Articles with the tag: purim

You Make a Great Team

When civilizations looked for a scapegoat, Jews died. So it has always been. But why should anti-Semitism be the world’s longest hatred? If we imagine a hidden intelligence explaining Jew-phobia, we are looking for reason where there is none. Anti-Semitism is illogical, indeed contradictory. Jews were hated because they were capitalists or communists; because they were godless or religious; because they kept to themselves or they infiltrated everywhere.

Countless books have been written about the root causes of anti-Semitism. However the simplest explanation was given by Haman, an ‘honest’ anti-Semite: “There is a certain people dispersed and scattered…whose laws are different.” Jews were hated because they were different.

To be sure, every nation is different. Jews, however, were unusual in…

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The Holiday of Esther (9:22)

Each year, we fulfill the observances of Purim as they have been practiced for twenty three centuries: we read the Megillah, we send gifts of food to our friends, increase in charity to the poor, and partake of a festive meal replete with food, drink, and unbridled joy.

Originally, however, there were two different conceptions of how the miracle of Purim should be commemorated, propagated by the two heroes, Mordechai and Esther. Our sages tell us that it was Mordechai’s desire that Purim should be a full-fledged holiday, a day of sabbatical rest like Passover and Sukkot.

On the other hand, while both Mordechai and Esther instituted the practice of sending food, charity and feasting, the concept of the Megillah…

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Jewish Light (8:16)

Haman’s star shone brighter than ever before. Appointed as Prime Minister and given the King’s signet ring, there didn’t seem to be anything Haman could not do. Still, as powerful as he was, he did not directly attack the Jews. Even the letters ordering genocide did not openly proclaim the Jews as the intended victims. Of course, our Rabbis wonder, “What could the potent Haman have feared that would cause him to use caution and subterfuge?”

Interestingly enough, the two heroes of the day react very differently to the evil designs conceived by the enemy. Mordechai, leader of our people, “clothed himself in sackcloth and ashes, went out into the middle of the streets and cried a great and bitter…

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Purim Eternal (6:11)

Although G-d’s name is not explicitly mentioned in the Megillah, the Talmud teaches us that the word “king” refers not only to Achaveirosh, mortal ruler of Persia, but also alludes to the King of Kings, Almighty G-d. ,

“. . . Parade him on horseback through the streets of the city proclaiming before him, ‘This is done to the man whom the king wishes to honor’. . .”
A restless night. All across the city potent forces were awake and brooding. Queen Esther was busy preparing another royal banquet. Mordechai, weak from fasting, gathered thousands of children to study and pray. Haman too felt compelled to stay up and supervise the gallows being erected. Even Achashveirosh, the mighty ruler who…

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In Conclusion (3:8)

Haman, arch-enemy of the Jews, flexed his political muscle in convincing King Achashveirosh to issue an edict of annihilation against the Jews. What argument did Haman use to persuade the monarch?

“There exists one nation, dispersed amongst the nations. . . their laws are different. . . the laws of the king they do not keep.” Such dangerous national characteristics reasoned Haman lead to the conclusion that “it is not worthwhile for the king to allow them to exist.”

Obviously Achashveirosh concurred. What then changed his mind later? Haman’s contentions remained unchallenged, for where in the Megillah do we find a refutation of his arguments?

Some suggest that the Persian king annulled the decree merely to appease Esther. That is…

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Why a Jew Marches? (3:8)

There were tears and there were smiles. There was mourning and there was celebration. There was the foul stench of death and there was the sweet scent of life. There were inert bodies in caskets and there were restless actors on floats.

In Tel Aviv there was tragedy and in the streets of Margate, Florida there was a Purim Parade, the likes of which our community had never before seen. In Israel, the press wondered would Jews worldwide call off the planned Purim parties and in Florida the TV reporter asked, “Whether those who had lost their lives were forgotten amidst the joyous event, or were they still on our minds?”

Let us turn to the character of Haman for…

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Yom Kippur Comes Close (3:7)

The mystics inform us that Yom haKippurim (the Day of Atonement) is so called because it is a Yom k’Purim, “a day like Purim. ” This indeed sounds bizarre as one could hardly find two more dissimilar days in the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur is a most solemn day of soul-searching and repentance; a day on which we connect with the inviolable core of purity within us; a day on which we transcend our very physicality in order to commune with our spiritual essence. Thus we are commanded to “afflict ourselves,” to deprive the body of food and drink and all physical pleasures. Purim, on the other hand, is a most physical day celebrated by lavishing money on the poor,...

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Heavenly Dice (3:7)

Does not the story of Purim teach us how watchful is the superintendence of G-d over the affairs of man? Does it not mock all the cunningly devised plans of the proud and the wicked who wish to harm the weak and the humble?

Follow the career of Haman and let us see how his fate differs from his hopes. Did Haman realize that by ridding the empire of Queen Vashti, whom he imagined was his enemy, his own machinations would install his greatest threat, Queen Esther? Could Haman have ever dreamed that when he was invited to the queen’s feast, he was actually going to his death; or that the scaffold he had erected for Mordechai would be used…

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Haman’s Haste (2:15)

Times are changing. The present winds of financial and political crises are forcing the world to pause and catch its breath. Whereas yesterday the super swift were acclaimed, in today’s climate, caution is being welcomed. From the Torah’s vantage point excessive haste has always been condemned. Indeed, our Sages observed that the passion to achieve results with utmost speed is a form of greed. Lust demands instant gratification.

A prime example of the impulsive opportunist is Haman, arch-enemy of the Jews. The Megillah introduces him under the pseudonym Memuchan, as the least significant of Achashveirosh’s advisors. The King was embroiled in a domestic predicament. While the various ministers judiciously weighed this delicate problem, Haman spoke. Court protocol dictates that only…

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Lessons From Adar, Elephants and Monkeys:

Week #1 ,
1. Jews united; working together is critical.
2. They prayed for a miracle; appreciating Who’s really in charge.
3. They followed Mordechai; we need strong leadership.
4. Esther put a pragmatic plan in motion.
HINT #1: Joy comes from proactive participation, not armchair grumbling.

Talmud: On Purim a Jew is required to drink until one cannot distinguish between Cursed is Haman and Blessed is Mordechai.”
We must put our trust in G-d and avoid the anxiety that dominates the “in-between” state of the problem (Cursed is Haman) and the solution state (Blessed is Mordechai).
HINT #2: Joy comes from trust in G-d that in the end everything follows a plan and that He knows best.

All other…

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How Moses Slipped into the Megilla

1. Where is Moses alluded to in the Torah? (Rashi: that he will come) As it says before the Flood, “Inasmuch as he is flesh, and his days shall be 120 years.” (Genesis 6:3) (Hebrew word for ‘inasmuch’ [beshegam] is numerically equivalent [345] to Moshe. “120 years,” is the exact life-span of Moses.)
2. Where is (the account of) Haman alluded to in the Torah? When G-d addresses Adam, “Did you eat of the tree?” (Genesis 3:11) [אHa-min, identical in spelling to Haman] (alluding to Haman’s being hanged on a tree.)
3. Where is (the account of) Esther alluded to in the Torah? “And I shall surely hide My face on that day.” (Deuteronomy…

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