My son, Robbie channels his Boo Dodgers rage into our Boo Haman hostility as we observe together the reading of the Megillah each year on Purim. It is yet another story of the Jewish people’s survival, but what makes Purim so special? Perhaps–especially for our children– it’s that we get to dress up and be whoever we want, setting it apart from any other day on the Jewish calendar. While Robbie wishes to be Mike Trout, and I wish to be younger, we often forget what Purim is really about. To some people it is about Queen Esther, a story of feminist empowerment while to others it is about Haman, a story of justice after the injustice of antisemitism. To me it is about the preservation of Jewish identity and the freedom of autonomy for all people to be who they are. In a world where people in positions of power dictate who lives and who dies who learns and who is denied, we all need the confidence to assert our power, whether it is bureaucratically declared or not. I look at current events in Iran and I see the faces of Esther’s across the news standing up to the Islamic Republic. I see the holes in the hearts of Haman’s who raise hate crimes in the U.S. especially in New York.  

What better way to mark or remark on the history of the Jewish people than to

implement our lessons in our everyday lives? People all over the world are still facing oppression and depression, persecution and prohibition for simply existing, and in my opinion, relatability breeds responsibility. Esther could not control the fate of her people, but that did not stop her from trying. In an article Purim vs. Passover, comparing Purim and Passover, Rabbi Schwartz writes, “If you want to make the world into the kind of place where one day the Messiah might actually come then you can’t ask the question, ‘What will G-d do?’  But you have to ask the question, ‘What will we do?’” 

I don’t have the authority to tell anyone what they should do or how they should live their life nor do I desire this position. However, I am grateful for the freedom that I have as a Jewish American, and this year for Purim I want to be a better one. Even when there is not much I believe I can do in a world of so much suffering I can always ask, “How can I help?” I like to think I already know who you temple members are. I know most of you do this already. I still want to see you this Purim just as in all others. Might I suggest being whoever you want this year with the people you want to be with most. And if Robbie is included in those people, as he is for me, please leave your Dodgers Jerseys on the bench.

Chag Sameach