It's All Upside-Down
This week we celebrate the holiday of Purim. It is a day of celebration and festivities, commemorating the fact that many years ago a wicked and rabid anti-semite, Haman, sought to destroy the entire Jewish nation – men, women and children.
If perhaps this concept was once something that people had trouble relating to, we, who have still been privileged to encounter survivors of the Holocaust, can readily understand such a dreadful possibility.
Haman was like Hitler in the sense that he desired that the world should be Judenrein – devoid of any trace of us Jews. Imagine the joy and celebration we would experience, had events unfolded in a manner which completely foiled Hitler's diabolical plans! Imagine if in 1938 Hitler somehow married a girl, one who unbeknownst to him was Jewish, and in conjunction with a bunch of other events, she eventually arranged for his assassination. Six million Jews would not have died! Our joy in this revision of history would be incredible! The world would be completely different today. If only…
Fortunately, during Haman’s times G-d had other plans. He set into motion a series of events, some remarkable on the surface and some less so, that brought about not only the salvation of the Jews but the destruction of Haman and the rest of our enemies.
One of the themes of the holiday is the words in the megillah – “v’nahafoch hu” – meaning “it was turned completely around.” After the conclusion of the entire Purim story Queen Esther and Mordechai were able to look back and see how everything that occurred was all part of G-d’s Master Plan. We went in a short time from feelings of despair and hopelessness to joy and elation. What looked like our destruction and annihilation in one moment was completely flipped upside down and turned on its head to salvation, joy and celebration. The very gallows that Haman prepared to hang Mordechai upon were used instead to hang him.
One of the reasons Purim is so joyous is because through the Purim story we came to the realization that no matter how bleak and dreary things may look for us, as a nation or on an individual level, G-d is orchestrating everything and He has the ability to completely turn the situation around in an instant!
This realization has given us Jews the ability to cope through a long and dark exile. No matter the circumstances, there is always hope for a better future.
In the spirit of Purim and the concept of “v’nahafoch hu” I leave you with the following short thought.
Today was the absolute worst day ever.
And don’t try to convince me that
There’s something good in every day
Because, when you take a closer look,
This world is a pretty evil place.
Even if
Some goodness does shine through once in a while
Satisfaction and happiness doesn’t last.
And it’s not true that
It’s all in the mind and the heart
Because
True happiness can be attained
Only if one’s surroundings are good.
It’s not true that good exists
I’m sure you can agree that
The reality
Creates
My attitude
It’s all beyond my control.
And you’ll never in a million years hear me say that
Today was a very good day.
(NOW READ IT FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP!)
Shabbat Shalom!
Shabbat Shalom!!
Rabbi Yosef Koval
