I wrote of the Jewish holiday Purim last year which I've re-posted below. At the very end of the post, I write:
I'm not sure how the greeting goes, but I will just say: Happy Purim!This year, it is with a very different mood that Purim is celebrated, at least in Israel. It is not one where one wishes "Happy Purim" but rather where one waits for these terrible days to play themselves out.
Prime Minister Netanyahu made a humbling, brave visit to America to ask America's leaders to stop the deal with Iran. Here is the transcript of his speech.
And below is the video of his forty-five minute speech, which shows his grave and strong voice, demanding attention from the audience.
Here is what I found to be the most significant part of his speech:
Tomorrow night, on the Jewish holiday of Purim, we'll read the Book of Esther. We'll read of a powerful Persian viceroy named Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jewish people some 2,500 years ago. But a courageous Jewish woman, Queen Esther, exposed the plot and gave for the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies.That is all he had to say to make his point, but he is in secular, even with some atheistic, company, and had to go on with a political message.
The plot was foiled. Our people were saved.
Today the Jewish people face another attempt by yet another Persian potentate to destroy us. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei spews the oldest hatred, the oldest hatred of anti-Semitism with the newest technology. He tweets that Israel must be annihilated -- he tweets. You know, in Iran, there isn't exactly free Internet. But he tweets in English that Israel must be destroyed.
For those who believe that Iran threatens the Jewish state, but not the Jewish people, listen to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, Iran's chief terrorist proxy. He said: If all the Jews gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of chasing them down around the world.
But Iran's regime is not merely a Jewish problem, any more than the Nazi regime was merely a Jewish problem. The 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis were but a fraction of the 60 million people killed in World War II. So, too, Iran's regime poses a grave threat, not only to Israel, but also the peace of the entire world. To understand just how dangerous Iran would be with nuclear weapons, we must fully understand the nature of the regime.
I listened to the full speech. I found his strength, his poetic moments, his realistic presentation of the problem, and his actions to prevent this apocalyptic event extraordinary. I don't think any leader had come to another country to plead his case, to ask for help, to save the world. I don't think any of this is exaggerated or over-played. It is every bit as serious as he says, and as I felt.
Part of that significance is that this event occurred very close to the Purim holiday (on the eve of the holiday, to be exact).
I wrote a post on Esther last year, and it was mostly a post of Rembrandt's paintings of the holiday and of the personalities, where I said:
The Jewish holiday of Purim ended last week. It commemorates:Netanyahu came during that holiday, as fate (as God) would have it, and remind the world of another time when the formidable Persians controlled the fate of Jews. This contemporary Persians would not show any of the goodwill their ancestors granted Esther. Their annihilation of the Jews will be swift and merciless. Now, they have a new god, their Allah, who will sanction their behavour....the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire where a plot had been formed to destroy them...
It is apt that I write about Larry Auster in this piece of spiritual battle. I link to him below (here is the piece) saying how I met him several times in New York, but the last time I met him, we went down to the Plaza's food court where he suggested that I try the hamentashen, and with the apricot filling, although I went in August which is not the time of the Purim holiday. I remember having the dry cake, with a crust like a shortbread, and the sweet apricot filling, trying to figure out what it tasted like. Larry was watching me curiously as I tried this biscuit for the first time, something which he was so familiar with. And, in a metaphorical sense, he was one of the few then fighting the existential and spiritual battle which took so many so long to understand.
Now here we are, with the leader of the Jewish people, outlining for us the stark reality that was becoming so apparent to him then.
Below is my post from last year, including the paintings by Rembrandt.
Rembrandt's Esther
The Jewish holiday of Purim ended last week. It commemorates:...the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire where a plot had been formed to destroy them...Rembrandt painted a series of paintings depicting Esther. Below are what I think it is a complete list:
According to the Book of Esther, Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus...planned to kill all the Jews in the empire, but his plans were foiled by Mordecai and his cousin and adopted daughter Esther who had risen to become Queen of Persia. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing [more here].
Haman and Ahasuerus at the banquet with Esther
Haman Prepares to Honour Mordecai
Haman Begging Esther for Mercy
Esther is Introduced to Ahasuerus
Esther before Ahasuerus
Esther with the Decree of Destruction
Esther Preparing to Intercede with Assuerus
More paintings of Esther by various artists can be found: here, here, here and here.
A special holiday cake called hamentashen is served for this holiday. I mention my first encounter with hamentashen in my post Kidist's Best of New York City (Best Hotel Bakery Item: The Hamentashen at the Plaza Hotel - apricot filling), which I discuss more here.
I'm not sure how the greeting goes, but I will just say: Happy Purim!
