As of late, there has been no shortage of self-hating Jews. From those rallying on college campuses for the destruction of Israel to the Hollywoodites who ally with enemies of their own people – one can only look on in horror and pray they realize the error of their ways.
But the circle of those who are blind to their own self-destruction seems to widen on a daily basis.
Rabbi Sharon Brous is one of the newest additions to this list. Her recent sermon focused on campus anti-Israel activism and the Trump administration’s response to it. She admonished American Jewry not to be fooled by those who have come to our aid.
“Our saviors have not arrived. Ted Cruz is not our Queen Esther,” she said. “Our trauma is being exploited to eviscerate the dream of a multiracial democracy while advancing toward the goal of a white Christian nation.”Brous focused her concerns on other civil rights attacks, that the Trump administration appears to be lodging against the trans and LGTQ+ communities. In her eyes, these actions undermine any perceived good being done at the universities.
Granted, when viewed in totality, the behavior of the Republicans seems self-contradictory. But the picture being painted of a nefarious group whose ultimate goal is an Aryan nation is quite a stretch.
What is most shocking about Rabbi Brous’s message is that since some of the administration’s actions are disagreeable, all of them must be revoked.
The protections finally being demanded for Jewish students are vital and, in some ways, are a form of salvation. For the past year and a half, many have lamented that communities the Jewish people once stood by have abandoned us in our time of need.
This is not a call for retribution. But when we finally have momentum to quash the antisemitism in our midst, halting it for philosophical reasons is tantamount to suicide.
The second public figure who fails to see his self-imposed demise is Peter Beinart. Just prior to the holiday of Purim, Beinart published an article in The Guardian implicating the Jewish State in genocide. He drew an analogy from the Megillah that he claims most overlook.
Much like the Hanukkah story, the Purim celebration is a balance of both miracles and bloodshed. King Ahashverosh, at the advice of Haman, decreed the evisceration of the Jewish people throughout his lands. When Queen Esther beseeched the king to overturn his decree, he regretted that it was impossible.
The only solution was to grant the Jewish people agency to defend themselves and ward off the attack. In a miraculous feat, the Jews of the time succeeded in defeating the onslaught, resulting in mass casualties on the attacking side.
Beinart equates this reality to the modern-day war in Gaza. He fears that most Jews, much like our celebration of Purim, are ignoring the widespread fatalities on the other side and are hiding behind the excuse that this is a defensive war.
Beinart has one thing right: his analogy works. The Purim story contains many elements of what we presently face in modern day Israel – Israel is embroiled in an existential defensive war. Although not a theocratic decree, just like the days of Persia, there seems to be no way to halt the aggression we face.
And our enemies in Gaza will not be placated by land swaps or any other gesture beyond the Jewish people’s ultimate eradication.
Difference between the Purim story and now: power imbalance
But there’s one major difference between the two stories: the numbers. What all liberals refuse to overlook in the battle for modern-day Israel is the power imbalance. In the Purim story, the miracle is evidenced in the victory of the underdog – the Jewish people.
The opposite is true today. Israel vastly overpowers its enemy in Gaza, and to liberals like Beinart, that implicates us no matter what we do. It’s irrelevant who started the war or what actions the IDF takes to protect the civilian population — and it certainly makes no difference if our enemies’ self-stated purpose is to complete Hitler’s Final Solution.
What’s striking about both Brous and Beinart is that they both turned to the Purim story as the basis for their worldview. In this ancient tale, they both saw a need to perpetuate Jewish destruction – not destruction of our enemies but of ourselves.
In every generation, there are those who are hyper-focused on Jewish failure, be it to achieve our potential or to refuse help when it’s offered. But if there’s one thing the two overlooked in the Megillah, it’s the value of Jewish perseverance.
Purim teaches us the merit of safeguarding the survival of the Jewish people and our fundamental responsibility to do so.
The writer is a rabbi, a wedding officiant, and a mohel who performs britot (ritual circumcisions) and conversions in Israel and worldwide. Based in Efrat, he is the founder of Magen HaBrit, an organization protecting the practice of brit milah and the children who undergo it.