This year, Purim, which falls on March 14 (March 15 in Jerusalem), has an added dimension in Israel. Because of the war and the situation of our hostages, we are focusing not only on the merry aspect of eating, drinking, carnival, and masquerade but also on what we are instructed to do in Deuteronomy 25:17 – 19:
“Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey after you left Egypt and how, unmoved by fear of God, Amalek surprised you on the march. And when you were famished and weary, Amalek cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore, when your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you in the land that He is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!”
Amalek was believed to be a son of Esau’s son Eliphaz and ancestor of the Amalekites, a nomadic tribe that attacked the Israelites in the Sinai Desert. The Israelites were able to defend themselves. Haman, the villain of the Purim story, was a descendant of King Agag of the Amalek tribe. When the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses warned them and reminded them about the evil of Amalek.
Who was Amalek?
The Jews have been confronted by Amalek throughout history, this hereditary enemy of Israel from wilderness times. Amalek is the embodiment of the antisemite. In the Purim story, he is Haman, the caster of lots (pur in Hebrew; plural purim) to decide on what date to exterminate the Jews.
Amalek has appeared in many forms … as Antiochus; Roman Emperor Hadrian; King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain; Bohdan Chmielnicki, the leader of the Cossacks in Russia; Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany; Yasser Arafat in Gaza; Ahmadinejad, the evil ruler of Iran; and undeniably Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the proxies of Syria, Iran, and Iraq.
Arms smuggling has been an ongoing activity on a massive scale. When the vessel Karine A was captured by Israel in a heroic act comparable in courage to the 1976 counter-terrorist mission in Entebbe, it contained more than 50 tons of arms that could have changed the balance between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Imagine the damage that could have been caused by 122-mm. Katyusha rockets with a 12-mile range. From Palestinian towns and villages, they could reach any location in Israel, from Hadera in the North to Ashkelon in the South, including Israel’s air and sea ports.
However, the cheerful elements of Purim give us a much-needed day of relief. A healthy society needs to be able to laugh sometimes. The masquerade of Purim hides its horrific theme of political antisemitism behind a façade of festive drinking and celebration.
Just as God is still performing miracles for Israel today through the dedicated and wonderful men and women of the IDF, we remember at Purim how genocide was averted in the Purim story by the skillful court manipulations of Mordechai and the brave Queen Esther, aided by the hidden hand of God. May all our captives be returned alive without delay. Am Yisrael Chai!
The writer is the author of 14 books. She can be contacted at dwaysman@gmail.com.