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Polls often present false choices: you believe in God or not. But beliefs are more complicated.
Purim's Jewish holidays celebrated on March 13th-14th embodies this tension. It is thought to be more sacred than Yom Kipur, but it is a story of survival that God never mentions, and no obvious miracle occurs.
It is based on the book of Esther, found in the Jewish and Christian Bibles. Scholars say that Jesus celebrated it with the unknown feast of John 5:1.
Etching a painting from 1865, in which Esther blames Haman. (istock)
As a child, I didn't celebrate Halloween, so Prim was my place. It's a holiday of reckless joy. You dress up, drink and party. It was a religious excuse for the Jewish version of Mardi Gras.
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But beneath joy there is a layer of meaning. Read Esther scrolls, exchange food baskets and provide charities. Many consider it sacred than Yom Kippur's fasting and prayer. Because it elevates the ordinary. It also requires more effort to find meaning in the chaos of life than in the ritual structure.
But if it is so holy, why is it based on a biblical book where God and the supernatural are left behind? Imagine erasing the miracle of one day of the day of Jesus' resurrection, Passover without the sea division, or Hanukkah's day of oil. What will be left? God's intervention, and God, isn't the overall point of religious holidays?
Some suggest that God's absence is avoiding Persian censorship in the book. Others see it as a deliberate change from open divine intervention to showing how God's hidden existence forms history. Or perhaps it is testing faith in uncertainty.
In Prim, the Israelites were willing to reaffirm their acceptance of the law without miracles or external pressure. (istock)
The Talmud teaches that acceptance of the Torah in Sinai was influenced by God's coercion. But in Prim, the Israelites were willing to reaffirm their acceptance of the law without miracles or external pressure. By omitting explicit divine references, Purim shows the way in which both believers and skeptics create a space for them to find their meaning.
Esther, a Jewish orphan, hides her identity and becomes Queen (Esther 2:10, 2:17). Haman, the king's advisor, plans to annihilate the Jews (Esther 3:5-6). Esther's cousin, Mordecai, urges her to reveal her legacy (Esther 7:3-6). One night of King's insomnia causes a chain reaction that inverts the script (Esther 6:1). The king issues a new command that allows the Jews to protect themselves, thereby thwarting Haman's plan (Esther 8:5-11).
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The story unfolds like an unlikely political thriller. Esther is in the right place at the right time. The forgotten orphan comes to power. What is the possibility that the next accident could lead to the survival of the country?
If I believe in opportunity, it is a masterclass in good fortune, timing, and human behavior. If I believe in God, it is proof that miracles do not need to break the laws of nature. They happen through the randomness of life, which is fate in people, politics, and hindsight.
There is a tradition of drinking to the point that they don't know the difference between “cursed Haman” and “blessed is Mordecai.” This addiction is breaking down the perception of good and evil. The same people who play the villain in one moment are tools of salvation in another. The belief is that we are all just playing a role in the space program.
Israeli children dressed up at the Purim Parade festival held in Netanya on March 21, 2008 (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
But life often seems to oppose benevolent plans. As a child, I experienced the deep tragedy of my father's death. The Terror Group of Al Aqsa Martyrs killed my Israeli cousin, Meir Tamari. Recently my sister-in-law and nie died in a catastrophic water accident. A few months ago, my dear friend from university took his life. These losses seem to challenge beliefs about induced fate and emphasize the randomness of suffering.
Of course, many scholars say that the story of Purim is a folk tale that evolved from the ancient Jewish tradition of recreating Persian festivals and surviving stories. Its literary style is too perfect and almost theatrical.
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But whether it's history, all stories, or both, the message of seeking meaning with obvious randomness remains unchanged.
And whether purim “occurred” or not, the story of the survival of Jews faced with the merciless persecution itself seems miraculous. Mark Twain is famous for pondering the mystery of how the empire rose and fell while the Jews endured. When the great Prussian monarch of the 18th century, King Frederick, sought evidence of God, his doctor pointed to the continued presence of the Jews.
I have captured my life between two worlds. One is one of faith, God controls history, a world of reason, things just happened, and we will understand later. Most of the time I feel like I have to choose. Prim won't forgive me.
Hasid Jews will celebrate the Prim Festival in Brooklyn on March 4th, 2007. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Ultimately, faith and doubt are not enemies. They are searches of the same meaning. As Rabbi Jonathan Sachs said, faith is “the courage to live with uncertainty.”
And Purim meets exactly where I am – between beliefs and questions, certainty and wonder.
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Today's world feels like a prim. If the bad guys win and the rest are just trying to survive, is history just a mess? But then I think about Mordecai who refused to quit the bow when everyone else did it. I think of Estelle, whom she spoke when she had every reason to stay silent.
They did not know if God was with them. Anyway, I acted. That's what Purim taught me.
You don't wait for a miracle. You don't wait for certainty. You act.
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Purim reminds us that you don't have to have all the answers. Just asking a question is enough. Because, whether we believe in miracles or not, we still have to decide how to act.
And maybe, just maybe, that's the only miracle we really need. And that may also be why Purim is more sacred than Yom Kipur.
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