Things Are Not Always What They Seem or How Sharing Your Hamantaschen Can Make a Big Difference
February 17, 2009
Purim is coming. I hope you’ve got your costume ready. Yours, not the children’s.
Admittedly, Purim is a magical time for children: delicious hamantaschen, the noise and theater of graggers at the Purimspiel, the exchange of gifts (mishloach manot) , costumes, and, of course, the Purim Carnival. I hope all of our congregation’s children (and their parents) will join us in indulging in all of these, even to excess, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday.
At the same time, I hope that this year more of our adults will dial into the serious message Purim, that most hilarious of Jewish holidays, comes to bring us. There is a lot more to Purim than kids’ stuff, and these trying times only emphasize the importance of Purim’s lessons.
The most obvious yet paradoxically hidden message of the Purim story, Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther), is: things are not always what they seem. Haman, the powerful court minister, turns out to be weak and cowardly. Mordecai, hardly visible throughout the story, becomes the king’s second in command. The castle guards, charged with protecting the king, are out to kill him. Vashti, who appears in the story only long enough to suffer humiliation by her husband, turns out to be the most honorable person around. Esther, who attains high stature thanks to her beauty, comes through with brains and strength of character to match. And King Ahasuerus, master of 180 provinces, is exposed as an incompetent and a fool, but no anti-Semite. On the day marked for all the Jews of the kingdom to have been slaughtered they instead triumph over their enemies, and rejoice. Those who are high are made low, and the low are lifted up. Events seem to be leading in a certain direction, but then jump the tracks without warning.
In the midst of the worst economic downturn in three generations, with war raging around the globe and the environmental crisis threatening us from all sides, it can be comforting to contemplate that things are not always what they seem. The high will be made low. What is small may become great. Seemingly certain disaster can reverse itself in a moment.
How do these things happen? Esther offers us two paths from darkness to light.
First, be proud of who you are. Stay true to your values. The same ethical purity that got Mordecai in trouble when he refused to bow to Haman also brought him great reward when he overheard and reported, at his peril, the plot on Ahasuerus’s life. Only by asserting her presence—which might have led to death at the king’s orders—and her past—which might have led to death on Haman’s gallows—does Esther save both her people and herself.
Which leads to the second way in which the holiday of Purim teaches us to bring light and joy to a dark world: by standing with our community.
Esther found the courage to act because the community was depending on her, and praying with her. We learn from the Scroll of Esther the tradition and mitzvah of mishloah manot, giving gifts to friends, which, “along with praying and fasting together, teaches us the importance of unity and community. We are responsible for each other, and working together we can accomplish miracles” (Lesli Koppelman Ross, “My Jewish Learning: Jews in Exile” ).
We have so many gifts to offer one another, and we need them now more than ever. This month, amidst the hilarity and silliness of Purim costumes, may we rediscover the strength and the comfort that we share with and gain from others as we join our individual principles together to face a challenging world, together a community of concern.
Hineynu– We are here. We are ready.
February 17, 2009
Words, over time, accrue added layers of meaning. That is one reason why the Hebrew language is so vastly deep and rich, for over the millennia, varied contexts in which individual words and phrases have appeared infuses them with ever increasing significance, associations and nuance.
Among the first words a young child learns in Hebrew School is often Hineyni – a term composed from the word “Hiney – Here” and the pronominal suffix connoting “I.” And so the student will answer to the teacher’s roll call of names with a confident “Hineyni”, meaning “Present.” Or more literally, “I am here.”
But in the Torah, when Abraham answers God’s call to service with the same word, “Hineyni”, he is indicating more than his mere physical presence. His response is a confident affirmation of understanding the gravity of the sacred task before him, and his willingness to take on the challenge to the best of his ability. For Abraham, and other Biblical prophets who likewise answer God’s call, Hineyni really means: “I am here. And I am ready.”
Recognizing the increasing challenges and difficulties confronting many of our members, particularly in the midst of economic recession the likes of which haven’t been experienced for more than a generation, our Board of Trustees authorized the creation of a new taskforce to explore the unique role that the Temple might play in providing assistance, support and direction to those facing a variety of needs. For many years, and throughout the history of Temple Emanu-El, caring for our members in times of sickness, sorrow or pain has been a core aspect of our mission. Our rabbis, staff, auxiliaries, and countless volunteers have always tried to respond when some extra help and support might be needed, but our leadership recognized that these times call for heightened awareness and a significantly more coordinated response.
Wasting no time, such a task force was promptly assembled and went immediately to work, exploring the variety of ways we, as a congregation, can help and support one another. The name of the program was chosen to indicate how important it is to be present when a need arises. Thus, “Hineynu”. We are here. And we are ready.
Of course, the Temple does not possess the resources of a social service organization. Rather, we will work in concert with communal resources such as Jewish Family Services, the Marblehead Counseling Center, and various local and State agencies (even while recognizing that all of these are likewise enduring severe budget cuts and shortfalls). Wherever possible, we will try to make up for a shortage of financial resources with an abundance of human resources, for those we possess in no small measure.
The story is told of two woodchoppers who felled a tree that was over one hundred years old. Looking at the growth rings to determine the tree’s age, the younger man noticed that there were five very narrow rings. He concluded that there had been a five-year drought, during which the tree had shown very little growth.
However, the other lumberjack, a wise, older man had a different viewpoint. He contended that the dry years actually were the most significant in the tree’s history. His reason: because of the drought, the tree had to force its roots down farther to get the water and the minerals it needed. With a strengthened root system, it was able to grow faster and taller once conditions improved.
So as we launch our Hineynu initiative, we do so in the hope and trust that these “dry years” will force us to further strengthen the very foundations of our congregation and community, which is our ability to look out for the well-being of one another. Perhaps future generations will look back at what we were able to accomplish and perceive these years, too, as years of significant growth and progress.
