Rabbi’s Purim Message / Shabbat Parshat Zachor 2026

Dear Friends,

I know we are all on edge because of this war. Americans are unsure why we entered this foray, and Israel is once again being cast as a belligerent and imposing bully.

However, we must realize that Iran’s leadership was set on eliminating Israel.

Grounded in Shia ideology and Khomeini’s teachings, the regime framed opposition to Israel as a religious duty to liberate Jerusalem and protect Islam from Western imperialism and perceived Jewish impurity. For the past thirty years, they’ve been arming and funding proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen to attack us. Lately, Iran has been focusing its productivity on defeating Israel. Instead of providing water and electricity for their people, they were redeveloping their nuclear and ballistic capabilities. If there’s one thing we should learn from history, it’s that when someone makes threats to annihilate us, we should take them seriously. Iran’s behavior is reminiscent of the last years of WWII, when the Nazi’s focused more of their efforts to destroy us than to combat the Allies. We and Israel don’t need to apologize for taking steps to ensure our existence.

On the other hand, we should feel compassion for innocent Iranians caught in the middle, as well as American soldiers and citizens across the Gulf States caught in the gunfire. We pray that this war be short and have a productive end for Israel and Iran for generations to come.

It’s something to ponder: why did this war start right before Purim?

Tonight is Purim, and we’ll be reading Megillat Esther (7 PM at the synagogue). The Story of Haman and Achashverosh, Mordechai and Esther takes place more than 2500 years ago in ancient Persia, which is modern-day Iran. About 70 years beforehand, Judah was conquered and all its people were exiled to Babylon and Persia.

After Achashverosh deposes Vashti for her women’s liberation uprising, he becomes lonely. The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let beautiful young maidens be sought out for Your Majesty. And let the young lady who pleases Your Majesty be queen instead of Vashti. The proposal pleased the king, and he acted upon it.”

Then the Megillah seemingly shifts subjects by speaking to us about Mordechai.

“In the city of Shushan lived a Jew by the name of Mordecai, son of Jair…”

The verses go on to say that he was in Shushan because that’s where he was taken, along with many of the other exiles from Judah.

Now, Mordechai had an adopted daughter, and this explains the juxtaposition:

“He was foster father to Hadassah—that is, Esther—his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The maiden was beautiful and attractive, and when her father and mother died, Mordechai adopted her as his own daughter.”

When the call went out for exceptional young women, Esther was drafted and immediately given preferential treatment. Mordechai thought Esther might actually win this beauty contest, so, to avoid spoiling her chances, he told her not to tell the judges she was Jewish. “Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had told her not to reveal it.” Even after Esther was crowned queen and King Achashverosh insisted that she reveal her lineage, she refused to divulge it.

Now you might say, of course, they knew Mordechai and Esther were Jewish-could you possibly list two more Jewish names?!

But that’s for us living in America in the 21st century. In ancient Persia, Mordechai and Esther were religious non-Jewish names! Esther is the equivalent of Venus. Her Jewish name was Hadassah. We don’t know Mordechai’s Jewish name, but his name is the equivalent of someone being called Zeus. So, based on how they were called, no one knew they were Jewish, and it must be that their lifestyles weren’t so obviously Jewish either. Haman only finds out that Mordechai is Jewish because someone squealed on him. כִּֽי־הִגִּ֥יד לָהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־ה֥וּא יְהוּדִֽי׃

“For they told them that he was a Jew.”

Now, we can ask, why was Mordechai so afraid of admitting his and Esther’s Jewishness?

I think we need to put ourselves in their shoes. Mordechai and Esther are from a conquered people. The Babylonians ransacked Judah and destroyed their Kingdom and Temple. They were forcibly relocated from their homeland.

Despite all the promises God gave to defend the Jewish people, for whatever reason, God did not come through, and so the Jewish people feel defeated and dejected. They’re just trying to do their best by mixing in with the native populations and not making any trouble. If all goes as planned, they’ll peacefully assimilate into the local population.

But that’s not what God wanted.

Haman creates a plot to kill all the Jewish people across the 127 provinces of the Persian empire. If they don’t stand up for themselves, they’re goners.

Mordechai now understands why Esther is queen. This is her opportunity to make a difference:

“If you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another source, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained a royal position for just such a crisis.”

In the end, Esther speaks up and deposes Haman. Mordechai takes his place, becoming Viceroy of Persia, and the Jews rid themselves of their enemies.

Purim became a holiday because the Jews came to realize that God loved them. They understood that there were too many coincidences and synchronicities in this story for it to be random; God was pulling the strings. In reciprocity, the Jewish people recommitted to God on Purim.

2500 years later, on Purim of 2026, is God also coordinating events to guarantee our perpetuity? I’ll let you decide.

But we must agree on our fundamental right to life. Our existence is not up for debate, although the necessary steps to secure this right may be difficult and provoke strong disagreement. Let’s be grateful for our president and the U.S Army for supporting us. After listening to a report from the Community Security Initiative, there are, thankfully, no known threats for our area, but we will remain vigilant. We pray for the safety of Israel and Jews worldwide, as well as US soldiers and civilians across Iran and the Gulf States. May this see this war reach the best possible conclusion.

Purim Sameach,

R’ Neil