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| On Purim I wear a wig, unlike my usual scarf or hat for covering my hair. |
No matter how comfortable and "accepted" the Jewish community seems to be in foreign lands or under foreign rule, there is always a danger. There are always those who want to destroy us. Jewish History keeps repeating itself. One Haman goes and another appears.
And in the big picture, the State of Israel, or any Jewish State Kingdom in Ancient History was also always under attack. Invaders take many different paths. Some are military and some use "kindness." The Persian king Achashverosh invited the Jews of his kingdom to feasts celebrating his reign, and American Presidents off the State of Israel "buy in America" shopping coupons aka "aid." The resulting dependence on America has severely affected our sovereignty, independence and self-sufficiency.
To properly celebrate the Holiday of Purim we are commanded to read the Story of Ester at night and in the morning. If you don't know Hebrew, so follow it in English. Here in Shiloh we hear/read it four times, since we celebrate both days of Purim. So, I've gotten to know it pretty well. I'm always impressed by the simple fact that today, thousands of years after the event occurred, just before the Second Holy Temple was built in Jerusalem, we still follow the instructions told to us in Megillat (Scroll/Story of ) Ester. We tell of what happened, give money to the poor and feast to celebrate the great miracle of the Jewish victory.
Chag Purim Sameach!!
5 comments:
Chag Purim Samech!
You're right. It is a serious occasion. I've been watching a video on the need to destroy Amalek and a rav brought up Haman and stated that there is a spark of Haman in every part of the world. Not sure if the Hamans represent Amalek though.
A strange holiday when one of the lyrics from a video Purim parody featuring Kermit the frog nearly brings tears to my eyes. It was along the lines of fighting Haman for thousands of years and "going a little insane."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xur0IFzI9A
Some day we'll blot out the Haman remembrance
Keli, amen
Yes Mr. Cohen, though Jews seem to not have an ability to see what is coming, God does in fact send emissaries, ie: Neviim. As it does state in Kohelet, what is to come has already been. I might suggest that we are reliving the same period as right before the destruction of the 2nd Temple. I hope we do not make that same error that eventually led up to the destruction of the Temple and murder of thousands of Jews. Sadly if we base it on how well we listen to the emissaries and how well we learn from past history, our future seems dim. Lets hope we reverse this destructive behavior and create our destiny like we are supposed to be doing. Purim Sameach
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