They glided in as if on invisible ponies, high heels and gilded gowns whisping across our floor. This was a special enough event to warrant shoes, and even heels, inside our Tokyo home, normally out of the question. (I did give them a wipe for the soles). It was, afterall, Purim. And my two friends were princesses–Esther-adjacent, but in the ethereal feel of a biblical/fairy tale princess, where the marvelous happened. And it does. 

But in that same Purim event, we didn’t just speak about Shushan. Later on, we spoke a bit about Putin and what was happening in the skies and in the cities of Ukraine as they were besieged, then, just three weeks into Putin’s war campaign, March, 2022. The Jewish community in Ukraine had been counted at roughly 43,000 at the start of that war, and they could not stay. It was a scary thing, a real-time war of men and brothers remaining behind to fight, rag-tag, as pharmacists or whatever occupation they were, (not professional soldiers), while women and children fled if they were able. 

And it was also Purim. 

Later, one of those princesses spoke with us, greatly upset, even mad. The fact that we’d brought up war at a Purim party was bad. It was a war outside of the Megilla–-outside of, or in addition to, Haman’s danger that we dodged. We referenced a war with no known closure, and no signaled “happy ever after”. It was going on, though, and it also affected a huge Jewish community. And it was probably mentioned in earshot of the little girls, perhaps hoping to be princesses, children who should only know laughter. (Two of the girls were my daughters). None of this sat well with our friend–an adult, mind you. 

She wanted escapism, maybe, or just enchantment for the little girls present. And I can appreciate that. Children do not need the stress of war, even when it is far away. But we are also a praying community. And one thing that raising Jewish children has taught........

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