Rabbi's Blog

TI Community,
     Tomorrow night begins the holiday of Purim. By now you have seen all the promotion for our holiday celebrations here at TI. Please check out the Tidbits and the webpage for details on the Megillah reading and Cabaret on Saturday night as well as the Megillah readings and carnival on Sunday. There is lots going on and something for everyone.
     In the midst of our preparations to celebrate, it has been impossible, and rightly so, to think about celebrating without recognizing what is going on in Israel and Gaza. There have certainly been other times in the past when events in Israel, or throughout the world, have made the revelry of Purim seem incoherent. This year, however, seems different.
     In 1991, I was gearing up to return to Israel on Volunteers for Israel in the midst of the first Gulf War. I was making preparations for both Purim and my trip as I watched closely the nightly scud missile attacks from Iraq. It was difficult to think about getting into the spirit of the holiday. Then, in 2003, as Melissa and I were in Israel for my year of Rabbinical School, our entry into Purim coincided with the beginning of the second Gulf War. Needless to say, our celebration was guarded then as well.
     Now, we face a very different time. Israel is engaged in a horrible conflict with Hamas. We continue to be in the aftermath of the deadly and horrifying attacks on November 7th. We are on day number 168 since over 130 hostages have remained held and kept from their families. We continue to see the devastation of Gaza, the deaths of thousands of civilians, and a humanitarian crisis.
     We all have different emotions about these realities and none of them make it simple to enter into a holiday of joy. We are told in the Talmud that, “When we enter into Adar, we increase our joy.” Sometimes increasing our joy comes naturally and sometimes it does not.
     There have been many conversations among Jewish professionals and lay people planning Purim this year as to how to proceed. Here is my take:
     At any moment in our lives we walk a line between pure joy and pure sadness. Most of the time, we are somewhere in the middle. It is not good or realistic to spend time at the polls for very long. And, even when we are closer to one than the other, there are moments that pull us back the other way. I think of times at a shivah when people are recounting a memory of the person who died and within the story are going back and forth between crying and laughing. Even if we find ourselves these days in sadness, it is appropriate to bring out joyful moments as well.
     We need Purim. We need celebrations. And, we need to temper the joy. Purim can, and hopefully will, be a boost to our souls but, this year is not one to go all out in our celebration. There will be moments throughout the day when our joy will be interrupted by our attention being drawn to Israel, Gaza and other places of strife or devastation around the world. Our energy will go back and forth.
     This is the way of life.
Shabbat Shalom & Purim Sameyach,
Rabbi Werbow