Be An Esther 4:14 Jew - Do Not Be SilentParashat Vayikra/Shabbat Zachor 5782/2022
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| Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash |
When we think of superpowers, few of us think about a photographic memory as one, but, there are a select group of people who have this gift, or some might say, curse. These people have a documented condition called hyperthymesia, in which a person is incapable of forgetting any detail of anything that has ever happened to them.
People with hyperthymesia can remember the events of any given calendar date, usually back to puberty, with stunning and accurate detail. Superior Autobiographical Memory makes it possible for individuals to use their minds like databases, remembering unusual details such as the clothes they wore, whom they may have met that day, what the weather was like on any day, and even what they ate for lunch, decades after the original event.
Imagine if you remembered everything, not just the good, but also the pain, as vivid as when it happened; every scrape and bruise, every insult, every scar, just as vividly as it happened even decades ago.
Some of those with hyperthymesia share that they are incapable of shutting off their minds. One patient described this process as “nonstop, uncontrollable and totally exhausting.” She described it as “a great burden.” She said that it made it difficult for her to attend to present-day reality.
Now imagine this on a national level. We are commanded to remember, to remember what it felt like to leave Egypt, which inevitably includes what it felt like to be enslaved and traumatized.
This is the challenge of Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat that immediately precedes Purim. Today, we read Deuteronomy 25:17-19 to mark this occasion:
讝ָ讻讜ֹ专 讗ֵ转 讗ֲ砖ֶׁ专־注ָ砖ָׂ讛 诇ְ讱ָ 注ֲ诪ָ诇ֵ拽 讘ַּ讚ֶּ专ֶ讱ְ 讘ְּ爪ֵ讗转ְ讻ֶ诐 诪ִ诪ִּ爪ְ专ָ讬ִ诐׃
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt—
讗ֲ砖ֶׁ专 拽ָ专ְ讱ָ 讘ַּ讚ֶּ专ֶ讱ְ 讜ַ讬ְ讝ַ谞ֵּ讘 讘ְּ讱ָ 讻诇־讛ַ谞ֶּ讞ֱ砖ָׁ诇ִ讬诐 讗ַ讞ֲ专ֶ讬讱ָ 讜ְ讗ַ转ָּ讛 注ָ讬ֵ祝 讜ְ讬ָ讙ֵ注ַ 讜ְ诇ֹ讗 讬ָ专ֵ讗 讗ֱ–诇ֹ讛ִ讬诐׃
how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear.
讜ְ讛ָ讬ָ讛 讘ְּ讛ָ谞ִ讬讞ַ 讬ְ讬 讗ֱ–诇ֹ讛ֶ讬讱ָ 诇ְ讱ָ 诪ִ讻诇־讗ֹ讬ְ讘ֶ讬讱ָ 诪ִ住ָּ讘ִ讬讘 讘ָּ讗ָ专ֶ抓 讗ֲ砖ֶׁ专 讬ְ讬־讗ֱ–诇ֹ讛ֶ讬讱ָ 谞ֹ转ֵ谉 诇ְ讱ָ 谞ַ讞ֲ诇ָ讛 诇ְ专ִ砖ְׁ转ָּ讛ּ 转ִּ诪ְ讞ֶ讛 讗ֶ转־讝ֵ讻ֶ专 注ֲ诪ָ诇ֵ拽 诪ִ转ַּ讞ַ转 讛ַ砖ָּׁ诪ָ讬ִ诐 诇ֹ讗 转ִּ砖ְׁ讻ָּ讞׃ {驻}
Therefore, when the LORD your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
On a surface level, it seems that we are commanded to remember the trauma of being attacked by Amalek, but remembering trauma isn’t such a good thing for us. There’s a reason why women can’t remember the pain of childbirth all too well, because if they did, likely none of us would be here today. Memory research shows that PTSD is a result of the human brain malfunctioning. We are supposed to forget trauma.
In our case, remembering Amalek isn’t about reliving the trauma, but reliving how it changed us.
In verse 18, the Torah says, “讗ֲ砖ֶׁ专 拽ָ专ְ讱ָ 讘ַּ讚ֶּ专ֶ讱ְ” - the translation is how he encountered you on the way, but the Midrash (Tanchuma Ki Teitze, Siman 9) sees the word Kar as related to cold. When we left Egypt, we were hot, in other words, filled up with confidence because of the miracles that God did on our behalf. We felt we were invincible, but then came Amalek who attacked us when few would. Amalek cooled us down; made us feel powerless and weak. The Etz Chaim offers another explanation: the real sin of Amalek was that he robbed Bnai Israel of their idealism, teaching them that the world could be an unreliable and dangerous place.
There are hints of how Amalek changes the way we think about ourselves. Some commentators say that the line that Amalek did not fear God was actually directed to Bnai Israel; when we lose faith in God, in a world where we have compassion and empathy for the powerless, then we make ourselves vulnerable to Amalek and their worldview.
The Midrash picks up on the unique language here - it's not in plural, Amalek isn’t a collection of people, but one person, perhaps to teach us that one evil person can change the mindset of many others, bring them along with his distorted world view.
The Amaleks of this world share one thing: they think the world is inherently evil, that humans are incapable of freedom, and that they thrive under control and oppression. They also share another trait: hubris, excessive pride that leads to arrogance.
In the Purim story, we see this with Haman. In chapter 6:6, we read: Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for a man whom the king desires to honor?” Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” He lays out a plan on how to honor himself. If you compare his plan to how people were honored in the Bible and Greek sources, we learn that Haman goes far beyond the normal gifts, as the JPS commentary in Esther says, “Haman can never get enough honor.” Of course, Haman is shocked when he learns that the person who is being honored is Mordechai.
Ultimately, it is their arrogance that leads to their downfall. Unfortunately, this usually happens after their reign of terror and destruction; after millions of people are killed and/or injured, and countries are devastated.
Think about the infamous dictators in recent history; they hide what they think are their weaknesses; they make up ridiculous stories of their strength, and if no one speaks out against them, they not only gain power, they change the way we think about the world.
Putin is part of a long line of megalomaniacs and dictators. At the same time as he claims he is fighting against Nazism and Hitler, he’s using the same playbook. For years, people in our country have made excuses for him; he’s actually not that bad they say, or he’s doing the right thing, he sees the world for what it is.
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| (Picture from Meron Golan into Syria) |
In 2018, I saw with my own eyes what Putin did, and how the world was basically silent. As I stood at the border between Syria and Israel, I saw, with my own eyes, Russian fighter jets bombing entire cities; plumes of smoke coming up. How many innocent men, women and children were wiped out while the world stayed silent?
To counteract Haman, we need more Mordechais, and I think we found one in Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. He made a personal appeal to the Jewish people after Babi Yar was damaged in a Russian bombing attack.
“Don’t you see why this happening? That is why it is very important that millions of Jews around the world do not remain silent right now. Nazism is born in silence…So shout about the killings of civilians. Shout about the killings of Ukrainians.”
He spoke about Babi Yar as sacred ground. During the Soviet era, Babi Yar’s memory was erased; no mention of Jews being murdered was mentioned. When Ukraine became an independent nation, they created a monument that honored the Jewish victims. I saw the huge Menorah with my own eyes, and there were plans to create a Holocaust museum on that site to tell the history of the Nazis and the Ukrainians who took part in the genocide.
Zelensky is an Esther 4:14 Jew, like Mordechai who said to Esther in 4:14:
“If you are silent and you do nothing at this time, help will come to the Jewish people from another quarter... And who knows whether it was not for such a time as this that you came into royalty?”
Being a 4:14 Jew means following in the footsteps of Esther and Mordechai. It means doing something and being willing to give up something, and yes, that might mean very high gas prices. Compared to what Ukrainians are going through, it’s a small price to pay.
Being a 4:14 Jew means taking a stand for what is right, even at great personal risk.
Speak out in support of Ukraine and against the invasion, and donate to help Ukraine relief efforts. This is, after all, the mitzvah of Purim, to give gifts to the poor.
Resist the notion that your actions don’t really matter. Remember, this is what Amalek wants - to make us feel small, powerless, and weak, when in fact, it is them who are truly weak; their power is a mirage.
The Jewish story is a story of God and humanity partnering, where God’s face might be hidden, but God’s influence in felt through our actions.
Shabbat Zachor is our yearly reminder to remember not just what Amalek did, but how they tried to change us, to take away our faith in God, humanity, and the world. In less than a week, we will once again remind the world what happens to the ‘Hamans’ of the world, if we speak up and pull back the curtain to who they really are. They thrive in fear and darkness, but Jews have a different legacy:
诇ַ讬ְּ讛讜ּ讚ִ讬诐 讛ָ讬ְ转ָ讛 讗讜ֹ专ָ讛 讜ְ砖ִׂ诪ְ讞ָ讛 讜ְ砖ָׂ砖ֹׂ谉 讜ִ讬拽ָ专׃
The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor. (Esther 8:16)
So may it be for us.
Shabbat Shalom
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