Fast Day

Today, in Jewish tradition, is the Fast of Esther. Most years I only fast on Yom Kippur. In fact most of the other fast days in the Jewish Calendar I know nothing about. But this year, I feel moved to observe Esther's fast. The Fast of Esther is the prelude to the holiday of Purim. And the story of the Purim is told in Megilat Esther (aka the Book of Esther). The story of Purim is a remarkable tale of the Jews triumphing against an enemy who would have put them to death. What is most remarkable about this story, retold each year amid raucous festivities, is that there is no mention of God. Not once. Not anywhere. The entire story is filled only with the actions of the people involved, no divine intervention whatsoever. I am sure that there is some religious interpretation of this, some God back story. But this year I choose to fast specifically because of the absence of God from this miracle, I choose to fast to commemorate the power of two brave woman, and to inspire myself, in a way, for the long fight we have ahead, not just as Jews, but as Americans, to return justice and rights and freedom and equality to the United States.

Two Brave Women: There are two women crucial to the story of Purim, both of whom were queens married to King Ahaseurus. Though the more memorable, more famous of the two is Esther, the other, earlier queen, deserves recognition as well. Vashti was the King's first wife. One evening as the King partied with his friends, he began to brag about how beautiful his wife was. And, in so doing, called her to come dance for him, and his friends, naked. Vashti refused. And, for this she was banished. It is important to remember Vashti, for she sets the stage for the rest of the story. But it is not simply that without her banishment, Esther would not have become queen. It is that she is the first to stand up for her self and her rights, as a woman and as a person entitled to dignity. Because in the end, that is what Purim is about, standing up in the face of wrong.

And now about Esther. [note: this is going to be greatly abbreviated] The King must choose a new Queen, and chooses Esther, who is Jewish, though the King does not know it. About the same time, Haman, the King's vizier (or some other high and lofty position) begins to craft a plan to kill the Jews, telling lies to the King about them and why they deserve to be killed. Haman begins building the gallows. Esther's cousin (or uncle, I never remember which) Mordechai hears of this plot and warns Esther. He tells her to go to the King to make him put an end to this. Esther is afraid to do this because if you go to the King without being sent for you can be put to death. But, Esther, realizing that the life of her people, and herself, is in her hands, decides to go anyway. And before doing so, to prepare herself, she fasts. I'm a little fuzzy on the next bit of the story, but Esther plans two banquets for the King and Haman and shows the King what an evil man Haman truly is and Haman is hung on the gallows he built for the Jews.

And so in celebration of all this, every year we retell the story, and each time Haman's name is read we drown out his name with shouts and noisemakers. And we dress up in costumes, and eat Hamantaschen (three cornered cookies with sweet filling meant to represent Haman's hat, or, in Israel, Haman's ears "oznei haman") and we put on Purim shpiels (plays) which usually involve a lot of cross-dressing and we get so drunk that we can't tell the difference between good and evil, Mordechai and Haman

And so it is in this election year that I am observing Esther's fast. It is oversimplification to say that the current is administration is evil. But I truly believe that they are causing great, monumental harms in ways that we don't yet even know. And we cannot rely on some supernatural being, whether it is God or Superman, to save us. We have it in our power to oust the President and to elect a good leader, one who will respect the rights of all our citizens and also the citizens of nations throughout the world.