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February 22, 2002/Adar 10, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 23
Lessons of Purim remain meaningful
Torah Study
RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN
Tetzaveh/Purim, Exodus 27:20-30:10
If there is any festival of the Hebrew calendar which reflects the hazards of life in exile, which symbolizes the vulnerability of a world yet unredeemed, it is Purim.
God's name does not appear even once, and the term purim means "lots," the fall of the dice, coincidence. A megillah scroll is in the form of an ancient letter rather than a book, a letter that is discarded and not a book that is preserved. Indeed, the Hebrew word megillah derives from a root which means exposed (galut, exile), unprotected (galoh).
The Talmudic sages certainly understood this characteristic of Purim, in reality a story which expresses the vulnerability of the Jew outside of Israel and the alienation of the human being in a world not yet redeemed.
When the Talmud queries as to why we do not recite Hallel (Psalms of Praise) on Purim, the Sages explain, "we are still servants of Ahasuerus." What they are expressing is that since Israel remains in exile, another Haman can always once again threaten Jewish survival. From a more universal perspective, as long as autocratic totalitarian rulers continue to remain in power, other Hamans are likely to arise and order genocide.
Furthermore, our sages enjoin in the name of Rava, "It is incumbent upon the individual to drink on Purim until he can no longer distinguish between praising Mordechai and cursing Haman." Clearly the message here is that one cannot rejoice on Purim without the artificial joy induced by inebriation. Here too as Rava implies in his formulation: the Jewish community in Persia is in the throes of assimilation, with its members participating en masse in the non-Kosher bash of Ahasuerus. Had Haman not reminded the Jews of their Jewishness by means of his persecution, they would have naturally disappeared through assimilation.
And this is one of the tragic lessons of Jewish history. Whenever the Jewish community has been allowed to flourish without the specter of anti-Semitism, the Jews have generally intermarried and ceased to exist as a separate ethnic and religious entity.
I would argue that there are two aspects of Purim which are truly eternal, and without which we will never reach redemption. The first, which has national and universal ramifications, is the courageous stand against autocracy and totalitarianism taken by Mordechai against Haman: "But Mordechai would not bend his knee or bow down."
As the Megillah Scroll opens, Mordechai is one of many advisors to a King who rules by consensus; there is neither an absolute ruler nor an absolutist religion. Haman is given absolute autocratic power by Ahasuerus and demands absolute fealty. To this no Jew, and no human being who believes in human freedom, dare succumb.
The second is closely allied to the first. Mordechai risks his position as well as his life in his struggle against Haman. He persuades Esther to join in this battle, and she too places her life on the line in order to save her nation and destroy the despotic rule of Haman.
Without the understanding that the basic Jewish mission since our exodus from Egypt is to fight against totalitarian rule, and without the willingness to place our lives at risk for the inextricably connected twin values of Jewish survival and human freedom, neither Israel nor the world has a chance for redemption.
This is our struggle against Islamic fundamentalism today. These are the values that make the megillah scroll eternal.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the spiritual leader of Efrat, Israel.
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