Purim 5784 | To Give Thanks, to Pray, and Not to Forget

Translated by Kaeren Fish. 
 

Shalom and greetings of goodness and light,

White garments. The holiness is palpable, the soul awaits, almost there: “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright of heart – gladness.”

God’s closeness is revealed and concealed; there is revelation and concealment. Yom ha-Kippurim – the day that is like Purim – commences; We will come before Your gates.

With the agreement of the Almighty and with the agreement of the congregation, we give leave to pray with the transgressors, leaving so much behind: vows and binds, oaths and bans, restrictions and penalties, from last Yom Kippur to this one… Seeking atonement and purity, all is permitted to you, all is valid for you; there is no vow here, and no oath.

Special robes and a golden crown -  costumes of clowns and of Queen Esther; tense anticipation, the wine is ready: “May I merit to accept upon myself, truly, the holiness of Purim.”

God’s closeness is revealed and concealed; there is revelation and concealment. “And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh…” – how will we come before Your gates?

With the agreement of the Almighty and with the agreement of the congregation, we give leave to rejoice; we give leave to Purim to be present, to enter the gates, to respond to the Beloved Who knocks. And all those hunted and terrorized, injured or kidnapped, civilian or military casualties, from last Purim to this one, stand before me, and I ask of them that they give me leave, with kindness, with compassion, with commitment.

And like the leave for prayer composed by the liturgists of Spain and Germany, I ask leave – leave to rejoice, even leave to laugh; leave to no longer distinguish between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordechai”; leave to give thanks with a broken heart; leave to come before the Royal Throne dressed in sackcloth and ashes, and to cry out a great and bitter cry, to hear Odelia and to have my heart cleansed as though there was no war in the world at all.

Leave from the fallen, from the widows and orphans, leave from the bereaved parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews. Leave from the injured and the hostages, from the families in the Square, and from the heart full of worry. Leave from the families evacuated from Kiryat Shmonah and the survivors of Be’eri and Nir Oz, the residents of the Gaza Envelope and the targets of the missiles in the north. Leave from the bleary-eyed forces – the combat soldiers from Khan Yunis and Rafiah, the women soldiers from Military Intelligence; leave to give strength and to be strengthened; to pray for miracles and wonders in these days, at this time; leave to simply be together and rejoice together; leave to gather and to dance even if you don’t join me, and the song and the laughter get to be too much.

Esther and Mordechai, the miracle and the king, the royal garb and the upending of control, all join me in promising and reassuring you: we won’t evade all the Jews by being in the king’s palace. We will gather together and cry out; we won’t be quiet until it is all turned around and transformed.

It’s all permitted to you, it’s all valid for you; there is no forgetting here, and no prohibition. Just as we give leave, through the earthly beit din, so leave is given in the beit din on High.

I hereby give notice to you that all our dancing will be for good, for prayer, for a cry, for longing for the revelation of the Divine Presence, for salvation and for consolation,

for Am Yisrael and for our redemption.

How fortunate that we have Purim; how fortunate that there is closeness and love, Divine Providence and faith, courage and open hearts, redemption and miracles, sending portions of food and giving gifts to the poor.

Waiting for all of you – to give thanks, to daven, not to forget, from within and together with… with tears, with supplication, with a heart broken and whole.

“Light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright of heart – gladness.”

We will come before Your gates.

Esti

Swords of Iron | Day 165