8 | FEBRUARY 18 • 2021 

essay
Purim: From Exodus to Esther
I

t would make sense to 
start the Jewish calendar 
year on Rosh Hashanah, 
literally the “head of the 
year,” the 
anniversary of 
the creation of 
humans, but 
that’s not how 
it goes in the 
Bible. 
 Just as we 
are about to 
leave Egypt, with great 
signs and wonders, the 
first commandment given 
to the nation is initializing 
the calendar. Therefore, the 
Jewish year actually begins 
with Nissan, the month 
of Pesach, making the 
preceding month of Adar the 
last one of the year. Adar is 
both a time to celebrate and 
a season of reckoning. 
The secret of Adar is 
concealed behind the “mask” 
of Purim. The scroll we 
read, Megillat Esther, is one 
of the closing entries in the 
Jewish Biblical canon and, 
interestingly, has no mention 
of God’s name. 
We start the year with 
the Pesach Haggadah and 
its manifold recitations of 
gratitude to God for the 
miracles performed on our 
behalf. By the end of the 
Jewish calendar year, God 
is out of the dialogue, and 
it’s all about Mordechai and 
Queen Esther. 
What has changed? 
Over the Jewish year, we 
transition from an emphasis 
on God’s revealed hand in 
our redemption (Exodus) 
to a focus on the action 

of individuals while God 
operates behind the scenes 
(Esther). 
The message: God is 
always with us, even when 
God’s presence is hidden. In 
order to retain our freedom 
of choice, God is precisely 
concealed, to the exact 
degree that we must strive 
to find God. This spiritual 
awareness is the engine of 
our enhanced joy during 
this special month. Megillat 

Esther can be translated as 
“revealing the hidden.” This 
remarkable tome serves as 
a lesson plan for perceiving 
God’s hand behind all events, 
for all time.
The month of Adar 
provides us with the 
opportunity to bask in the 
emunah (faith) we have 
crafted over the Jewish 
calendar year. Every 
holiday, beginning with 
our national homecoming 
(Pesach), receiving the Torah 
(Shavuot) and then the High 
Holidays and Sukkot, serves 
to bolster our perception 

of this invisible shield of 
Divine love and protection. 
By Purim, we rejoice in a 
seemingly “God-less” story, 
knowing with simple faith 
that God’s grace is behind all 
the triumphs and mishaps 
in our lives. The true goal of 
Adar is to perceive the good 
in “bad breaks” — accepting 
joy and pain without despair. 
One of the central tenets 
of Judaism is that each of us 
has a crucial role in tikkun 

olam. This is emphasized 
at the climax of the Purim 
story: When Queen Esther 
is given the chance to be the 
hero by Uncle Mordechai, 
he warns her, “If you remain 
silent at this time, relief and 
deliverance for the Jews will 
come from another place” 
(Esther 4:14). Thankfully, she 
saves the day. All of us are 
faced with this fundamental 
challenge. We can opt in 
or relegate ourselves to the 
sidelines. God will get the 
job done regardless. I say: 
Let’s go for it! 
Purim should be celebrat-

ed with heartfelt exuberance. 
Take advantage of the trans-
formative power of the four 
special mitzvah opportuni-
ties: hear the megillah chant-
ed both night and day, give 
substantially to the needy, 
offer neighbors packages of a 
few items of food as a token 
of friendship and eat a hearty 
meal at the end of the day. 
For many of us, intoxica-
tion gets us to a place where 
the heart is opened; we can 
love more readily, and tears 
of joy can flow. For some of 
us, getting intoxicated is a 
mistake. For me, personal-
ly, after a few l’chaims, my 
empathy muscle is stronger, 
and charity becomes even 
more natural. 
Let us apply the lessons 
of Purim year-round. 
Acknowledge the miracle of 
God’s stewardship behind 
the scrim of our lives. Be 
there for a friend with a 
gift of food, the gift of time 
and a patient ear. Seek out 
opportunities to serve the 
needy. Be deeply grateful for 
the feeling of belongingness 
to this remarkable nation. 
Share words of Torah with 
a lighthearted song and a 
smile. 
May we always seek 
to emulate the courage 
of Queen Esther; not 
standing idly by with all the 
challenges facing our people 
and the entire world. 

Sam Glaser is a performer, 

composer, producer and author in 

Los Angeles. His book The Joy of 

Judaism is available on Amazon.

Sam Glaser

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