Purim

This week’s Torah for Today as written by Russ Resnik, the General Secretary for the UMJC

    The book of Esther, which we read for Purim (March 24-25), reflects the topsy-turvy world of exile. Israel 's destiny is governed by an emperor who is more klutz than king, threatened by a villain who is equally laughable, and saved through the charms of an assimilated young Jewess who just happens to be queen. Perhaps it is such oddities that lead the sages to ask, where is Esther mentioned in Torah? The answer: in the phrase, "I will surely hide My face (haster astiyr panai) on that day" (Dt. 31:18).  Esther's name reminds us of hester panim, the hiding of God's face, and her story unfolds in a day when God seems hidden. Among the many lessons of Purim, therefore, are those it gives us for the times when God seems to be absent. As the old gospel song goes, "He may be late, but He's always right on time." Conversely, God may be on the way, but He hasn't showed up yet: what are we to do in the meantime? Before we consider Esther's response to God's delay, let's look at what not to do. For this lesson, we backtrack a few weeks in our Torah readings to the incident of the golden calf (Exodus 32:1ff).  Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us Elohim, gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt , we do not know what has become of him." The people are upset because Moses is delayed. Rashi comments that Moses promised to be back "at the end of forty days." The people started counting immediately upon his departure, but Moses started his count on the first full day of his absence. Hence, he returned a day late according to the people's calculation. In the brief period of delay, they made the golden calf.  Moses' delay is different from God's delay, of course, but not so different. Moses is the visible representative of God, the one through whom God had always arrived on the scene. Now that "we don't know what has become of Moses," it is as if God himself is not showing up. The Israelites respond in fear and build a model of Elohim, of God, to give them courage in Moses' absence.  Fear tempts us in two opposite but equally fruitless directions; we either freeze and do nothing, or panic and do something crazy. This option is often presented as, "Don't just stand there; do something!" As is often the case, the Israelites' something is exactly the wrong thing, even though they put their hearts into it. They give money, the gold earrings of entire families. They give religious devotion in the form of burnt offerings and peace offerings. They give their hearts and souls to the calf, as they "sat to eat and drink and got up to sport." And in the end, Moses grinds it all into dust and makes them drink it.
        Fear narrows one's perspective. The Israelites focus their attention on the human means, which often change, rather than on the divine source, which never changes. They call Moses "the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt ." This was true, of course, but throughout Torah God reminds the people that He is the real deliverer. Shortly before the people made the golden calf, He had given them the Ten Words, beginning with the declaration, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."  Since God, not Moses, is the deliverer, Moses' absence can be borne. Significantly, the next statements in the Ten Words are the ones that the Israelites violate: "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." As they forget that Adonai is their deliverer, they fall into idolatry.  Against this background we can see more clearly what Esther did right. She too is faced with God's delay. The king issues an irreversible decree that all the Jews in his empire are to be destroyed. There is no divine intervention, no divine spokesman in the person of prophet or sage, only cousin Mordecai who tells Esther that she must do something. And Esther does the right something, which saves her people.  First, Esther does not give in to fear. It is not hard to imagine the queen in such a story holed up in her chambers, waiting for someone else, especially a male someone else, to do something. Look at what happened to Esther's predecessor, Vashti, when she took decisive action. The king had ordered her to appear before his drunken dinner guests "wearing the royal crown"-according to the midrash, wearing nothing but the royal crown-to "show off her beauty" (Esther 1:11). When she took the bold step of refusing to appear, she was deposed and-again according to the midrash-put to death.  Esther recognizes this danger but is not intimidated. She avoids the extremes of freezing and panic. Instead, she organizes three days of prayer and fasting to undergird the step she must take. "And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!" (4:16). Second, Esther does what she can do. How many times do we miss our best chance to respond effectively because we are busy wondering why God is absent? Esther leaves that question to others. She does not fret that God isn't showing up, but takes the action that her position and standing allow her to take. As she does, God's presence in the story becomes evident, even though He remains hidden.  In Messiah, we discover that when we do what we can do, even though we feel powerless, His power will be at work in us. We relearn the words of Rav Shaul, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). God may be delayed, hidden by circumstances and events, but His assigned to do.  Finally, Esther maintains a broad focus. Fear narrows our focus, but Esther sees that, even though God is hiding His face, the issue is centered on Him and His purposes for humankind, beginning with Israel .  Esther acts on behalf of all Israel and we have similar opportunity. In some ways, within the Messianic Jewish community, God has still to show up. We are still seeking to connect deeply with the larger Jewish world in the name of Messiah, to reach Jewish people, and our own younger generation, in significant numbers, to see lives turned around and transformed through the spirit of Messiah in our midst. But this is not a time for discouragement, which is after all just a low-grade and chronic form of fear. Instead, it is time to follow Esther's lead and mount a prayer effort for the salvation of all Israel . The days of Purim that are coming remind us of this imperative.  This year we will be able to respond not only during Purim, but also through the UMJC 49-day prayer campaign that begins on April 24, and continues through Shavuot, June 12. Throughout these days, we'll be praying together for spiritual renewal within the Messianic Jewish community, and particularly within the UMJC.  Esther is not concerned just with a remnant, but with the whole house of Israel . And we know from the rest of Scripture that it is not just all Israel , but all humanity that is at stake. Let's follow Esther's lead in renouncing fear and seeking God's face during these critical times, even when it may seem hidden from our view.

Hag Sameach!

Russ Resnik