Purim
Some masks disguise us. Others disguise our guises. Joy happens when you come face-to-face with your true self.
It is the most intoxicating, miraculous and joyous of days. The story of Purim is dramatic, from a damsel in distress to a tailed queen; from a snake in a barrel to a roped gallows; from a seventy-language-speaking saint to a fork-tongued villain to a ridiculous king – and it’s all documented on a hand-written parchment scroll. Four Mitzvoth, righteous connections, are prescribed to ensure that the joy is tangible, not merely abstract. 1) Listen to the scroll, twice; 2) handout gifts to the needy; 3) deliver food packages to your fellow; 4) feast to a level beyond. On this costumed day, the proof is in the spirits. Download the Purim Guide for more.
Emerging Purim Patterns: The Connection Between Purim and the 2003 Persian Gulf War
Rabbi Simon Jacobson, author of the best-selling “Toward a Meaningful Life’, explores the connection between Purim and the Gulf War of 2003 and the Gulf War of 1991. Connect the dots of history.
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Emerging Purim Patterns: The Connection Between Purim and the War in Ukraine
Rabbi Simon Jacobson explores the connection between Purim and the current Russia-Ukraine War. Connect the dots of history.
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The Thousand-Year Difference: The Mitzvot of Purim
Purim revealed a new dimension to our observance of Torah, establishing it as a freely-elected way of life, as opposed to a set of compelling duties. And this thousand-year difference is reflected in several of the mitzvot of Purim.
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The Inner Courtyard
Therein lies the deeper significance of the above-quoted lines, spoken by Queen Esther to Mordechai. Generally speaking, there is an array of laws that govern who may enter into the “inner courtyard” and under what circumstances.
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Purim: Ani Yehudi
Ani Yehudi is not only an affirmation of Mordechai’s behavior in the times of Purim, and of the behavior of Jews throughout the millennia, but it adds a new dimension: that even the nations of the world embrace the Yehudi principle.
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Love in the Ice Age
On Tevet 10th of the year 3336 from creation (426 B.C.E.) we were plunged into a winter from which we have yet to emerge. On that day, Babylon’s armies laid siege to Jerusalem.
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Beyond the Moon
The significance of the lunar and solar calendars is explained as related to Haman’s fateful choice of the month of Adar for the Jews’ destruction.
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Joy in Four Dimensions
The Torah teaches us that joy should be a constant in life. However, there are multiple degrees of joy. What are they?
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A Feast and a Fast
Insight from the Talmud provides the framework for this examination of the decreed annihilation of the Jews of the Persian Empire.
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The Young and the Fearless
Even when the elders’ belief is clouded the children’s faith can carry us through difficult times.
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