Rabbinic Reflection: Rabbi Samuel Kaye

Lessons from the day after Purim 

On Sunday morning, I was standing by the security desk as hundreds of our kids, with their parents and grandparents, streamed in to celebrate at our Purim Carnival. In hand was the beautiful, handmade wooden gragger that I had chosen especially for its loud and easy CRACK. A little too easy, it turned out, as I motioned a little too eagerly and the gragger did its thing. The security personnel, a few feet away from me, spun around on instant high alert. I showed them the gragger. “This is the good noise!” I told them, “You’re going to hear it a lot in the next few minutes!” The guard laughed and smiled, tension dissipating; it was, after all, just a wooden toy.  

Waking up to the news on Purim, that our sister synagogue Temple Emanuel was attacked, paints that story with a different brush. Because the unspoken truth of my interaction with our security is this: that when you aren’t expecting it, the heavy crack of the gragger can sound a lot like gun shots. 

In moments like this one when antisemitism and hate hit especially close to home, some people have an instinct to retreat from our communal Jewish spaces and to hideaway in the hopes of being safe. Others have the instinct to fortify, to build up our walls and to make our sacred home into an isolated and unassailable fortress. Jewish texts are always speaking to the moment, and the Purim story warns us that both options are destined to fail.  

Esther understands that even if she successfully saves herself, danger will still consume her people. Do not hide. Further, were the Jewish people saved because they were a power unto themselves? No! We are only able to save ourselves because our brave heroine was in community and relationship with others. Do not be isolated.  

The message is simple. Come to shul, be with your people, and together we can enrich our sacred home into a community that builds vital friendships. 

Only you can do the first part. The second element, thank God, the synagogue can help with. And, just like Queen Esther, we’re doing it with two feasts.  

On March 17th, we will once again host our friends from the Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) for a festive Iftar dinner in honour of their sacred month of Ramadan. Come learn about our Turkish Muslim allies from the IDI, enjoy a delicious meal, and build important bridges between the Jewish and Muslim communities. Space is limited and you can sign up here.  

On March 23rd, Holy Blossom is hosting an interfaith teaching seder with the Christian Jewish Dialogue of Toronto. We are still looking for volunteer hosts to share their own Pesach traditions and to give our guests a ‘taste’ of the Pesach experience. You can learn more and sign up to represent our community here.  

Purim may be over, (except in Jerusalem where it doesn’t end until sundown tonight), but the lessons that we learn from our brave Queen Esther are evergreen.  

לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָר 

The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor. (Esther 8:16) 

May it be so for us in our own day as well.