Last night, I had the challenge and privilege of unexpectedly reading Megilat Esther for my family, as one of us was unable to attend reading at our shul. It’s been several years since I had done the reading, but I had learned it in order to teach it to my eldest more than 15 years ago as he read it on his bar mitzvah. I was a bit rusty, but the notes and tunes came back to me pretty quickly.
One of the things I paid particular attention to as I read was the nature of and need for the Jews of the Persian Empire to rise up and confront their enemies. They were under no illusions. Instructions had been sent, preparations had been made, the date had been chosen. At the chosen time an overwhelming mob would despoil, rape and slaughter the Jews, and the governors of Persia’s 127 provinces would stand aside, allowing and facilitating the massacre.
It’s not a perfect mirror for our times, but the similarities that are discernible should give us reason to learn from the whole story - not only the tragedy narrowly averted through the Almighty’s provenance, Mordechai’s vigilance and Esther’s heroism, but also the steps taken by the Jews of the Persian Empire to ensure it wouldn’t recur, certainly not for generations.
Those Jews, aware that they were a hair’s breadth from annihilation, knew that they had a responsibility, an obligation to remove the threat. So they took counsel, fought the capricious edicts with new powers sought and granted from the monarchy, and pre-empted the bloodthirsty mobs with their own legitimate and unrelenting campaign. In the capital, in the provinces, they removed the leaders and defeated the masses of adversaries that threatened them for no reason other than hate and greed fostered by Haman’s propaganda.
In our days, the physical war has mostly been the responsibility of the IDF and Israel’s security services. Though they failed on October 7th, in the 17 months since, they have decisively broken Iran’s noose of proxies and Israel’s strategic position has never been more solid. Here at home we must remain vigilant, protecting our schools, synagogues, camps and community institutions. After Pittsburgh, Poway, Jersey City and Monsey, we can have no illusions.
No illusions at all. The war doesn’t disappear when you step off of the battlefield. There are desperate battles still being fought in academia, on social media, in cultural spaces, literary circles, and in the public square. Our identity and legitimacy are being challenged every day. Another festival or campus or bookstore shutting Jewish voices out, another vile blood libel being spread. It is relentless.
We must be relentless too. And smart. And deliberate. And methodical. And comprehensive. It boils down to this. Antisemitism will not diminish until and unless acting in an antisemitic manner or facilitating such activity by others becomes more costly in legal, legislative, economic and social, and if necessary, physical terms than leaving us alone. The Jews of Persia understood this implicitly, and they took action. What about you? Do you understand?
Today is the 14th of Adar, the day more than 2500 years ago when our forefathers and mothers rose up to remove the threat of annihilation. We celebrate their resilience with pride and joy. We celebrate their legacy by taking responsibility as they did. We rise up, as they did. Chag Sameach!