Dear {{first_name}},
Is it appropriate to celebrate? Can we be happy and rejoice and take part in levity and silliness? On October 7th, I was walking to the synagogue with Carrie and the girls for Simchat Torah. The walk to the synagogue was somber and felt foreboding and akin to a funeral processional. I bumped into Cantor Nati on the way and he was honest and said he wasn’t up to dancing with the Torah Scrolls or to singing and I told him I wasn’t feeling up to it either. At that moment, October 7th was raw and new and so much was unknown. At that moment, it felt like dancing and rejoicing would be as if we were dancing on the undug graves of our loved ones. That was one approach. The other approach was the opposite in that we must stand up to hatred and terror by living our best lives and refusing to allow the terror to influence our joy. Both of these responses were appropriate, and yet we just couldn’t celebrate that Saturday night. On that Saturday night, we danced with the Torah Scrolls for the kids. We sang for the kids. We did the best we could. When the kids left, we went into the Sanctuary and sat on the ground as we do on Tisha B’Av and read the words of the Tefilot and studied Torah rather than dancing.
During Chanukah this past December, we lit our Chanukiyot and sang the blessings but we were thinking about the need to light on behalf of the captives the entire time. We thought about the spreading anti-Semitism and the fears of some Jews to display their Chanukiyot. This has been our experience. Now we’re arriving at the next celebration since October 7th and we’re left to question what is and is not appropriate. How do we celebrate the overcoming of hate and bigotry and terror when it’s alive and well today and still targeting our people? Purim is the holiday when we celebrate the Book of Esther. It’s the holiday when we celebrate our triumph over a people unable to accept others for who they are. It’s a holiday when we reflect on a kingdom of 127 states in which not a single person could step up and say no to the tyranny and the homicidal intentions. It’s a holiday in which we recognize that even with Queen Esther’s influence, she still only had so much power over her fate. The reality is these facts all remain true today.
Since Simchat Torah, we’ve been living in a state of suspended animation, not fully capable of moving forward. At times, it’s been because of fear and at others it’s been because of sadness. We’ve grieved and we’ve defended and yet we’re still in this state of being unable to move forward. The lessons of the Book of Esther are too numerous to enumerate in regards to Purim in 5784. What was Haman’s problem with us? He hated one Jew and therefore he had to hate all Jews. What was his problem with that one Jew? He refused to conform and refused to massage Haman’s ego. As Jews, we know full well we’re different. We know we’re a minority. We know we’re the eternal “other”. There’s only one place in the world we’re not a minority and “other” and that’s Israel. Unfortunately, others are unable to accept we exist and breathe the same air they do. Hamas’ vision isn’t of Israel and Palestine living side by side. Their vision is of the entirety of the State of Israel being destroyed and the State of Palestine being built in its place. It’s even more genocidal since they have no intention of allowing Jews to live in the State of Palestine because they won’t breathe our air and won’t allow us to exist in their world.
It’s recorded in the Book of Esther that over 75,000 people were killed by Jews who were defending themselves at the time. The number is astounding and painful to digest, and at the same time it’s beyond essential to recognize the text itself explains the reason for this massive loss of life. It was the king declaring he couldn't change the law that was already decreed against the Jews. The Jews would instead have an additional decree saying they were allowed to defend themselves. What do we have today? Imagine for a moment if on October 7th the world, the entire world, had said no. Imagine if on October 7th the United Nations lined up and said “not on our watch”. Imagine if the world hadn’t found justifications and rationales. Imagine if the world hadn’t created a set of rules for all the nations and people of the world and an entirely different set for the State of Israel and the Jewish People. Imagine if we all stood together and said rape, murder, mutilation and kidnapping are always wrong no matter the culprit and no matter the victim. But the world did none of these things and instead justified the actions of the terrorists. The world refused, and still refuses, to see that the State of Israel and its army, the IDF, have waged this war while trying hard to protect those who live in Gaza.
So, what’s to be done with Purim this year? There are those who claim it’s inappropriate for us to celebrate because of the real pain and suffering of the war and the kidnapped Israelis. They’re not wrong, and at the same time, they’re not 100% right. We cannot forsake our Judaism for their terror and we cannot forsake our joy that exists in spite of the pain all around us. To forego our joy would mean to accept a world that only exists in pain and darkness.
We need to see we live in a broken world that’s filled with joy and pain, love and misery, light and dark, excitement and fear, and so much more. We need to be able to live in a world that encompasses the full range of human emotions and not cast one to the side. This year at Purim, we need to be willing to celebrate, but to dial it back a notch. We need to know we’re celebrating on behalf of captives… on behalf of widows and orphans… and on behalf of all others emotionally and physically unable to celebrate. We must hold them with us as we celebrate and spend time reflecting not only on the joy of Purim, but on the story itself, and how it continues to be rewritten in the present tense repeatedly in every generation.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hearshen
