In the tradition of the Sages, it is customary to say that Purim marks the completion of the reception of the Torah.
At Mount Sinai, Israel supposedly received the Torah out of coercion, but on Purim they accepted it willingly ("they accepted"). Which turns Purim from a historical event about a physical threat that was removed through the heroism of Esther and Mordecai into an important religious event that provides a deeper perspective on the struggle between Ahasuerus and Haman against the Jewish people.
During the course of the scroll, Hadassah transforms into Esther, who becomes Queen Esther - the king's wife.
So, at the moment of truth, Esther is called to stand up by Mordecai, something that is not at all obvious, and finally Mordecai reminds her in such strong words - "And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom at such a time as this?"?!
And what was Esther's response? "Go and gather all the Jews.".
Esther understands very well that she will not be able to face the existential threat to her people without the support and backing of all Jews. The emphasis here all The Jews. Not Jews of this kind or that kind, not from this sector or another.
She is also not interested in examining this or that tzitzit. Esther's call is to gather the All Jews.
The unique mitzvah of Purim is the giving of gifts. This mitzvah is not charity; if it were, there would be no need for the additional mitzvah of gifts to the poor. The mitzvah of giving gifts is a mitzvah between one person and another. It is the mitzvah that connects us as brothers, not because of financial or other hardship, but simply because we are brothers.
This commandment connects well with Esther's call to gather all the Jews. Esther's call from the distress of the threat was to bring all the Jews together, and the commandment of sending gifts reflects this call in an act of brotherhood and unity among the wicked.
Unfortunately, I have often seen the call to "go to the assembly" in the context of ideological struggles, even on a religious-political basis.
In essence, we must remember that using Esther's call for a struggle between Jews is a complete miss of the intent of the verse, and certainly does not align with the need for the Jews to unite in the face of physical or spiritual threats.
Purim reminds us of the receiving of the Torah, this time voluntarily, but also provides a reminder of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which, as Rashi interprets, was from a situation of 'one man, one heart.' "And Israel encamped there, opposite the mountain.".
When we prepare and give out the food parcels, we should aim for "one man, one heart," and perhaps if we find a family we don't know and even belong to a different sector than ours, we will contribute to the same unity that Esther sought in order to avoid the bad sectors that lie ahead of us.
פורים שמח לכל עם ישראל. • דניאל גולדמן הוא יו"ר 'גשר' ואיש עסקים המתגורר בעיר בית שמש.
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