* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Shavua tov from Jerusalem. I was standing in the street yesterday when the siren sounded. As everyone rushed to find shelter, I heard a little girl ask her mother: “Mom, does this mean that Purim is canceled?”. While she was running, her mother replied: “To the contrary — even with the challenges and difficulties, this year we’ll have an even happier Purim!”
I don’t know who that clever mother was, but she was right. Purim has not been canceled — Purim is unfolding in front of our very eyes. Purim is the holiday that demonstrated that the Jewish nation is eternal. Thank God, no one is able to destroy us — not Haman, not Hitler, and not Khameini. Whoever else dreams of doing so will ultimately be destroyed. And when confronted with danger and distress, the Jewish people reclaim their identity, take action, and become even stronger—in those historic days of Purim and today.
So it’s true that little girl won’t be going to kindergarten dressed up today, but we can still look forward to days filled with the mitzvot of Purim, which will take on special meaning this year. On Purim 5786 we will read the bracha recited after the Megillah reading with even greater intensity, and I urge you to pay close attention to its words:
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who pleads our cause, judges our claim, avenges our wrong, brings retribution to our enemies, and punishes our foes. Blessed are you, Lord, who on behalf of His people Israel, exacts punishment from all their foes, the God who brings salvation.”
Amen. We extend our deepest gratitude to all those heroes who are responsible for bringing about this dramatic change in the world order.
From the dark Simchat Torah of October 2023 to this Purim, may all of us — in the battlefront and the home guard and in our safe rooms, in Israel and throughout the world, hear good news.
