Purim holiday calls us to do justice

This holiday commemorates an astonishing episode in the history of the Jews who lived during the 5th century BCE in the greater Persian Empire.

The King needed a new Queen and so he searched throughout all of his vast kingdom for a suitable wife. He chooses the beautiful Esther, whom he is unaware is a Jewess, and she conceals this fact until a most dramatic moment.

Haman, the evil adviser to the monarch, we learn, was offended by Mordachai, the Jew, so he convinces the King to sign an edict ordering all members of the Hebraic people to be murdered throughout all the provinces of the king’s domain.

Esther was conflicted. Should she put her own life at risk and approach her powerful husband? Ultimately she intercedes by revealing that she belongs to the people of Israel, and therefore the King’s decree would mean that his beloved wife would have to perish too.

The ruler relents,the descendants of Jacob are saved, Haman is punished, and Mordachai elevated.

On the anniversary of the miraculous day when this genocide was avoided, a festival was declared to be joyously remembered every year.

When we read the Megillah, the scroll that details the events, we find something unusual for a religious text. God is never mentioned.

The ancient sages noted that Esther’s name in Hebrew is related to the word hester, which means “hidden”. One obvious explanation is the fact that Esther hid her religion. Perhaps more importantly, the commentators pointed out that, in this most important moment in history, God’s presence was not apparent either. But for a reason.

At the precise instant when Esther was unsure what to do, her uncle Mordachai famously inspired her with the words, maybe this was the reason you were chosen to be Queen. A significant lesson and insight emerges.

Even, or maybe especially, when we believe God is absent during a challenging time, we must rise up. This story and holiday is revered because it teaches that each of us has a unique purpose here on earth. Our lives can have real meaning if only we see and seize the opportunities we are presented.

How relevant as we watch a senseless war in Ukraine. And starvation, indiscriminate violence, racial tension and tribal division in many foreign lands and in our own country.

We do not always need the Almighty to make a difference. Think about what you can do. Every individual can impact the outcome. Just like Esther.

Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft is the spiritual leader at Temple Emanu-El of Long Beach.