Rabbi's Message

Tonight begins our celebration of Purim.  I hope that you will join us at 7pm for our first installment of Purim Madness, which will include Megillah reading, song parodies, costume contests with fabulous prizes, and food and fun.  And then on Sunday morning, we will continue our celebration with our Family Megillah reading followed by our Purim Extravaganza!  See below for details.  On Purim we celebrate Mordehai and Esther’s triumph over Haman’s evil plan to destroy the Jewish people.  That story has taken on a deeper resonance at our moment, and this year I find myself thinking a lot about two models of standing up to power represented by Vashti and Esther.  Vashti appears only briefly in the first chapter of the Megillah.  King Ahashvarosh orders her to leave the party she is throwing for the women and to show off her beauty at the party he is throwing for the men.  But Vashti refuses.  The text doesn’t say why exactly, though plenty of commentaries offer ideas.  One of those main ideas offered is that Vashti didn’t want to be objectified by her husband, and she said “no” on principle.  Vashti’s standing up to the King leads to her banishment.  She does not appear again in the story, and the door now opens for Esther to become Ahashvarosh’s next queen.  Esther presents a very different model of standing up to power.  She works from within.  It seems that this requires her to set aside her values so that she can ingratiate herself to a fickle husband, and thereby putting her in a place to outsmart Hamah and save her people.  Esther ultimately succeeds, while Vashti is never heard from again.  Though I think the results of Vashti and Esther’s respective approaches to standing up to power is important, what is more interesting to me is the two different approaches they represent.  As we look around our broken world, there are many thingsi that we we would like to change.  There are times when Vashti’s approach, of standing up for our values and what is right, is necessary.  And there are other times when Esther’s approach, of playing the long game to gain influence is the better way to go.  In the Megillah Esther’s approach prevails, but we know there are other examples in our tradition, like when Moshe stands up to God on behalf of the Israelites in this week’s portion after the story of the golden calf, when we must just stand up for what is right.  The story of Purim is one of nahafokh hu – of a world turn upside that is finally made right back the brave and strategic acts of people who stand up to power.  It gives us much to think about this year.