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Behind the Mask
Mendy, a Jewish Ukrainian refugee and student from the Alumim children’s home in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, dresses up for the Jewish holiday of Purim after arriving to Israel following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the Nes Harim Field and Forest Education Center in Nes Harim, Israel, March 17, 2022. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org – Purim is a serious festival. Yet many people consider it merely a children’s masquerade party. The very notion of dressing up, wearing masks and creative costumes to disguise ourselves is the subject of much rabbinic commentary.
Why do we wear masks on Purim?
There is a wide variety of answers. Here are just a few:
- God initially concealed His face in the Purim story. We seemed to be on our own, facing total annihilation, until events turned around in our favor.
- The name of God is hidden in Megillat Esther, the “Scroll of Esther.” Imagine a whole book of Holy Scripture and God’s name does not appear once.
- Esther kept her Jewish identity hidden until she was called upon to save her people.
- The name Esther itself means hidden. In Deuteronomy 31:18, God says, “And I will surely hide (in Hebrew, astir) My face on that day … ”
- The miracle of Purim was not that obvious. The Jewish people’s deliverance from Haman’s final solution was masked in natural events.
And on this last note, it’s not only when God is splitting the sea or feeding us bread from heaven that we can discern the source of our miraculous survival and sustenance. God’s footprints can be seen all over His world. The Purim story is a classical saga of politics and palace intrigue, but behind the tale lies the hidden hand of God.
It just so happened that Queen Vashti was deposed, and the talent scouts found Esther. She was a nice Jewish girl who wasn’t looking to be the new queen, but she was drafted into the beauty contest and found favor in King Ahasuerus’s eyes.
It just so happened that Mordechai overheard two of the king’s palace guards plotting to assassinate Ahasuerus and told Esther, who, in turn, told the king in Mordechai’s name.
It just so happened that the king was suffering from insomnia and asked for his book of chronicles to be read to him so he could fall asleep. And the page that the reader opened to just so happened to be about how Mordechai saved the king’s life.
It just so happened that Haman arrived at the king’s palace—at that very moment—to ask for the king’s blessing to hang Mordechai, and the tables were quickly turned upside down.
And it just so happened that we had an insider in the palace, and Queen Esther was able to save the Jewish people single-handedly.
Each of these events, and there were others, could be put down to coincidence or good luck. We have all had the good fortune of having a good woman in the right place at the right time.
But when you consider all of these “it just so happened” events together, it can no longer be a random string of coincidences or simply serendipity. There has got to be a controlling hand moving the pieces on the board in a premeditated manner. We Jews call it Divine Providence.
Indeed, Purim reminds us to recognize the presence of God in natural events, too. The Creator is not only found in the supernatural.
Of course, the sun rising in the east every morning is a miracle. But when something is a daily occurrence and happens like clockwork, we tend to take it for granted. It’s only on rare occasions, like when we are on vacation and get to see a magnificent sunrise or sunset, that we even notice this magnificent miracle.
Yes, traditionally, we recite a thanksgiving blessing in the presence of a minyan—a public prayer quorum of 10 men—when we emerge from a dangerous experience safely. We Bentch Gomel, as it is called, after a voyage over the sea or desert, recovery from serious illness or freedom from incarceration. But if you think about it, we experience so many deliverances every day. Most of them go unnoticed. There are countless little miracles (and many not-so-little miracles) that occur, but they’re all part of our regular routines, so we take them for granted.
You crossed a busy highway and got to the other side safely. How many near-misses do we have when it comes to cars? My wife and I were driving home from a wedding late one night, and a car came straight at us at top speed. He was driving on the wrong side of the highway. I managed to move lanes quickly and avoid a head-on collision, which I doubt anyone could have survived at that speed! Thank God that does not happen every day.
And what about waking up every morning? And what of the food, clothing and shelter we enjoy? Do you know there are billions of people in the world who are not privileged to have these conveniences that we take for granted? If you have a home, a car and a computer, you are way ahead of half the world’s population.
And please don’t take your good health for granted. When I was a kid, I couldn’t understand why all the adults would say abi gezunt, “As long as you have your health.” What were they going on about health? Believe me, today, I understand it only too well.
We can be nonchalant about our business success, too. We may even be cynical. We can argue that our success is due to our business acumen and hard work, or we can be honest and appreciate that there are many smart, hardworking people out there who do not enjoy success. Why, then, should we?
And we can realize that God Almighty is clearly protecting Israel from all its murderous neighbors—and enemies who are not its neighbors at all—who are plotting our destruction, God forbid, or we can simply say that the Israel Defense Forces is the greatest army in the world and we protect ourselves. To be blind to all the miracles that have helped neutralize Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran is not only cynical, it is intellectually dishonest.
Whether it is in our personal lives or our national life, looking beneath the surface and reading between the lines is essential to understanding what is happening and appreciating that it isn’t just business as usual. That it isn’t even necessarily natural or logical. It is miraculous, albeit somewhat hidden from view. Our job is to probe beneath the surface to discern the hand of God in our own lives and the life of our nation.
With that awareness comes sensitivity, and then our attitude begins to change. We can verbalize and express our gratitude. We can share with the less fortunate, which is an important Purim mitzvah. We can do something for God as an expression of our thanksgiving for the little hidden miracles that keep us going through life.
May God continue to protect us all, and may we be wise enough to pierce the veil and see beyond the facade and behind the mask.
Purim Sameach!
The post Behind the Mask first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
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