Vengeance and Violence at Purim Time by Rabbi Margaret Jacobi

This TFTW is written by Rabbi Margaret Jacobi, who is the visiting rabbi at the Jewish community in Adelaide, Australia.

Though it relates to last week's haftarah we thought it was important to share, as we are dealing with the tumultuousness of Purim and the violent attacks in Hawara. 

I hope you will excuse me if I break one of the rules of new and visiting rabbis, which is to avoid controversial subjects.  Usually, I do this, especially on my first Shabbat here.  But it seems to me that the combination of this week’s particular Haftarah and the events of last weekend cannot be avoided. 

The Haftarah which we are going to read is not one I usually read.  For many years in Liberal congregations in England, and probably elsewhere too, the traditional Haftarah for Shabbat Zachor, the shabbat before Purim, would be replaced by another which was more morally comfortable.  The traditional Haftarah tells the story of how King Saul was commanded by the prophet Samuel to slaughter the Amalekites, men, women and children. The story is linked to the additional Torah reading for this Shabbat called parshat Amalek, the portion about Amalek, (Deut. 25:17-19) which commands us to remember the Amalekites and blot out their name. It is a shocking story of revenge and slaughter of innocent people.  How could God possibly have demanded this?  To give a brief answer to a difficult problem, Progressive Jews do not believe that God commanded Saul to slaughter the Amalekites. Nor do we believe that the words of parshat Amalek are directly from God.

Rather, they reflect all too human feelings. For human beings do terrible things. Conflicts can sometimes continue for generations because each side feels it has to revenge the wrongs done to it, bringing about a cycle of escalating violence.

Which brings us to the events of last weekend.  Two young Israeli men were shot whilst walking through a Palestinian village.  In revenge, hundreds of Israeli settlers set fire to the Palestinian town of Hawara.  It is a miracle that only one man was killed, but the damage and fear were shocking.  It recalled a pogrom, and indeed it has been described as a pogrom by many sources, including Israeli ones. 

This is not the only attack of such a kind which has occurred around Purim time.  Nearly 30 years ago, in 1994, on Purim Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians whilst they were at prayer in the mosque in Hebron.  Shockingly, he is the inspiration for many of the present Israeli settlers, who see him as a hero. 

Although the death toll in the Hebron massacre was higher, the rampage through Hawara was more disturbing in some ways.  It was not the work of an isolated person but rather involved hundreds of Jews.  The army did nothing to intervene, even though it knew that some sort of attack was imminent. 

The attack was motivated by the spirit of our Haftarah.  For the Jews who perpetrated the violence, every Palestinian represents Amalek and so they feel they have a licence to kill and destroy.

Liberal Jews – and some Orthodox Jews too – have been wary of Purim because of the message of vengeance and violence that ends the book. On the other hand, I know this congregation is looking forward to celebrating it tomorrow as a joyful community day.  The story is not historical. Rather, it is a parody, with clear heroes and villains making up a pantomime story. We can, and should, celebrate with joy.  The festival brings us together, engages our children and teaches us the mitzvot of sending gifts and giving to the poor.  But we should also be aware that there is a shadow over the festival.  This year especially, our rejoicing cannot be whole-hearted because we mourn the legacy of Shabbat Zachor.  

I want to end on a more positive note, with some good news. Immediately following the rampage, Yair Fink, an orthodox Jew, was so appalled by the news that he put out an appeal.  Within 24 hours he had raised over $300,000 for the town of Hawara.

The waves of support, and indeed the demonstrations that have taken place in the past weeks against the Netanyahu Government, give one hope for Israel. Let us keep on to that hope and join with those who wish to build peace and democracy in Israel.

On Sunday we will celebrate Purim together.  Let us be joyful and let us pray that the words of the book of Esther, which we also read at the Seder, will be fulfilled: that mourning will be turned to gladness and sorrow to festive joy.