Word Prompt - PURIM - Michael Helfand

Purim is the holiday of galut. And Megilat Esther, among its most central messages, conveys the vital importance of Jewish advocacy in the galut. No moment better conveys this message than Mordechai’s instruction to Esther that she must go before Achashverosh and “plead for her people.” Esther is reluctant to go before the king unsummoned.

Mordechai’s response is curious. He does not try to convince Esther that her advocacy is necessary to save the lives of the Jewish people. Instead, Mordechai is fully convinced that, one way or another, G-d will save the Jews. But if she casts off her responsibility, and doesn’t play a role in the salvation of the Jewish people, it is Esther and her father’s house that will be lost.

In so doing, Mordechai reminds Esther – and all of us – that engaging in advocacy in support of the Jewish people is important not because politics needs our intervention; it is important for our own personal futures. And we secure our own personal futures by throwing in our lot with the Jewish people, embracing the demands of collective advocacy and responsibility.