| We believe that Purim is the yearly festival commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people in the days of King Xerxes of Persia (called Ahasuerus in Hebrew), as described in the Biblical book of Esther. The Book of Esther, which is read in its entirety in the synagogue on Purim, tells of a Jewish girl named Hadassah, also known as Esther, whose circumstances put her in a position to save her people from an evil plot to annihilate the entire Jewish population of the Persian Empire. The story is full of delightfully ironic twists and extraordinary coincidences The Book of Esther demonstrates that Yahweh's promise to preserve his people cannot be overcome. Even though the book expresses no acknowledgment of Yahweh, his hand is evident in the outplay of events. Mordechai and Esther may have been Yah-fearing Jews, but the text itself leaves this open. One could as easily read the story as being about two determined secular Jews participating in Yahweh's unfolding drama without even knowing who was behind it, just as secular Zionists and modern Israelis have done -- fighting for the sake of the people while failing to acknowledge the Yahweh who assures their eventual success. From the Exodus to the Persian Gulf War, history is full of incidents in which the Chosen People have survived when the odds were against them. Is it only luck, or is it the Yahweh of Abraham, who promised to preserve his people? Esther is a story of Yahweh at work behind the scenes. Yet someday He will step out from behind the curtain. Will you be glad to see Him? |
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