“חג פורים חג פורים חג גדול לילדים”
No doubt – Purim is one of the happiest and one of the most craziest days here in Israel, washing our streets with joy, colors and candies, helping us celebrate without being worried about tomorrow or how we look.
This year Purim collided with the Corona Virus – affecting the realty and economy in a surrealistic and bizarre way, but also affecting Purim’s special spirit as events were canceled, panic replaced joy, and thoughts about your diet, while gorging hamantasch were replaced with thoughts about how well the seller washed his hands…
If you come to think about it, these crazy Corona days have a few things in common with Purim (besides the weird reality). Here are some thoughts about how both events simultaneously teach us:
פור = גורל = fate
Purim’s name generates from the word “פור” – fate. “נפל הפור” = the die is cast/it is set/it is decided. אי אפשר לשנות את הגורל"" – "you can't change fate" but Purim's story teaches us differently… was the Corona virus a fatalistic? can we try and change it?
תחפושת – costume
This is a relatively new word in Hebrew, coming from the root "to look for" – לחפש"", meaning that the person who is wearing a costume is waiting for the others to look for him and find out who he is…
סולידריות ועזרה לאביונים – solidarity and helping people who don’t have much
This is one of Purim's orders (מצוות). Writing these lines, I know a great number of Israelis are in quarantine, all cooped up in their homes; I also know a large number of people are helping them around the clock – placing food on their door step, hosting their kids for weeks, covering for them at work…
לשמוח / להודות במה שיש - be happy, be thankful for everything you have
So Purim’s main focus is about us and our relationship with our immediate environment – Purim teaches us to pay attention and find one another, to share and to give, to be thankful and happy about everything we have (and not to think about what we are lacking and for what we can buy online…) – because you can’t control fate…
And this virus? Well it teaches us to stop. Stop and take a good look around and understand we actually had everything we needed (and more), and some of what we have might not be here tomorrow… now we are thankful and wish the life we previously had to be virus free, just let life be…
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