Friends, as we gather on this eve of Shabbat we meet midway between the festival of Purim and the observance of Passover.
Passover celebrates the role of God in the liberation of our people from years of slavery in Egypt and their exodus. More importantly Passover celebrates a major transition for our people. As Passover celebrates the liberation of our people it also celebrates the beginning of Jewish Nationhood, the continuous survival of a people and the importance of freedom.
Passover also celebrates the covenant between God and the Nation of Israel. Prior to the exodus the covenant existed primarily between God and individuals, such as that between God and Abraham. Thus Passover marks the beginning of the relationship between God and the Jews as a people. And as the book of Exodus relates, God promised: "And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the Lord, am your God who freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians."
As we celebrated the festival of Purim we read the book of Esther. No where is the name of God mentioned in the Megillah scroll that tells us the story of Purim. The story of Purim is basically a parody and somewhat farcicial in nature and there is a feeling that it would be irreverent to mention God in a comedic setting. The historicity of the Purim story has been questioned by scholars for ages. Set in Persia in the mid part of the 5th century B.C.E., farce or not, Purim celebrates the survival of a people in exile and the victory of people over their opressors without divine intervention. The historicity of the story of Purim is doubtful inasmuch as the Persian kings of that time chose their brides only from the seven leading families of Persia and thus King Ahasuerus’s marriage to Esther, the winner of a beauty contest, would have been impossible. It has been said that Purim goes back to an ancient pagan festival and the very similarity of the names Mordechai and Esther and two of the pagan gods of the ancient near east, Marduk and Ishtar make the authenticity quite suspect.
It is inconceivable that Jews would be in the role of leading the slaughter of 75,000 Persians and the banishment of Queen Vashti, the even that led to the "beauty contest" to pick the King’s next wife. Rather it is a comedic farce or fantasy in which the Jews imagine themselves in the role of the gentiles and the gentiles in the roles of the Jews. Whether farce, fantasy or fact, the story of Purim is the story of Jews living in the diaspora. In the Purim story Haman the villain describes us as "people unlike anyone else, a nation living among all the nations, with ways of their own, loyalties to each other and to their traditions."
At the same time it is said in the Purim story that we as a nation living in exile cannot be loyal to the nation in which we live as well as loyal to our people. Yet the story of Purim disproves that very notion.
Thus the Purim story tells of the survival of a people, their personal and collective heroism, without divine intervention, without the miracles of the lamp, the parting of the Red Sea, and no plagues.
Throughout history there are records of many "Special Purims." In the interest of brevity we can mention the two of these: the "FLORENCE PURIM" celebrated on the 27th of Sivan, marking the rescue of the Jews from a mob in 1790 by the intercession of the local bishop and the "HITLER PURIM" of Casablanca celebrated on the 2nd of Kislev (November 11, 1943) to commemorate the saving of the city from falling into German hands.
The stories of both Purim and Passover have greater relevance, in my opinion, today more than ever as we face a world in which violence and evil seem to be self- perpetuating. Let us pray that good people of all faiths can work together for everlasting peace.
Amen