From Haman to Hamas - By Stuart Halpern

Jews have always been a biblically minded people, but this year one ancient story feels tragically resonant. Synagogues around the world on Saturday evening will celebrate Purim by reading the Book of Esther. The text describes how during the fifth century B.C., Haman, the evil vizier and adviser to the king of Persia, spurred a decree “to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women.”

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The traditional Jewish joke that the origin of our holiday’s festive meal can be explained by the adage, “They tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat!” seems wistfully outdated. We are now more inclined to fast than to feast. In Israel, preparations for Purim have taken on a character reflective of a country where a cafe blown up by terrorists on Monday reopens by Wednesday. The traditional triangular pastries known as hamantaschen are called oznei Haman, or “ears of Haman.” Local bakeries have recast them as “ears of Sinwar,” Hamas’s leader in Gaza.

A longstanding custom, which captures the desire to stomp out the memory of the evil Haman, is for synagogue-goers to stomp their feet and shake noisemakers known as graggers at each mention of his name as the scroll is read. A Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian who recently performed a charity set to benefit terror victims’ families quipped: “I don’t know about you, but when we say ‘Haman,’ I will hear ‘Hamas.’ ”

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For many outside Israel, the costumes usually worn by Purim’s celebrants, a joyous means of expressing the hidden hand of God behind the surface of life, seem to have been replaced by Jewish identities tucked away and hidden. The Jews of ancient Persia removed their marks of faith in hopes of blending in with the culture around them and avoiding destruction. Many today are similarly tempted to put away their kippot and Star of David necklaces and avoid nasty confrontations in the street.

Yet Purim’s story reminds its readers that though what the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks called the “dignity of difference” might be intolerable for some, pride in Jewish particularism serves as the wellspring of salvation. Mordecai and his cousin Esther, the biblical tale’s heroes, emerge from an assimilated milieu to stand proudly in defense of their people. Jews take up arms to ensure that their bloodthirsty foes’ plans are upended—striking “their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them.”

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-prepares-for-purim-as-esther-defeated-haman-so-will-jerusalem-conquer-hamas-f28832cc?st=snpciej20wnvjnn&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink


Rabbi Halpern is senior adviser to the provost and deputy director of the Straus Center at Yeshiva University. He is a co-author of “The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada.”