Here's a interesting story I wanted to include in this article of
Purim
>before getting into the story of Queen Esther :
>
> Nineteen years ago, during my first month living in Israel, I was
riding
>a bus up Jerusalem's main thoroughfare, Jaffa Road. The bus stopped
for a
>red light, and I gazed out the window. I saw an elderly, overweight
woman
>trudging up the hill, with many large bags. A beggar was sitting on
the
>pavement, his hand outstretched. The old woman stopped, set her bags
down,
>one at a time, on the sidewalk, rummaged through her purse, took out
her
>wallet, and handed a coin to the beggar. At that point, the light
changed
>and my bus drove off.
>
>
> Last week, I left my house late for an appointment. Loaded down with
bags
>of empty bottles to recycle at the supermarket after my appointment, I
>walked as fast as I could toward my car, parked in the Jewish Quarter
>parking lot, a five-minute walk from my house. Nearing the parking
lot, I
>passed a beggar woman, her hand outstretched. I had given to this
>particular woman the week before, but now I was in a hurry and my arms
>ached from the weight of the bottles. As I raced by her, I called out,
>"This time I can't. I'm sorry."
>
>
> I was five or six meters down the street when I remembered the old
lady
>on Jaffa Road 19 years before. She was older, heavier, and more
>overburdened than I, yet she had stopped in her tracks in order to
give a
>beggar a coin. If she could do it, so could I. I turned around, walked
back
>the several meters to the beggar, put all my bags down with a clank,
>rummaged through my purse for my wallet, and gave the woman a shekel
coin.
>She smiled and heaped blessings upon me.
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Nice little story isn't it ? Let's see if I can work this story into
the
>story of Purim.
>
>
>
>
> 3-DIMENSIONAL ACTIONS
>
>
> Every action a human being does has three dimensions of effect. It
>affects the performer of the action, like a point on a page. It
affects the
>other person or persons involved, as when a point extends to a line or
a
>square. And it affects those who witness the action, indeed the whole
>society, as when a square swells into a cube.
>
>
> For example, if Mr. Jones steals money from Mr. Smith, Jones affects
>himself; his own level of honesty and integrity is diminished. He also
>affects Smith, who is not only out that amount of money, but whose
level of
>trust is now diminished. In addition, he affects whoever witnesses or
hears
>of the theft, for stealing is now added to their concept of possible
human
>behavior. The more thefts they witness or hear about, the more the
>"possible" becomes the "normal."
>
>
> This third effect actually encompasses not only those individuals
who
>witness or hear about the theft, but society as a whole. Growing up in
the
>1950s and 1960s in America, I never saw a store with anti-shoplifting
>detectors at the exit. The plastic tags attached to every garment in
every
>clothes store today did not exist. People could pay for their
purchases by
>check without having to provide three different proofs of identity.
What
>happened?
>
>
> Individuals started to steal. Each and every theft chipped away at
the
>standard of honesty in American society. What was once abnormal,
became the
>norm. In this same way, every action performed by every individual,
subtly
>but tangibly, affects the whole.
>
>
> In Hebrew, two words that embody this concept. "Kiddush Hashem"
means
>those actions that reveal Yahweh's presence in the world. "Hillul
Hashem"
>means those actions that hide Yahweh's presence.
>
>
> Whenever a human being performs an act of integrity, honesty,
kindness,
>compassion, or self-sacrifice, he is revealing holliness in the world.
>"Kiddush Hashem" literally means "sanctifying the Kodesh Name."
Although
>the term is most often used to describe grand, heroic deeds, such as
when
>Jews have chosen death rather than forsaking their beliefs, it
applies as
>well to any action that reveals Yahweh in the world.
>
>
> The old lady on Jaffa Road stopping to give the beggar a coin
performed a
>Kiddush Hashem. By revealing her capacity for kindness despite the
hassle
>involved, she made the lady that saw her aware of her own capacity to
>choose kindness over convenience. She raised her standard of "How much
am I
>willing to trouble myself to help someone?" Since kindness is an
attribute
>of Yahweh, more kindness in society means a greater revelation of
Yahweh,
>in the world.
>
>
> Conversely, whenever a human being performs an act of meanness,
cruelty,
>avarice, dishonesty, or selfishness, he is hiding Yahweh's presence in
this
>world. "Hillul" comes from the Hebrew word for "empty space"; a Hillul
>Hashem makes the world seem empty of Yahweh.
>
>
>
> Every action is a stone thrown into an infinite pond; the ripples it
>causes go out in ever greater circles, endlessly. Nineteen years ago,
an
>old lady on Jaffa Road put down her bundles to give a beggar a coin.
She
>had no idea she was being observed. Nineteen years later, inspired by
that
>old lady, the woman telling this story, walked back five meters and
put
>down her bags in order to give a beggar a coin. She had no idea
whether she
>was being observed...
>
>
> THE KING'S FEAST
>
>
> Revealing and hiding the Divine is the essence of the Purim story.
>
>
> We usually view the Purim story in terms of its mega-heroes: Esther,
>Mordechai, Achashverosh, and Haman. Yet the sages attribute the
catalyst
>for the decree of doom to the common Jews, who were guilty of Hillul
>Hashem.
>
>
> The Book of Esther begins by describing a lavish feast thrown by
King
>Achashverosh for his subjects. Like everyone else, the Jewish citizens
of
>the realm attended. The sages assert that the genocidal decree against
the
>Jews that Haman later enacted (with the approval of the king) was the
>result of ordinary Jews' attending the feast.
>
>
> According to Scriptures, King Achashverosh was celebrating the
conclusion
>of 70 years since the beginning of the exile from Judea. Since the
prophet
>Jeremiah had prophesized that the Babylonian exile would last for 70
years
>(counting from the destruction of the First Temple, not from the
initial
>stage of the exile), Achashverosh concluded (wrongly) that the victory
over
>the Jews could now be deemed complete and final. For his celebratory
feast,
>he used the sacred vessels from the Temple, and came dressed in the
>garments of the High Priest.
>
>
> The sages are quick to point out that kosher food was served to the
>Jewish citizens. No laws of the Torah were transgressed at the feast.
Yet,
>the sages maintain, the punishment for attending was a decree of
>extermination from which the Jews only narrowly escaped. Why?
>
>
> Attendance at King Achashverosh's feast was a Hillul Hashem. While
the
>Temple and its vessels were meant to sanctify the mundane constituents
of
>the physical world, Achashverosh's feast did precisely the opposite:
By
>using the sacred vessels for mundane purposes, the party degraded what
was
>holy. The Jews should have responded to this sacrilege by mourning and
>distancing themselves. Instead, the temptation to attend a party at
the
>palace overcame them. Their attendance was an implicit endorsement of
>Achashverosh's worldview, a world in which Yahweh was conspicuously
absent.
>
>
> According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Hillul Hashem is the hardest sin
to
>atone for, because, by its very nature, its effect is so widespread
that it
>is virtually impossible to undo the damage. Once the stone has been
thrown
>into the pond, who could possibly stop the ripples?
>
>
> UNMASKING THE DIVINE
>
>
> The Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible where Yahweh is
never
>mentioned. The sages explain that that epoch, immediately after the
>destruction of the First Temple, signaled a monumental change in the
way
>Yahweh relates to His world. The Temple itself (and before that, the
>Tabernacle) was a medium of Divine revelation. When the Temple was
>destroyed (because of rampant sin), Yahweh entered a mode of
hiddenness. In
>fact, the Divine hand shapes the entire Purim story, but it is
concealed in
>the guise of "coincidence," "luck," and the seemingly natural
unfolding of
>events.
>
>
> "Hiddenness" is an essential characteristic of Yahweh in this world.
Even
>the Hebrew word for "world" -- "olam" -- comes from the root word
meaning
>"hidden." From the time of the Purim story until today, our challenge
in
>this world is to expose the Divine hiding behind the appearances of
our
>everyday world.
>
>
> The term for that is "Kiddush Hashem." Every time we choose
generosity,
>truth or integrity we are revealing Yahweh in this world. We are
unmasking
>the Divine.
>
>
> Every time we choose meanness, pettiness or dishonesty, we
camouflage
>Yahweh and add another layer to the Divine disguise. This generates a
>Hillul Hashem. We create a world where, for ourselves and everyone
around
>us, Yahweh is missing.
>
>
> The climax of the Purim story takes place when Queen Esther, risking
her
>life to do so, invites King Achashverosh and courtly Haman, to a
private
>dinner in her quarters. There Queen Esther reveals the plot of
genocide
>against her and her people. The king, outraged, demands to know who is
the
>culprit behind the plot. In one of the most dramatic flourishes in
>Scripture, Queen Esther points to Haman and exposes his true identity:
"A
>vile man! An enemy! This evil Haman!"
>
>
> Purim is about hiddenness, shrouded identities, and beguiling
>appearances. It challenges us to expose the truth, like Queen Esther
did.
>Unlike Queen Esther, however, we point not at the villain, but at the
>Divine. "Here He is... behind what happened to me today." "Here He
is...
>behind the beauty of nature." "Here He is... behind the newspaper
>headlines."
>
>
> At every moment, we can reveal Yahweh either by identifying Him or
>emulating Him. Our models are Queen Esther pointing her finger, and
the old
>lady setting down her bundles. We don't have to be an illustrious
personage
>to reveal Yahweh in this world.
>One more interesting note on this Evil Haman. He also had hidden
motives,
>that few people happen to know about, and I learned this through a
rabbi in
>Israel.
>Genesis 36 : 22 And the children of Lotan were Hori,and Hemam; and
Lotan's
>sister was Timna.
>Timna had wanted to marry into the family of Abraham, but she was not
>accepted. In the end, she became the concubine of Esau's eldest son,
>"Better to be a maid-servant to this people", Timna said to herself,
"then
>a princess of another people." As a punishment for rejecting Timna,
the
>jewish people were cursed with the eternal enmity of Timna's son-
Amalek.
>This of course is the connection to the story of Purim, for Haman, the
>enemy of the Jews, was a descendant of Amalek. Haman's hatred of the
Jews
>and his great grand mother, Timna. And this sin was redressed in the
time
>of Mordechai and Esther, when many of the people of the land became
jews.
>(Esther 8: 17)
>