D’var Torah by Rabbi Meir Feldman

Neither Hanukkah nor Purim are mentioned in the Torah. Here, we want to highlight a critical theme that links these two holidays and the work of Talking Peace—Sia’h Shalom.

Hanukkah celebrates a tiny, divinely driven miracle: A little cruse of oil miraculously lasts eight days. On the other hand, the Scroll of Esther, read on Purim, never mentions Gd’s name, not even once. So what is the theme that links these almost opposite stories?

Did you know that the Books of Maccabees are available to us only because of the Christian Bible? Our sages chose not to preserve these texts. They are not part of our sacred canon. Why not? A compelling answer is that due to internal Jewish divisiveness, bitterness and war, the Maccabees’ victory and our Jewish sovereignty over the land lasted only a very short time. In other words, our divisiveness against our Jewish brothers and sisters overwhelmed our victory against the mighty Greco-Syrian enemy. For this reason, our sages decided not to memorialize the Maccabees’ military prowess and success. The rabbis of the Talmud cared much more about Jewish unity and brotherhood, Jewish peoplehood, than about a short-lived Maccabean victory. 

So what then is the connection to Purim and Haman’s vision to annihilate the Jewish people? To answer this question, we must remember that Haman the Agagite was a descendant of Amalek, the eternal enemy of the Jewish people. And Haman inherited an essential insight from Amalek. 

In Exodus chapter 17 verse 8, Amalek, our eternal adversary, appears out of nowhere. The famous Kli Yakar (from 16th-17th century Prague) notices something extraordinary. In Exodus chapter 17 verse 7, the Israelites are fighting among themselves. “The place was called Merivah, because of the striving of the children of Israel.” We were bitterly divided toward one another, and then what? In the very next verse, Amalek attacks the Israelites. Kli Yakar says: When our unity as a Jewish people is shattered, when we are actively and bitterly fighting one another, that is the time to attack.

And now we are ready for Purim, for Haman, who clearly learned from his ancestor Amalek. Haman describes the Jews of Shushan as a people that is עם־אחד מפזר ומפרד mefuzar v’mefurad, scattered and dispersed. Kli Yakar teaches that scattered and dispersed means: מפוזר איש מרעהו ומפורד מן השכינה “We were scattered from one another and thus separated from the Shechina, from Gd.” 

The lesson of Purim, like Hanukkah, is about Jewish unity—or the tragic absence of it. To underscore, the message is about unity not uniformity. Among the most lethal threats we face, both in Israel and North America, is our internal division, derision, even hate toward our fellow Jews.

The mission of Talking Peace—Sia’h Shalom is to overcome our terrible and destructive capacity to denigrate one another: Jew to Jew, Muslim to Muslim, Jew to Muslim. By creating sacred circles of Jewish and Muslim leaders who sit, listen and learn from each other throughout the course of months, Sia’h Shalom is making a monumental difference in many segments and corners of Israeli society. By establishing unlikely, even impossible, combinations of leaders, Sia’h Shalom is doing extraordinary, unprecedented and holy work.

We hope that you share your thoughts and concerns and questions, as you help us build a cohort of North American supporters. We will be so grateful for every ounce of your emotional, intellectual, spiritual and financial support.

—Rabbi Meir Feldman
Friends of Sia’h Shalom

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