One of the fascinating things about watching an artist paint a picture is seeing how seemingly meaningless brushstrokes suddenly transform into a spectacular image.
The viewer sees a line here, a line there, a spot here and a spot there, and only in the end do all the pieces of the puzzle come together and the complete picture is revealed.
In life, too, we see many isolated events that seem unrelated. But sometimes the perspective of time allows us to see a broader picture, and then it becomes clear that we are facing an entire process, where all the isolated events were brushstrokes that ultimately created the big picture.
A ten-year story
The story of the Book of Esther well illustrates the way in which a sequence of events connects into a single fabric.
We read the scroll in half an hour to an hour, and it seems to us that all the events happened one after the other. In fact, the story the scroll tells unfolds over ten years, and we do not necessarily see a connection between its components.
The banquet of Ahasuerus, in which the scroll opens, takes place in the third year of his reign. The next event, the election of Esther as queen, occurs four years later, in the seventh year of his reign.
Then another specific event occurs - Mordechai exposes the plot of Bigthan and Teresh to assassinate the king, and the deed is recorded in the Book of Chronicles. More years pass and Haman rises to prominence and becomes chief of the ministers.
Nine years after the banquet, the decree of destruction initiated by Haman is announced, and almost another year passes until "and it shall come to pass, that the Jews shall rule over their enemies.".
Those who do not see the complete picture believe that there is a series of events here that are unrelated.
We need the story of the scroll and the connections that our sages, whose memory is blessed, make for us in order to understand that these are links that make up a complete structure.
It begins with the Jews' participation in Ahasuerus' banquet, moves through the introduction of the cure for the plague in the form of Esther's election as queen and the exposure of the assassination plot by Mordecai, and reaches its climax with the decree of Haman and its surprising ending.
The scroll helps us connect the dots, highlighting the relevant events.
During those ten years, many other events occurred in the kingdom of Ahasuerus. Here, the ability to isolate the significant events, connect the dots, and weave the complete story is required.
As the dust settles
We too live in a great process, and it is not easy for us to see the big picture. There are ups and downs, progress and retreat, sharp changes in direction. There are events that lift our spirits, and there are things that arouse concern in our hearts.
But since we believe that the hand of Providence is guiding events, it is clear to us that in the end everything will be for the best.
A look from above at the events of the past decades will reveal that when the dust settles, miraculous things are happening here.
Who remembers that about thirty years ago they talked about a demographic danger, and suddenly a wave of immigration from the CIS countries came, bringing us more than a million Jews. How worried we were about the threats of the Iraqi oppressor, and look where he is and where we are.
This is actually the story of Purim – the hand of God leading the people of Israel toward their redemption. Happy Purim!
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