Shabbat Zachor

The Purim story, which we’ll hear on Tuesday, tells us about a polarized nation.

Haman, understood as a descendent of Amalek — the historical enemy of the Jewish people, who preys on the vulnerable and the weak — rises to power, becoming the king’s advisor.

When he marches through the streets expecting everyone to bow to him, Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, refuses to follow orders — no Jew is to bow to an earthly king.

But Haman has a fragile ego. So he spreads fake news about the Jewish people, convincing King Achashveros to sign a decree calling for the destruction of the Jewish community.

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The Purim story is fundamentally an us-versus-them story.

And even though it was written some 1500 years ago, it speaks across the centuries to the culture wars and political struggles of our day:

The failure of our leaders to reach across the aisle to address the climate crisis, the widening wealth gap, or global health threats like the new Coronavirus. To compromise on their personal agendas, or set aside their egos, in order to focus on the well-being of humanity and our planet.

This us versus them mentality also shows up in our own communities and families:

In the tiny, maybe even unconscious ways we decide that because someone is not like us, they are less worthy of our care or attention.

Whatever our differences are, when we act out of a belief that we do not have a basic shared humanity, that is worth fighting for, that we alone are worthy of the power or privilege that we have, then we are in trouble.

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Perhaps this is why, at the end of the Book of Esther, we are instructed not just to celebrate our ultimate victory, as a people, but to give mishloach manot — a plate or basket of dried fruit and hamantaschen — to each other.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, studies show that giving is the best way to humanize each other. In the very act of giving, we grow larger than our tiny ego selves. We reclaim our dignity, our sense that we have enough. And we experience the simple joy of making other people light up.

Whether or not we give each other physical mishloach manot, we can still be generous with one another:

Rabbi Michael Strassfeld suggests we send messages to those we know thanking them for their friendship or appreciating a specific quality they manifest.

So let’s become more generous with each other this Purim, in big ways and small ones; accept this holiday’s invitation to cast aside our inner-Hamans, our tiny ego selves.

As we do, we join together to build a world redeemed — living out the sacred truth that everyone — not just those who agree with us, follow our orders, or look or act like we do — but everyone — is created in the Divine image, worthy of our generosity and care.