Purim and the World Today

We, the Jewish People are again in a period of crisis, both in Israel and the rest of the world, and the holiday of Purim has much to shed light on our current situation.

Purim was a time when we almost lost our national identity. We were heavily assimilated in the Persian empire, as our Sages remark in Midrash Esther, which means our identity was being compromised resulting in a calamity almost befalling us. Megillat Esther also uses a key phrase to teach us how detrimental the situation was and describes our failure. The words, MeFuzar UmForad, scattered and divided, meaning not united. This is our greatest danger throughout our history since we forget what the main purpose of our Tora is all about which is national unity and identity. Thanks to Mordekhai, described as HaYehudi, the Jew and Esther, as well as God behind the scenes, we remembered who we were, and right away suddenly everything worked out to our benefit and better than before. We were united due to our identification with our Torah, mitzvot, and ethos. 

Purim is a holiday of commemoration and celebration. We remember our past to understand our present and plan our future. We also celebrate the triumph God keeps providing us for over 3,000 years against all our enemies that sought and keep seeking to destroy us one way or another. Today is no exception. We are witnessing all over again the hatred others have towards us, who spread lies and manipulate others to believe the great present lie in human history: The State of Israel has no right to exist and needs to be eliminated. The way to defeat our enemies and the lies being spread is for us to engage more and more in our daily lives with Judaism and speak out against this evil; to take on more mitzvot and strengthen our Jewish identity; to learn more Tora and be educated as much as possible; to give more charity to our causes and to behave kindly towards others, especially to all those good people who love and support us and the Jewish State; to keep supporting by any means our communities, the People in the Land of Israel as well as our amazing IDF soldiers. God promises that things will turn out well and beneficial through the means mentioned so that we will be able to truly be a beacon of light to the entire world. May we merit God’s Promises and Blessings!!!

Shabbat Shalom & Happy Purim

Rabbi Rami Ovadia