So the Jews struck at their enemies with the sword, slaying and destroying; they wreaked their will upon their enemies…..in the fortress of Shushan, the Jews killed a total of five hundred men (and they also killed the ten sons of Haman , the foe of the Jews)…..and the Jews in Shushan mustered again on the fourteenth day of Adar and slew three hundred men in Shushan…….and the rest of the Jews, –those in the king’s provinces—likewise mustered and fought for their lives. They disposed of their enemies, killing 75,000 of their foes…….and they rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day of feasting and merrymaking.” (From chapter 9 of the Book of Esther)

So the Jews struck at their enemies with the sword, slaying and destroying; they wreaked their will upon their enemies…..in the fortress of Shushan, the Jews killed a total of five hundred men (and they also killed the ten sons of Haman , the foe of the Jews)…..and the Jews in Shushan mustered again on the fourteenth day of Adar and slew three hundred men in Shushan…….and the rest of the Jews, –those in the king’s provinces—likewise mustered and fought for their lives. They disposed of their enemies, killing 75,000 of their foes…….and they rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day of feasting and merrymaking.” (From chapter 9 of the Book of Esther)

On the day before Purim in  February 1994, I woke up in my home in  Jerusalem to the news that Baruch Goldstein – an American immigrant to Israel who had joined Meir Kahane’s far-right anti-Arab Kach movement — had massacred 29 (and wounded 125) innocent  Muslims in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. He was following in the footsteps of the Jews of the mythical town of “Shushan” in the book of Esther in the Bible, who took vengeance on the citizens of their country (after having been saved from destruction by Mordechai and Esther), by killing more than  75,000 of the innocent citizens of his city. He took the messages of hatred, retribution and vengeance of Purim all too seriously.

This year a few days before Purim, once again, the government of Israel—led by followers of Baruch Goldstein and Meir Kahane) who fostered hatred and expulsion of Arabs in Israel) by the names of Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, with their “leader” who has become their stooge, Bibi Netanyahu—again attacked Persia, now known as Iran. In this “preemptive strike,” which was actually the launching of another war, this time with the help of the United States of America.  Not only did they hang Haman by killing the leader of Iran (and many of his associates) but they went on – and are continuing to strike Iran by massive bombings, which also entail killing of hundreds and thousands of innocent people.

Isn’t this an irony? On the Jewish holiday that celebrates violence and revenge, for our survival, we have done it once again! Wow. This is really bringing the story of Purim to life!

It is also ironic that the number of people killed in the Purim story in Shushan is about the same number that the IDF killed in the war against Hamas in Israel and Gaza, most of whom were innocent civilians, including many women and children.

With all this killing and destruction going on, we must ask: how much is enough? When will it all end? Will it ever end? Or are we in a forever war, with the cycle of violence only repeating itself time and time again? Is it all worth it? At the end of this war, will we really be any safer?  Will we have done anything to try to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Will the lives of Israelis and Palestinians be better? Will we live in a just and fair society?

Also, we must confront the basic questions of morality and empathy: Do we Jews really care how many Palestinians or Lebanese or Iranians are killed? Does it matter at all? Are all the  innocent civilians who are killed really just “collateral damage”? Sorry, we didn’t really mean to kill you but you were just in the way, you were a “human shield”!  Do we have any room for empathy left for all those human beings whose lives have been lost and whose families have been shattered? Or has it come down to this: we really only care about our own lives and our own survival. To hell with the rest of them!

When the Jews left Egypt a long time ago, according to the Biblical story, they escaped by many miracles, and when they emerged on the other side of the Sea of Reeds, they sang a song of rejoicing:

 “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.”   Exodus 15:1

 “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.”   Exodus 15:1

How can God do this? What kind of God is this that delights when some people are thrown into the sea and destroyed? Can God really be pleased with this action? Is God one-sided? Does he want certain human beings or certain peoples to triumph in war and others to be the clear losers?

The midrash offers a poignant commentary that speaks to me to this very day:

In that instant that the ministering angels wished to utter song before the Holy One but He rebuked them, saying: “ The works of my hands are drowning in the sea, and you would utter song in My presence.”

In that instant that the ministering angels wished to utter song before the Holy One but He rebuked them, saying: “ The works of my hands are drowning in the sea, and you would utter song in My presence.”

In other words, we need to have some compassion for all human beings who are dying and suffering in this war, not just those of our tribe.

Frankly, I am sick and tired of the Israeli media’s glorification of the “successes” in this war and the wars in Lebanon and Gaza, both of which are far from over (the government of Israel is talking about going all the way this time in Lebanon, to “total victory” over Hezbollah and they are still talking about doing the same in Gaza!). On the contrary, this government offers us very little compassion, not even for the people who are suffering inside Israel, and certainly none for the Palestinians who suffer daily pogroms by radical settlers (with government backing) in the West Bank and those who suffer in the 48% of the Gaza strip that they still control. This government only promises us war and more war; they have absolutely no policies for peace.

Are we killing too many people in all these wars? And, do we care?

That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it.”  – Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a

That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it.”  – Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a

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