PURIM Against survival

Judaism has always faced threats with a response based on celebration of life, and never on fear. In every historical period, when faced with attempts at annihilation, the Jewish reaction has never been to give in to terror or resignation, but rather to live with greater intensity and joy. As the Talmud states: Mishenichnas Adar marbim besimchà, “When Adar begins, joy is increased” (TB Taanit 29a). This principle is related to the Jews' salvation from Haman's edict of extermination, as described in Meghillà, the biblical book of Esther, making Adar an ideal season for rejoicing.

This principle, however, is not only related to the holiday of Purim; rather, it represents a fundamental value, a form of spiritual resistance that pervades the whole of Jewish history. Purim teaches us that, in the face of those who plot our destruction, surviving is not enough. Indeed, to survive literally means to live above, on the surface. Instead, we must affirm our existence with strength, with vitality, with joy. The Meghillah tells not only of the Jews' physical salvation, but it narrates the transformation of anguish into celebration, of mourning into celebration: “Like the days when the Jews found rest from their enemies, and like the month that had turned from sorrow to joy and from mourning to celebration for them...” (Est. 9:22). This is not just a reminder of the past, but a model of reaction for every age. When our adversaries seek to instill terror, we must respond by affirming life.

This joy, it must be said, is neither naive nor superficial. We are fully aware of the fragility of the Jewish condition throughout history. We have suffered persecution, pogroms, the Shoah, and today we observe anti-Jewish hatred resurfacing violently throughout the world. Yet, without ever allowing this to immobilize us, we have always tried to turn the celebration into an antidote to fear. For this reason, Purim is a special holiday: it is not just a remembrance of a danger averted, but the reaffirmation of a profound choice. Instead of choosing silence and retreating into our vulnerability, we opt instead to laugh, dress up drink and and celebrate. Why? Because Judaism is not just about survival, it seeks a mode of wholeness and joy.

In these dramatic times we see even more clearly the existence of cultures that celebrate death, educate hatred, revel in destruction and elevate bigotry to a value. We choose the opposite. We choose to build, create and teach. We choose Torah, community, joy. And even if others choose death we will never accept guilt for choosing life.

The dictum that Jewish history can be summed up in three sentences is well known: “They tried to destroy us. We survived. We eat.” But behind this apparent levity lies a deep and precious truth: Jewish existence is an act of r-existence, and our joy represents the greatest victory and the clearest sign of Jewish strength and perpetuity.

נֵצַח יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יְשַׁקֵּר,

“The eternity of Israel will not lie.” (1 Sam. 15:29)

לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׂוֹן וִיקָר

“For the Jews there was light, joy, gladness and honor.” (Est. 8 :16)

Purim Sameach,

Rav Haim Fabrizio Cipriani