Wed Feb 24, 2010 at 16:59:14 PM EST
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You probably know that this coming Sunday is Purim, the Jewish festival commemorating the events in the biblical Book of Esther. What you may not know is that the “minor” Fast of Esther proceeds Purim and, this year, is observed on Thursday February 25th (as a “minor” fast, this day is only commemorated from sunrise to sundown).
In the Book of Esther the title character is a Jewish Persian queen who, when the Jews* are threatened with mass extermination at the hands of the courtier Haman, takes action to lobby her husband the king to turn the judgment around and save the Jews and to instead allow the execution of Haman and his followers. As the story goes, prior to making her efforts with the king, Esther requested that the Jews (along with herself and her attendants) fast for 3 days in prayer and support. After the victory over Haman, the Jews establish not only the celebration feast of Purim, but also the fast of Esther, as days of commemoration in perpetuity.
This practice, of fasting when faced with a threat to survival, goes at least as far back as the story of Moses fasting when confronted by the Amalekite threat. The concept of these acts of self-denial is to ground the warriors, or the threatened people, in the notion that victory and survival will not come through military might alone. For the Israelites, this survival was understood as coming by divine intervention, through the agency of a higher Power.
For ourselves, |
| Jeremy Burton :: Thinking about the Fast of Esther |
whether or not you believe in a divine entity, we certainly do spend considerable time thinking about Power here at JFSJ. We think about power in politics, in campaigns, in community actions and achieving victories. We recognize power as a dynamic in the social and political life of this nation and as a force to be understood. We seek to elevate the power of low income communities to shape their own destinies and to create better opportunities for themselves, as well as a better future for our country.
So whether you are Jewish or not, and whether you are fasting this day or not, maybe take a moment to reflect on Power and how power and victories come through more than mere muscle. Ask yourself when and where you create new kinds of power that aren’t based on sheer physical force, and invite yourself to reflect on the kinds of power that are more subtle, more creative, more loving, and maybe, just maybe, a little more Divine.
* A bit of Purim trivia: this is the first time that the descendents of the Israelites at Sinai are referred to collectively as “the Jews.” Prior to this point, the Bible refers to them as the Israelites, or the 12 tribes of Israel, and the term “”Judean” is used strictly in reference to the tribe of Judah. Mordechai, another main character in our story this weekend, is the first person referred to as “the Jew,” despite his being from the tribe of Benjamin.
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