Rabbi Jeret's March Bulletin Article

Dear Friends:

Mishenikhnas Adar Marbim BeSimkha! – As the Hebrew month of Adar commences joy increases! The Rabbis taught that the holiday of Purim was so powerful in its joyous celebration that its spirit permeates the entire Hebrew month of Adar, the month during which the holiday of Purim falls annually. On Purim, we read Megillat Esther – The Scroll of Esther – and rejoice together with the Jews of ancient Shushan as we recall our victory of Jewish continuity, then and now. On Purim we celebrate Jewish heroism in facing down external threats to the safety and security Klal Yisrael -- the community of Jews living anywhere and everywhere worldwide. Some of these threats have been violent and others ideological.

In our own day, there are those who seek the destruction of the Jewish People just as Haman and his followers had such designs in ancient Persia. While the very real and terrifying threats that Iran and Hamas, among others, pose to our People and to the entire free world would warrant an article of its own at this time, I have chosen to focus the majority of this piece upon the more subtle challenges of faith to the contemporary striving for Jewish continuity. As we shall see, the matter of faith is complicated and it has been so for a very long time and matters of faith and those of physical survival often transcend their distinction at moments of our Peoples' greatest peril.

To begin, for many of us, a belief in God and God’s role in the unfolding of history is central to our sense of Jewish faith and Jewish identity. It is therefore striking that there is not one single reference to God in the entire Megillat Esther! If one reads the entire Scroll of Esther, one finds that there is not a mention of God or of God's role in our ancestor's successful escape from the murderous intentions of Haman and his followers. The drama of Purim unfolds devoid of God’s voice and without any Jewish petition to God for help or guidance in the face of a mortal threat. The faithful might have expected more from a book of the Bible!

The Rabbis of the rabbinic period were troubled as well by God’s absence from this chapter in our Biblical heritage. They found numerous ways to ‘read God between the lines’ of the Megillah. Some of their imaginative insertions of God’s presence work better than others. But, even in those moments when the Rabbis’ efforts seem to marry well to the text and to its unfolding drama, the question remains, "why is God absent from the text of the Megillah itself?"

It is true that many Jews believe in God. It is also true that our respective beliefs about God may differ in significant ways. It is even the case that there are many Jews who do not believe in God at all. The purpose of Purim is to unite all Jews – regardless of our theological preferences or differences. The miracle of Purim is the miracle of Jewish Peoplehood. Given the real concerns that every Jew ought to have regarding the destructive intentions of our most threatening foes, a holiday which aims to unite us beyond any and all theological principles is one to be celebrated indeed. As far as Purim is concerned, and as far as we are concerned on Purim, the day is a day of faith. Our faith is in ourselves. Our faith on Purim is in the ingenuity, strength, and resolve of the Jewish People. And, as the story of the Megillah certifies beyond any doubt, our faith is well placed in one another.

Ultimately, Purim offers an important message to those Jews who would ever imagine judging others as less faithful or worthy: Even God is willing to absent himself for a day in our lives -- from a book of our sacred Torah - if such absence might lead to the greater unity of God's children. If God can take so dramatic a step for the sake of Jewish unity, certainly we, as God’s People, should find ways to accommodate one another to enable a present and future of harmony and unity. Our spiritual wholeness benefits from it. Our diversity of faith demands it. Our overcoming our foes with the strength of our greatest unity depends upon it.

May we rejoice together with all of Klal Yisrael as Purim approaches. – Simchat Purim!

Rabbi Isaac Jeret

Spiritual Leader