Purim


At first glance, Purim is a confusing holiday:  On the one hand, it is an amazing holiday.  The Talmud says that all other holidays will become “obsolete” besides for Purim.  Purim is the celebration of salvation from genocide, 2,500 years ago in a temporary Persian exile.


On the other hand, the Megilla (Purim scroll) doesn’t mention G-d’s name even once. If you examine the entire story, it could be written off as a coincidence, and even after the happy ending, the Jews were still in exile (it was another decade until they moved from Persia back to Israel to build the second temple).


To me, the story of Purim is a reminder that while I have my own exile, as I’m sure you do, and I’m waiting for Moshiach to set the world straight, it doesn’t mean we can’t have a major salvation resulting in a major celebration. I may have to wait for Moshiach until all of my problems will be solved, but that doesn’t mean that until then, none of them can be solved.  May this Purim celebration indeed lead us to the coming of Moshiach, as it says that we go from the (incomplete) redemption of Purim to the redemption of Pesach, and ultimately the coming of Moshiach!



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