Dear Friends,

I lived in Israel for 21 years. I think the hardest Purim was 1996. On Sunday morning, Feb 25th a Hamas suicide bomber blew up Bus 18, our neighborhood bus, killing 26 people, including a fellow rabbinical student Matt Eisenfeld, who was then 25 years old and a Yale graduate. His girlfriend, Sara Duker, from Teaneck was 23, was also killed.  On Friday night, two nights before, I was at Shabbat dinner with Matt and Sara and five other Jewish students. That night we sang shabbat songs, talked about Torah and our studies not knowing that in less than 48 hours a Hamas terrorist would murder our friends.

 A week later lightning struck a second time. On the following Sunday morning March 3rd, exactly seven days later, another Hamas suicide bomber blew up Bus 18 again in our neighborhood. 19 people were killed. As we walked around the neighborhood stunned and in shock, it seemed that every bus stop was plastered with a “Hoda’at Evel,” an “Announcement of Mourning,” letting people know a neighbor had died and information about the Funeral and Shiva. And then the following afternoon, March 4th, around 4pm, a Hamas suicide bomber blew himself up next to a group of school children dressed in their Purim costumes, at the Dizengoff Shopping Mall in Tel Aviv.  13 Israeli children and parents were killed. 

My roommates and I felt traumatized. It was Purim night. What should we do?  The last chapter of the Megilah (The Scroll of Esther) gives a prescription for coping in a time of tragedy. There are four mitzvot, spiritual practices that transform us from victims to survivors. First is Tzedakah, social justice. The Megilah (Esther 9:22) tells us we must give gifts to the poor (Matanot L’evyonim). There is always someone who is struggling even more than we are. Second is Mishloach Manot, (Esther 9:22) give gifts of food to our neighbors. The idea is to overcome a sense of isolation and to reach out to those around us with a nourishing spirit. The Third is Mishte, which means to gather for a shared meal with others. Our tradition teaches us to lean into community to garner strength and support (9:22). The Fourth Mitzvah is to hear the Megilah so we can remember. (Esther 9:28) “And these days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and these days of Purim should never cease among the Jews, nor shall their remembrance perish from their descendants.”  This Shabbat is called Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of remembering that evil exists and it can be resisted.

That awful Purim night in 1996 in Jerusalem, we gathered together with friends in our apartment. We cried about our friends and neighbors who had been killed. We hugged, trying to comfort one another. We sang Purim songs trying to lift our spirits. And we read from the Book of Esther about how to cope with tragedy in a world in which genocide is more than just a word.

Today, we are living in a double dark time of rampant anti-Semitism and Israel at war.  There is a lot of work that needs to be done to heal our wounded world.  As Jews and as human beings seeing the bigger picture, it is important that we not be confused about evil. Sadly, we are witnessing, both on the international stage and domestically, an upsurge of hate and sociopathic forces of destruction. One of the things we can do is to come together in kindness and love to actively resist and speak out against hatred in all its forms.

Tonight, you are invited to Purim at the Temple. The Megilah tells us “On this day the Jews gained relief from their enemies. All was transformed from sorrow to gladness, from mourning to festival, to observe them as days of feasting and gladness, sending delicacies to one another, and gifts to the poor.”  

Let us avail ourselves of our people’s wisdom to transform ourselves from victims to survivors through the healing powers of the Four Mitzvot of Purim.  May Purim help us recover the sparks of joy our tradition prescribes.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi David Wilfond