רוצים בגלות … שלא יפָּרדו ממשכנותיהם ועניניהם
In chapter 4 of Megillat Esther we find the first reactions of the Jews to the edict that announced the planned genocide. The Jews were terrified by these terrible news.
“And in each of the provinces, in every place where the King’s order and his decree had arrived, there was a great mourning and fasting among the Jews, weeping and lament; garments of mourning and ashes, displayed in public places. “
The words of this verse remind us the terms used by two prophets, Joel (2: 12-14) and Yesha’ayahu (58: 5) referring to a fast of contrition.
“Garments of mourning and ashes” is a clear allusion to the famous prophecy of Yesha’ayahu, chapter 58: 5, which we read no less than on the day of Yom Kippur. The great prophet of Israel mentions that during the day of forgiveness, many people focus on gestures of repentance, “dressed in mourning, and ashes, fasting and reclining “like a bush that bends [by the force of the wind] touching the ground” . But in spite of these dramatic acts, the prophet sees that repentance does not exist in the heart, these gestures of sorrow seem “an attempt to persuade God to spare them from punishment” rather than sincere manifestations or willingness to change and improve their actions. The prophet Yoel (2: 12-14) expressed a similar idea when he asked the people not to “tear their clothes, but their hearts,” for their repentance.
If we assume that by mentioning these words the text of Esther is subliminally indicating that at this time the Jews had not yet reached a level of sincere repentance, it leads us to a significant question that our sages addressed long time ago. What did the Jews do that they had to repent for? Why were they about to be punished?
The Sages of the Gemara discussed this subject. They spoke, for example, of the participation of Jews in the non Kosher King’s feasts, which indicates an advanced level of social assimilation. Or, according to other opinions, Jews did not make enough efforts to avoid practices associated with idolatry, etc.
Rabbi Yehuda haLevi in his famous book “The Cuzari” formulated a harsh, and extremely relevant (and somewhat shameful) response, especially for those of us who do not yet live in Israel.
The King of the Khazars asked the Rabbi: What happened in the times of the Second Temple, when the Jews were praying to God to return to Israel, and when this was possible, in the times of Cyrus (or Ahashverosh) the Jews opted for remaining in exile, and [ironically] they kept praying that God would bring them back to Zion?”
This was the response of the Cuzari:
“This sin, not having returned to the land of Israel when they had the opportunity to do so, is what prevented us from completing the Divine plan during the time of the Second Temple, as the prophet said:” Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion [God is once again in His land! Zekhariah 2:14] The prophecy, the Divine voice, was about to return to Israel as it was in the First Temple , and it was waiting for the Jews to return joyfully to their land. But [incredibly], this did not happened, and only some Jews returned, [the poorest] while the majority remained in a voluntary exile, since they did not want to separate themselves from their worldly affairs, their mansions and their businesses.
The waves of anti-Semitism that Jews experienced in Purim, the shadows of a potential genocide, was a wake-up call for many who lived comfortably in exile. After what happened with Haman, many Jews woke up and decided to return to Israel with Ezra and Nehemia.
