-Rabbi Sharon Brous says: “Megillat Esther…reminds us that history is capricious and life is fragile; that willing or not, we must confront our powerlessness and vulnerability, our inability to control everything. Or anything.� (Jewish Journal)
-What Purim teaches about seizing the moment. (The Philadelphia Jewish Voice)
-Rabbi Naphtali Hoff says, “Purim… presents the Jewish blueprint for survival in an extended exile. Sefer Ezra, on the other hand, focused on the return to Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple. Matters pertaining to exile were of relatively little consequence to it. Our challenge as Jews residing in exile is to continue to maintain our unique national and religious identity while keeping our focus on our ultimate objective – a final return to the land of Israel and building the third and final Temple in Jerusalem.� (The Jewish Press)
-Avi Shafran says that Purim has a message for the radical fringe of the animal rights movement. (The Jerusalem Post)
-Looking at the Book of Ether’s happy ending, Reuven Hammer says, “But if we are addressing the serious problem of how Diaspora Jews should go about saving their lives and their community in times of peril, I cannot imagine that this is a serious answer.� (The Jerusalem Post)
Purim
Pronounced: PUR-im, the Feast of Lots, Origin: Hebrew, a joyous holiday that recounts the saving of the Jews from a threatened massacre during the Persian period.
