It is quite amusing to browse through the archives and see the interpretations of experts, who speak with great importance about what the future will bring. Almost everything happens the other way around; predictions are shattered time and again against the rocks of reality. And yet the experts and commentators do not adopt a measure of modesty, and do not admit that they are unable to predict the future.
There is an interesting question here: Aren't those experts supposed to understand a thing or two in their field of expertise, and supposedly have a way of evaluating the ways in which individuals and systems operate? Why do they fail again and again?
The answer is that beyond all earthly processes, there is someone above who directs events, who humiliates and elevates, who bequeaths and enriches.
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The wheel is spinning.
The Book of Esther clearly illustrates this principle. Purim is in fact a story of sharp reversals, which no one could have foreseen. The Jews enjoyed a very honorable status, and were even invited to the banquet of Ahasuerus. Mordecai, their leader, was "sitting at the king’s gate." And suddenly the wheel turned, and at once the Jews fell from the height of success to the most terrible low – "For we have been sold, I and my people, to destroy, to kill, and to perish.".
The miracle also occurred unexpectedly. The decree of destruction went out, sealed with the king's ring. Everyone knew that "a letter written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked." Haman had already prepared a gallows fifty cubits high to hang Mordecai on.
And suddenly, "that night the king's year was changed," and in the morning the wheel turned and the king ordered Haman to mount Mordecai on horseback through the city street and proclaim before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.".
Later in the day, following the events at the wine banquet, Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
The story of the scroll reflects the miraculous way in which God leads His world. Ostensibly, the world proceeds according to the course of nature, but in reality there is a hidden hand directing events.
We have seen this clearly in the last two and a half years.
Salvation in an instant
Purim gives hope even when we are caught in a difficult and complicated reality, when according to natural processes there seems to be no way out. That is why the Sages said: "Even if a sharp sword is placed on a person's neck, let him not withhold mercy" - for God, the Blessed, saves and saviors even when it seems that all hope has vanished.
This hope beats in our hearts even in the difficult reality we live in. We are surrounded by enemies who seek to "destroy, kill, and lose." The internal processes within the nation are very worrying. There are too many divisions and tensions between parts of the nation. This is precisely what gave Haman reason to think that he would succeed in harming the Jews, as he claimed: "He will make us one people, scattered and separated.".
Naturally, these processes lead to very worrying conclusions, but Purim reminds us that the wheel is turning. The people of Israel have already proven their ability to unite in a moment and discover the deep and inner connection to God and His Torah.
We are certain that even now the wheel will turn and the miraculous, great and surprising salvation will come, in true and complete redemption.
