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February 13, 2012
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Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 5, 2004
/12 Adar, 5764
Purim and the Ultimate Question: Why?
By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
Masks, danger and second-guessing
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
The streets were quiet late Sunday evening as I pulled into my driveway and stepped out of my car. I had already reached my front porch when I heard hurried footsteps behind me, crunching on the snow. I turned quickly, but didn't register much about the man bounding toward me except the ski mask over his face and the gun in his hand.
He asked for my wallet. I gave it to him. He searched through it, found no cash, and dropped it on the ground. He told me to empty my pockets, asked for my car keys, and rummaged through my glove box. Again he found nothing. Then off he ran, leaving me to hurry inside and punch 911 into the phone.
The whole episode probably took less than three minutes, and from beginning to end I don't think my heart rate increased a beat. He never said a threatening word; indeed, he was almost polite. He didn't force his way into the house, didn't put the gun to my head, didn't order me to lie down on the concrete. It was surreal. He even tossed me my keys before he ran off, with the absurd admonition to "have money next time."
By the time the police arrived I was shaking. There had been a robber but I couldn't describe him. There had been a gun and a car, but in the dark I couldn't see well enough to describe them either. Nothing remained of him except a footprint in the snow. Nothing had been taken from me — except my peace of mind.
Before the end of the week I began wondering whether it had happened at all.
Perhaps the Jews of Persia felt the same way 2,360 years ago.
One day, every Jewish man, woman, and child had found himself under a death sentence from King Ahasuerus and his wicked viceroy, Haman. And literally the next day, every Jew found himself restored to grace: The leader of the Jews, Mordechai, had replaced Haman as viceroy, while Haman himself had been hanged from the gallows he had built for Mordechai. Jews far and wide must have marveled at such a dramatic turnabout, quite possibly wondering whether they had ever truly been in danger.
It would have been a fair question. The Talmud records that the students of Rabbi Shimon asked their teacher what the Jews of Persia had done to incur the death penalty. The rabbi replied that they had bowed down to an idol, which Haman had worn on a chain around his neck.
But they only appeared to bow down to the idol, the students protested, because they had believed that not bowing down to Haman would imperil their lives. Indeed, answered Rabbi Shimon, which is why they only appeared to be in any real danger.
A remarkable insight, that Haman had never posed a genuine threat to the Jews, that their lives and the existence of their entire people had never been stake, that any appearance of danger had in fact been nothing but an illusion.
According to Rabbi Shimon, the Jewish people did not escape a narrow brush with death, but had been made to believe that their lives were on the line to compel them to make a cheshbon hanefesh — an accounting of the soul: to look into their hearts, to examine their deeds, to evaluate their attitudes, to contemplate their character, to seek out any possible reason to explain why they felt themselves estranged from their Creator.
In the case of the Jews of Persia, their near-fatal flaw had been to lose trust in their Father in Heaven. They had known it was wrong to bow down to Haman, but they had believed they had no choice. After three days of fasting and reflection they realized that what they had done thinking to save themselves had, or at least appeared to have, put their very survival in jeopardy.
And what of my encounter with a man hiding behind a mask and a gun?
I may spend months or years contemplating that question, making my own cheshbon hanefesh again and again. But it was not lost on me that my own apparent brush with death came three days after the bombing of Jersualem's Number 19 bus that left ten dead and fifty injured. Like the people who got off the bus a stop before the blast or thought to board a stop later, my own life was merely the squeeze of a criminal's finger away from a violent end. Was I really in danger, or was I only close to danger to make me ask: Why me? Why them? Why now?
Until the day when we stand before the True Judge we can never answer such questions with certainty. But to ask the question, to search for answers by searching every corner of our souls, that is the path toward wisdom and righteousness, the path we should all walk as we seek to understand the most impenetrable mysteries of our own hearts and strive to make ourselves worthy of every step we take under the heavens.
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JWR contributor Rabbi Yonason Goldson teaches at Block Yeshiva High School and Aish HaTorah in St. Louis.
To comment, please click here.
© 2004, Rabbi Yonason Goldson
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