Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
What is the connection of our shared reality of today — and of this day called ‘Shushan Purim’ and in its relationship to the city of Jericho?
(what a weird connection!)
Shushan Purim falls on Adar 15 (today, March 8th) and is the day Jews in Jerusalem celebrate Purim (as a walled city).
But why Jericho?
Purim is traditionally celebrated on Adar 14 because the Jews in unwalled cities fought their enemies on Adar 13 and rested the following day. However, in Shushan, the capital city of the Persian Empire, the Jews defeated their enemies on Adar 13–14 and rested on the 15th (Esther 9:20–22). In commemoration of this, it was decided that while the victory would be celebrated universally on Adar 14, for Jews living in Shushan, the holiday would be held on Adar 15. Later, in deference to Jerusalem, the Sages (Chazal) decided that Purim would be celebrated on the 15th of Adar in all cities which had been enclosed by a wall at the time of Joshua’s conquest of the Land of Israel. This criterion allowed the city of Jerusalem to retain its importance for Jews, and although Shushan was not walled at the time of Joshua, it was made an exception since the miracle occurred there.
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Walled cities at times can appear to be cut off . . . differing experience(s) differing needs.
Here below is a letter written by the leadership of the Hartman Institute, of which we at Lerhaus Newshul are actively in conversation with . . . and openly supportive of. Many in the American Jewish community have expressed deep concern with the direction of the current regime in Israel, which cites its coalition legitimacy to a mandate predicated on free and democratic elections, albeit in an Israeli-style coalition-like creation, as its source of legitimacy. As a Diaspora Jew and an American citizen, I am limited to few judgments and many shared concerns. Here below you may find the Hartman Institute’s thinking, especially in light of the vast spectrum of Jewish history, a spectrum in which the Jewish people have come to understand the reality of our shared past and the truth of our shared future, It would be foolish to think otherwise. Please have a look at the letter and know where both we and the Lerhaus Newshul of America stand.
Here is an excerpt: (see the link below the excerpt)
We understand the State of Israel to have originated as a collective project of the Jewish people worldwide, and we insist that it must remain that way – requiring all our wisdom and passion for its long-term thriving. We sometimes say that Israel is too big and too important to be left to Israelis alone. For Israel to be the homeland of the Jewish people, it must forever engage the hearts, minds, concerns, and commitments of world Jewry. Just as Jewish suffering has historically been shared by Jews the world over, so must Jewish responsibility for Jewish peoplehood be shared as well.
Third, we see the State of Israel as one of the greatest tests the Jewish people have ever faced – a crucible of our values systems and essentially a public referendum on the quality of our commitments. The experience of power and sovereignty can be miraculous, but it is also a test. For Judaism and Jewish tradition to be worth continuing, they must address the central moral questions of the day and speak a coherent moral language in response. Put simply, the State of Israel is the largest platform the Jewish people has ever had to test the integrity of our commitments.
And fourth, we insist that the core moral and political aspirations of the State – that it be both a homeland for the Jewish people and a vibrant democracy, a homeland for Jews and for Palestinians (i.e. Arab citizens of Israel), and a Jewish state and a state of all its citizens – are not competing ideas in tension with one another and certainly not contradictions, Rather, they are complex yet plausible aspirations for the State of Israel that can be honored through a serious commitment to Jewish and democratic values and institutions.
Here is my own rewrite of their ‘bottom line:’ We need each other more than ever. The Jewish people cannot walk away from one another, not on our watch. There is too much at stake . . .(Hartman Letter Link: https://www.hartman.org.il/a-letter-to-our-hartman-community/)
Friends, Passover is a month away — and thus Springtime and a certain freedom are not far behind . . . .
