Esther become queen and, through circumstances, affirms her Jewish identity. The plot to destroy us is unmasked; evil is vanquished and good reigns. Oh yes, and the end of the Book of Esther…well, go and read it because we never teach that part of the book to the congregation! Once again, Purim is here, and with it carnivals, hastily drawn costumes, parades, Purim spiels and the reading of the megillah.
This year, however, given the situation in our country, there does seem a not so hidden theme. With anti-Semitism having a re-birth and with fear of “the other” now an accepted mode of action and thought, I wonder about the many Jews who remain hidden; whose masks of conformity or denial may be shredding. Perhaps Purim needs to be a festival of re-affirmation of one’s Jewish identity. After all, Esther needed a wakeup call…do we as well?
We are, in the United States at least, caught in an interesting challenge. We are trying to figure out our role in contemporary politics as the 2020 election draws closer and, at the same time, we are also trying to figure out our relationship with Israel, who has its own issues as they now have enrolled in what may be the never ending election club. And yet, for the most part, we continue to enjoy a successful standard of living and, we hope, acceptance. Or so it seems.
Purim this year needs to be about removing the masks that hide our Jewish life, identity and involvement. It needs to be a call for greater involvement in the life of synagogues, JCCs and communal organizations; it needs to celebrate the expanding number of Jewish based “pop-up” organizations and communal experiments that are helping to re-shape and re-structure the community. It is a Purim that needs to seek out and honor the Mordecai’s that are at work, often quietly and without recognition, who seek to empower and engage the Jewish world, no matter what their age, what they look like or how they choose to live their Judaism.
Have a sweet and happy festival and have a hamentaschen for me.
Chag Sameach
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
Thanks for this, Rabbi..,I am directing the spiel at M’kor and it’s great to see these 6th-12th graders telling our story. May it continue for a few thousand more years!
We are living in a difficult time and I have concerns for my grandchildren. However, your message is a positive one and I do believe we have to continue to support the institutions that make us Jewish — the institutions that teach our young people and thus perpetuate our Judaism: synagogues, Jewish camps and Jewish day schools. Thank you for your message.