for miracles. Purim, on the other hand, reflects self-determination and caution

Here we have an assimilated Jewess. She inter-marries, and for all we know, is not too concerned about her Jewish heritage. She was a beauty queen who ascended to the highest court of royalty. Her life was one of luxury and self-indulgence. But then she is thrown into the spotlight of terror and horror as her uncle Mordecai relates something he overheard that threatened every Jew under Persian rule. Not a candidate for heroics, she finds that her future is intrinsically connected to her fellow Jews and she develops, over time, the courage to stand with them in their hour of need.

This is no small feat. Think about it. You are comfortable and feel connected to your environment and all of a sudden that safety valve is ruptured by someone reminding you that you are different no matter how you feel accepted. You learn very fast that assimilation is not synonymous with abandonment, the abandonment of your past. Esther learns the meaning of valor and she comes through in a meaningful way and becomes the savior of her people.

Haman, the arch villain, befits the embodiment of evil and symbolizes, to this day, the anti-Semitism expressed in so many ways time after time. The Book of Esther describes this: “There is a certain people…whose laws are different from any other people and it is not in your majesty’s interest to tolerate them.” (Esther 3:8) How many times have we heard that before? In the Book of Exodus we read: “There arose a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph..” And that too begins a chapter of human enslavement of mind and body. In our day we learned the meaning of “the final solution.”

Whether the story is fabrication or an exaggerated version of a historical incident, the Book of Esther and Purim have become accepted as part of the festival cycle. The levity and joyfulness is because there is a light at the end of the tunnel of despair. But it also recounts the story of a people who have been dispersed all over this planet. And this story has a deep meaning for each generation in that there is a connection with each generation.

Purim is a time to masquerade as someone else. It is carnival time. It is an escape from reality. It is a way to hide from who we are so that we will not be afraid of hatred. This is true, especially living in the Diaspora because we sometimes feel as outsiders, not part of the mainstream. And has been said so many times in so many ways, Purim gives us the opportunity to rejoice in our salvation while generations before us have not been so lucky.

So we remember and are thankful. If for no other reason, Purim stands out as the one holiday that allows us to know that we are in control of our fate, ever mindful of the help we receive from God.