The Book of Esther – Relying on Ourselves

This week, we will celebrate Purim. The entire holiday is based on the story from the Book of Esther in the Writings of the Tanach. It is a very interesting book. It has drama and intrigue. It has comedy and satire. It has sorrow and fear. It has joy and festivity. It is the only book of the Bible that takes place entirely in the diaspora. At the end of the book, we are bidden to establish an annual holiday to celebrate the events described in the book.

Of all the interesting things in the book of Esther, one of the most interesting is that there is no mention of God’s name in any of the ten chapters. The only other book that has no mention of God’s name is the

Song of Songs.

The rabbis learn an important lesson from the absence of God’s name. They suggest that we learn that we cannot always rely on direct intervention from God in our lives, especially in our times of peril. We need to understand how important it is to face the challenges of life on our own, rather than waiting for others, including God, to save us.

In the text, Esther balks at Mordecai’s directive for her to go and seek help from her husband, King Achashverus, out of fear of what might happen to her if she disturbs him unannounced. Mordecai’s response is terse and instructive. He says, “If you don’t do it, we will get help from makom acher, from another place. Many understand him to be using the word makom to refer to God. One of the names we have for God is HaMakom, The Place. I, however, understand Mordecai to be stressing that the community will find any way necessary to survive, even without Esther’s help.

This is the message of Purim for today. Our people overcome adversity because we understand the role we need to play in our own survival. We are the makom acher.

We have some exciting Purim events planned. Check our website for information about the Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 1, and Dinner/Megillah Reading on Monday, March 2, or click here:

Carnival https://midbarkodeshtemple.shulcloud.com/form/carnival26.html

Dinner https://midbarkodeshtemple.shulcloud.com/form/purimdinner26.html

Happy Purim!!

Rabbi Teckitel