A season of renewal

Rabbi Ammos Chorny

Shortly, we shall celebrate the festival of Purim. For many, this holiday, like Hanukah, seems to be a children’s celebration without much adult meaning. Yet, also like Hanukah, Purim has a serious message and its observance should not be limited to our children. We must all take part in its rituals and customs, seeking out the deeper message hidden under the fairy tale story in the Megillah.

Our sages tell us that, in time to come, when the Messiah arrives to redeem the world, all the holidays will fade away into relative insignificance, except for Purim, which will continue to be celebrated, remaining as relevant then as it is today.

What is the difference between the other holidays and Purim? The others are primarily associated with the exodus from Egypt, involving miraculous acts that transcend the nature of the world. What does Purim celebrate? It does not recall miraculous acts, per se. In fact, God’s name is not even mentioned in the Megillah. He appears to be ‘hidden away.’ The Talmud claims that the Torah hints at the observance of Purim in a verse found in the book of Deuteronomy. “Where do we find Esther in the Torah?” they ask. When it says, “Haster astir et panay.” Playing on the consonants of the name of Esther, haster, astir, I will hide my face. It seems it is in the book of Esther where God’s face is hidden.

In the Megillah, the decree is issued to completely annihilate the Jewish people. All the inhabitants of the 127 provinces of King Ahasuerus are enlisted to attack the Jews and destroy them on a single day, the 13th of Adar. Yet, by the end of the book, we are told, “v’nahfoch hu,” everything is overturned, and the opposite takes place. On the very day the enemies of the Jews expected to destroy them, the opposite happened, and the Jews were spared from disaster.

Our sages explain that, in fact, Purim is simply a foretaste of what is yet to come in the Messianic age, after a complete transformation of Israel’s position in the world, a time when all those who sought to destroy us will seek to join us. A time when the world will recognize the power of the one God. Purim will always be relevant, because it speaks of the hope that ultimately — through the natural processes of the world — the message of the Torah will prevail and transform the world.

One cannot imagine two holidays more different than Purim and Yom Kippur, yet the rabbis enjoy playing on the names of these two holidays, finding similarities between the two. In the liturgy, Yom Kippur is referred as ‘Yom Hakipurim,’ literally the day of atonements. No doubt, we hear the word “Purim” in that expression as well, suggesting that Yom Kippur is a day k’Purim, like Purim. Just as on Purim, righteous Jews dress up in costume, pretending to be wicked; so, on Yom Kippur, Jews who are filled with sins, dress up in their white robes, pretending to be righteous.

Purim is an affirmation of that which transcends the rational system of reward and punishment, of holiness and impurity. When all else is lost, when it seems unlikely that there is any hope, we remember Purim and realize that the special relationship we enjoy with the Almighty is an enduring covenant, allowing us to overcome even the deepest levels of sin and return once more to His good graces.

May our Purim celebration this year, usher a season of renewal for all as we overturn the habits of complacency and the barriers we have placed between ourselves and the Heaven.

Rabbi Ammos Chorny serves at Beth Tikvah.