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Rabbi's Message


Purim, 2001
by Student Rabbi Karen Deitsch


"If you would learn the secret of right relations. Look only for the divine in 
people and things, and leave all the rest to God." J. Allen Boone

Whenever I need to write a sermon or article based on text, I sit myself down with 
the Hebrew and its English translation and simply read it through. Nine times out of ten, 
a topic jumps out at me from the page; like the Mona Lisa that seems to follow 
everyone with her gaze, so are the words of the Bible for me. Nine times out of ten are 
good odds _ unfortunately, there is always that tenth…the situation where I read and 
reread and read again and the topic just doesn't show itself.

So it was with my encounter with the Purim scroll, Megillat Esther. Don't get me wrong 
 there were tons of possibilities for topics: Women's lib, the implications of Jewish life 
in the Diaspora; lots of thought  provoking possibilities. But that one key element…the 
thing that would offer something as a life lesson for all of us in this particular time in 
our lives…that Mona Lisa gaze…it just wasn't happening. I couldn't settle, though. I 
felt sure that my theme was in there somewhere; hiding within the words of this 
wonderful story. Hiding…

I thought to myself: "Self, what is different in this text from all other texts?" (Wait  that's 
another holiday) What was missing that connected me so easily to other sections of 
the Bible? I recognized, firstly, that this piece was written much later than the writings of 
the Five Books of Moses; perhaps it was simply that I didn't resonate with this literary 
style. But then it struck me: the difference is (drum roll, please) that God is never mentioned in the story of Purim. NEVER! Not once. Not even an inference! God ain't 
in there. The Big Chief took a vacation, ya know what I'm sayin'? But I digress…

Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

It is interesting to note that the name "Esther" shares its root in the Hebrew with 
the verb "Lehastir", meaning, "to hide". This double meaning has been suggested to 
recount a hidden significance within the text; it has been suggested that God is hiding behind Esther within the story. Additionally, it is important to remember that 
Esther does a great deal of hiding in the story  hiding her identity as a Jew until the 
last possible moment. This notion of hiding, however, goes beyond the text to the 
celebration of Purim. As you know, it is customary during this holiday to dress in 
costume _ thus hiding our true identities. Yet another tradition (for those over 21) is to 
become so drunk that it is impossible to distinguish between Purim's hero, 
Mordechai, and the terrible villain, Haman; one becomes confused  unrecognizable  
with the other.

Maybe that's why beer is so popular. Perhaps it is people's unconscious spiritual 
inclination that throws them swaying out of the bars on Saturday night too drunk to 
try and judge one thing as good and one thing as evil; intoxicated enough that logic gives 
way to God _ hiding quietly behind all things waiting for us to stop thinking about "reality" 
long enough to feel His soft touch. Not that I am (generally) an advocate for 
getting wasted as a means for discovering God, but you see my point. God hides within 
this world (FYI: the word in Hebrew for world is "olam" which shares the root with 
"ne'elam", meaning hidden) everywhere and all the time; waiting patiently for us to 
recognize the illusion of our so called "realities" and wake up to the Light shining 
behind them. God hides because we hide  much like Esther did  from our true purpose 
and our complete perfection. As long as we remain wrapped up in the fragments of 
self-judgement and lack of faith, God will remain hidden in the shadows we have cast 
for Her. This holiday with its unusual text, bazaar customs, and debilitating traditions  
confuses us. Perhaps it confuses us just enough to make us see clearly again.