Purim 5780
“You’re our only hope.” “It’s up to you.” “If you don’t save us, no one will.”
It’s time to lay it on thick. Esther is the lone chance for survival, the one advocate the Jewish People have who can convince the King to give them legal sanction to protect themselves against the oncoming Persian onslaught. Yet these are not the words that Mordechai chooses to encourage the Queen.
כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒ רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃
If you will keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have arrived at your royal position for just such a moment?
Mordechai expresses to Esther not the urgency of her participation for the sake of the Jews. Indeed, he is utterly convinced that the Jews themselves will be fine in the end. Relief and delivery will simply come about from some other source. Esther is nearly let off the hook.
Why, then, should she act? Not so much for the Jews’ sake, but for her own. “Perhaps you have arrived at your royal position for just such a moment.” Make no mistake, declares Mordechai, the Jewish Nation will live, but will it be because of you, or in spite of you? Esther heeds the call, confronts Achashveirosh, and the rest is history.
Earlier this week, I attended the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C., the hallmark event for the nation’s largest pro-Israel lobby. And as I walked the halls of the massive convention center, I hoped that I was walking in the footsteps of Queen Esther herself.
18,000 people turned out for the conference, representing the full gamut of the Jewish people and beyond. Young and old, Jews and gentiles, Orthodox and Reform, liberals and conservatives were all represented to learn, to lobby, and simply to be counted.
The presence of so many from such varied backgrounds puts an important question to the frum community: Why bother? The life of an Orthodox Jew is already overcrowded with obligations to an endless register of important organizations that are critical to our community specifically, to say nothing of the commitment to a halachik lifestyle that squeezes us even further for time and resources.
Isn’t it reasonable, then, to offload Israel advocacy onto the plates of others? Those who are not burdened with the responsibilities unique to the Orthodox community?
Perhaps. But it would be tragic to miss out on the opportunity to engage. Even as Mordechai insisted that Jewish survival was a fait accompli, he encouraged Esther to get involved just the same. Our involvement in important work, our assuming critical responsibilities, is valuable in of itself, even if the results are already a given.
Sefer Mishlei teaches that “לב מלך ביד ה׳—The heart of a king is in the hand of G-d.” (21:1) Decisions made by kings of empires and heads of state are too important to the wellbeing of so many others for decision making to be given over to the pure free will of those leaders. Hashem takes the reins and drives history towards its ultimate terminus.
Yet it is not the result, but the involvement in such activities that should animate our spirits. When the Obama administration provided over $1 billion in military aid to furnish Israel with the Iron Dome, it saved the lives of countless Israelis. When the Trump administration recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, it helped to ensure Israel’s security and expand opportunities for yishuv Eretz Yisrael. Did these accomplishments require the participation and advocacy of the frum community? Perhaps not. But who would want to miss out on the opportunity to be part of something so extraordinary?
And there is a further reason to encourage advocacy from our community that also finds its source in Mordechai’s words. It is the words themselves. Mordechai goads Esther into action even as he insists that it will be Hashem who ultimately cares for His People. This dual reality is something that a religious person is well acquainted with as it shapes every waking moment of his or her life. We engage in acts of hishtadlus, exhibiting appropriate and responsible efforts to achieve material comfort and physical well being. Yet we insist simultaneously that הכל בידי שמים—it is all in the hands of G-d, and His will alone determines success.
This is a perspective that religious Jews can offer as a gift to the world of political advocacy. A view of politics through the lens of religion and profound faith in Hashem is one most likely to be offered by the frum community. Sadly, the political landscape naturally inclines towards the philosophy of “כחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה—It is by my own might and the strength of my own hand that this achievement has been made.” Whether born of ignorance or hubris, G-d’s presence is often absent from the narrative told by politicians and lobbyists, and we must assume the role of reinserting it in the interest of Kiddush Hashem.
Indeed, things have already started to change, with policy conference now being fully kosher, large conference rooms chronically overflowing during scheduled minyan times, and more and more yarmulkas dotting the crowd in each successive year. The community that sees G-d’s Will as being manifest in every area of life has a critical contribution to make in the political arena.
Advocacy is about seizing opportunity. It may well be the case that the results of political involvement are a foregone conclusion, predetermined by Hashem. But, to paraphrase Mordechai’s pitch to Esther, who knows if our community reached its royal position for just such a moment? Perhaps the blessings of the freedom, the wherewithal, and the means to impact important policies have been provided specifically because we have a unique role to play in the process. The privilege of advocating for Israel and the Jewish community, and the ability to do so in a proud religious voice are opportunities we dare not squander.