Happy Purim from Jerusalem

March 10, 2017

by: Ilse Posselt

Friday, 10 March 2017 | The promise of springtime in Israel—as in any other nation—customarily comes with the promise of new life, growth, warmer weather and sunshine. Yet in the Jewish state, the end of winter annually brings an added delight. When the days grow balmier and filled with sunshine, a carnival atmosphere wraps around the Land of Promise. City streets, classrooms and offices teem with Supermen and Catwomen, cowboys and mermaids. When they appear, along with other costumed children and adults, it means that the Jewish nation is gearing up to celebrate Purim.

Sundown tomorrow night will signal the start of this holiday. Purim is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in Israel, with young and old joining the joyous celebration with street musicians, dancing, singing and dress-up parties lasting into the wee hours.

The reason for the merriment is a good one. Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people living in the ancient Persian Empire from the evil Haman who hatched what seemed like the perfect plot “… to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day…” (Esther 3:13).

We find the story in the book of Esther. The events take place in the 4th century BC and all the Jews live as subjects of the Persian Empire. Through a series of twists and turns, the mighty ruler, King Ahasuerus, strips his wife of her crown for insubordination. Then, an empire-wide search is launched to find a new queen. A young Jewish beauty, named Hadassah, beats the staggering odds to win the king’s heart—and the crown. On her Uncle Mordechai’s instruction, Hadassah remains mum about her Jewish identity and goes by her Persian name, Esther.

Meanwhile, the evil Haman with an anti-Semitic heart yearning for power and destruction is appointed prime minister. In line with his might and position, Haman insists that all prostrate themselves in his presence. Yet Mordechai’s refusal to bow down to him thwarts his delusions of grandeur and sets in motion a plan of evil and malice. Haman persuades the king to issue a decree ordering the extermination of all Jews during the twelfth biblical month, the month of Adar.

Haman’s plan spells sure annihilation for the Jews. Yet the God of Israel had placed Mordechai and Esther in the perfect position to help. “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Mordechai tells his niece (Esther 4:14).

At Esther’s request, Mordechai rallies the Jews to fast and pray for three days, after which Esther intercedes to the king on behalf of her people. The evil Hamas is executed and the decree of annihilation is amended, allowing the Jews to defend themselves.

The story has a happy ending. “On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them” (Esther 9:1).

To ensure that future generations would remember the miraculous deliverance, Mordechai declares a festival. The holiday of Purim, he tells his people, should be an occasion of merriment and feasting. Friends should exchange presents. The poor should receive gifts.

Today, thousands of years later, the descendants of Mordechai and Esther, in the streets of Israel and all over the world, celebrate Purim as per Mordechai’s directions.

Neighbors and friends send each other baskets of candy. Gifts of money go to the poor. The young—and young at heart—dress up to join public parades winding through city streets. People gather in synagogues and family rooms to read the book of Esther. The sound of noise makers echoes from countless windows in playful attempts to drown out the sound of Haman’s name every time it is mentioned during the reading. Then at night, after all the parades and noise, family and friends meet for a Purim feast.

Purim in Israel reflects the delight of a destiny turned from destruction and annihilation to great victory. It highlights the God of Israel’s care and foresight to raise humans to unexpected places—for His plans and purposes. It demonstrates His absolute might and power over “idolatry, hedonism, cynicism and insecurity,” writes retired ambassador Yoram Ettinger in Purim Guide for the Perplexed 2016. And it reassures “faith in mankind’s capabilities, as long as faith in God is sustained.”

At first glance, the plot of Purim speaks of a threat vanquished centuries ago. But every Israeli knows that today, in the 21st century, there is an ancient menace threatening the Jewish state. And once again, that threat is coming out of Persia. Today Israel again hears decrees vowing its annihilation. They are repeatedly declared by the leaders of modern-day Persia, a place known today as the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that the overwhelming majority of security threats the Jewish state faces originate from one source: the Islamic Republic of Iran. Threatening Israel with destruction seems to be one of Iranian leaders’ strategies de jour. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is particularly fond of using his official Twitter account to vow the annihilation of the Jewish state. Moreover, over the past few months alone an Iranian senior military commander bragged that Tehran could “raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes,” while another boasted that the Islamic Republic could turn Israeli cities Tel Aviv and Haifa into dust. In December 2016, Iran’s Defense Minister also joined the choir of annihilation, declaring that Tehran could “destroy” both Israel and the smaller Gulf Arab states. And last week a senior Iranian army commander vowed that the entire of Israel is within the range of the Islamic Republic’s range and that Iran could destroy the Jewish state’s “defense shield within an hour by firing several thousand missiles and raze down the fake regime to the ground forever.”

History has taught Israel not to take such threats idly. History has, however, also taught Israelis to seize the moment and live life to the full. As the festival of Purim approaches, the Jewish people once again celebrate with joy and merriment. But they will also remember and reflect. Purim is, after all, not only about rejoicing. It also begs all to heed its lessons from the past.

Chag Purim sameach (happy Purim) from Jerusalem.

Posted on March 10, 2017

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 10 March 2017)

Photo Credit: Ashernet