Reflections on a Very Different Purim

by Rabbi Debra Smith, “Reb Deb”

For me, Purim 2024 has been a holiday of considering and reflecting on many opposites.

Before enjoying a wonderful Wizard of Oz-themed Purim spiel here in Boynton Beach (complete with delicious home baked hamantaschen) I offered the weekly Sunday morning study session to my community. I would like to dedicate this blog to the fascinating, insight-filled study session I had with my Or haLev Jewish Renewal Community about the unique experience of Purim 2024. I am so grateful for their deep dive into the meaning of Purim.

Among the topics and themes we explored was that of opposites
so particularly apparent in this year’s holiday.

Among the topics and themes we explored was that of opposites so particularly apparent in this year’s holiday: happiness and despair, survival and annihilation, when it is advisable to be hidden, or masked, as opposed to showing our identity openly.  We discussed violence and peace, and open and hidden anti-Semitism.

Diving deeply into the Chai Mitzvah Rosh Chodesh Adar curriculum booklet, we examined the personality and role of Esther in saving the Jewish people.  Esther is credited with being one of the seven female prophets of the Bible. She walked a fine line in terms of her identity, and we noted the similarities of her situation in this respect to that of the Jewish people of today. Have you or anyone you know ever had to mask your Jewish identity?* 

We examined Esther’s many skills and how she utilized them in saving the Jewish people. What skills were necessary for Esther to succeed?*

Finally, the story of Esther urges us to act on our own behalf to carry out God’s deliverance in our lives at difficult times in our personal lives, and in history.  We note that God is not mentioned at all in the Megillat Esther. Why is this? Does God always need to be visible, or at difficult times, can our faith and the knowledge of what is right, needed, and good, be enough to carry us through and bring us to a personal/communal  deliverance?*

As we move forward toward the season of Pesach and our deliverance from slavery, the Purim story serves as a perfect bridge to the themes of faith, justice, and deliverance.

*Comments are most welcome below!