Joliet Jewish Congregation
From the Rabbi's Study
March 1, 2025
WHAT WOULD ESTHER DO?
“The most common way people give up their power
is by thinking they don’t have any.”
Alice Walker​​
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As the Festival of Purim approaches and with every day we watch the human rights of our fellow American’s being threatened or removed, it is our duty as Jews to step into our roles of champions of social justice. With the problems being portrayed as larger than life, we may be fooled into feeling that we have no power to make change. However, as the American author of the prize-winning novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker reminds us, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
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We do have power. We have the power of speech and refusing to be a bystander to the very hatred and offensive behavior towards immigrants that has plagued our own people for many centuries. We must stand up against the registry or deportation of minorities of all backgrounds. We must work to protect those who seek asylum and if returned would be subject to violence and persecution.
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Standing up is no small task. In fact, it challenges the very core of our souls. We may be afraid. We may be unsure. So then, who can guide us? Esther can. The heroine in our Purim story who refused to stay silent when the rights of her own people were being threatened. Using the incredible courage in Esther’s heart as our own legacy, we can reach inside our own hearts to find the courage to become active in expressing our dissent to our leaders and to bravely use our own power.​​
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Using the following acronym for Esther’s name, we can find the necessary strength and guidance to move forward. ESTHER: Expressing Self Truthfully Honoring Everyone’s Rights.
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The Jewish tradition teaches that pikuach nefesh, saving a soul, is the single most important obligation of every human being. It’s why Elie Wiesel in his 1986 speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize shared:​​​​​​​​​​​​​
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure
suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the
oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered,
when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become
irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race,
religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.”
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It is time to say no to fear. It is time to allow the spirit of Purim and the possibility of peace and unity for all people to begin to enter our hearts, our powerful hearts. It is time to ask, “What would ESTHER do?”
WE ARE STRONG
By Rabbi Jenny Steinberg-Martinez JD CHT
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The peaceful Buddhist country of Tibet was invaded by Communist China in 1949. Since that time, over 1.2 million out of 6 Tibetans have been killed, over 6000 monasteries have been destroyed, and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned. When the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Sanctuary, was invaded by the Chinese, and the surviving monks were sent out into the world to survive, he called upon Jewish leaders for advice. Why? It is because we are strong in our identity and have remained true to ourselves in a life of Diaspora. With our strength we have managed to touch all four corners of the globe with our wisdom, joy, and traditions.
The summer time in the Western World brings celebration, barbecue, swimming and fun. It seems a strange time of year for our most somber holiday. Tish B’ Av, the sacred fast, arrives this month to remind us of the 9th day of Av a day when a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem.
Tisha B'Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar and it is thus believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy. The observance of the day includes five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25- hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem is read in the synagogue, followed by the recitation of kinnot, liturgical dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some kinnot also recall events such as the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans, massacres in numerous medieval Jewish communities during the Crusades.
So how do we honor this day with an appropriate balance of reverence and optimism? This is how; we claim our Diaspora as a beginning and not an ending. We claim our Diaspora as a call from God to persevere in the world and be a force of Torah for all to experience. We claim our strength. It is when we claim these things that we can help bring unity and healing to the whole world without preoccupation with what was lost; for we have found more than we have lost. We have found our power. We are strong!
*To read more about the Jewish and Buddhist conversation: The Jew in the Lotus, by Roger Kamenetz