Purim: A Celebration of Jewish Resilience in Post-October 7th World

This coming Shabbat, the one before Purim (next week) is known as Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembrance. 

This year 5785, the eve of Shabbat Zachor is Adar 7th, which is the date of Moshe Rabbeinu’s both birth and passing, a crucially significant event in the entire history of Jewish people. 

For many years and decades, from a generation or so after the Shoah, from the 1970s forward, Shabbat Zachor in which we remember our victory over Amalek, but also the terrible deeds of him, our mental annual reference to Amalek was more or less academic reference, intellectually, for many of the observing Jews. Not anymore. 

Our lives changed dramatically, essentially and in principle after October 7th. There is nothing academic or theoretical any longer with regard to violent accelerating  antisemitism as a global phenomena, and with hideous crimes against Jews in real time, non-stop. 

With disbelief and dismay, we are finding out practically daily that we are living at the time of Amalek being reinforced and back again. This is a totally new reality for any Jew anywhere. 

The coming in a week Purim is the second one after October 7th 2023. The pain did not diminish. The new ugly and painful grimaces of a weaponized hatred against us pops in daily, in any destination. 

The new US Administration with its proper stand with regard to Israel, Jews and antisemitism just started its term. Their understanding is proper and commendable, but there has not been enough time objectively to implement the new US policies aiming to return their country, with some part of the world following the mainstream from the US to normal humanity. 

So we are entering Purim, which for so many years in our recent history, about a half of a century, was a feast of super-joy, in the mode of a non-stop alert in which we all are living, both in Israel and abroad. 

And maybe, for the first time in the life of two generations, we are realizing that Purim first of all is the celebration of resilience. The resilience of Esther and everything that she exemplifies with her overwhelming, and importantly, focused devotion. The resilience of Mordechai and everything that has made him strong, sharp intellect and steel-like will including. The resilience of every Jew who did understand what they both were talking about and who followed them wholeheartedly, thus bringing and assuring a principal victory of our people over Amalek. An Amaleks of all sorts, the evil practicing its essence. 

Today, when we are living in a suddenly difficult, dramatic, dangerous, pretty much black & white time of another reincarnation of Amalek and his army of darkness, Purim, with its emphasized resilience, has become an exceptionally important mark in our Jewish calendar. From two Purims back, it is not just a super-joy of our essential, but historical victory. It is a celebration of our resilience, preparedness, understanding and will to prevail over evil. It is about the conscious, and well-informed personal effort of each of us. Every single Jew. Anywhere. Because the core of the modern-day Amalek’s hit today is purely racial, not political. Those who do not get it and are trying to appease the Amalek of today are hopelessly naive, to put it diplomatically, and will face the reality sooner or later. 

Before Purim, this coming Shabbat a week before it, Shabbat Zachor, is not less important. Shabbat of Remembrance this year also bears our special remembrance of Moshe Rabbeinu and his role of a stern devotion and complete concentration on the purpose of being in the life of a Jew. 

Michael Rogatchi (C). Moses Hour. Original drawing on Inna Rogatchi’s mixed-technique original print. 2017. Rabbi Lord Sacks and Lady Sacks private collection. London.

In the special rendering of the image of Moshe Rabbeinu, which is done by both my husband artist Michael Rogatchi and me, with Michael’s drawing over my mixed-technique image, there is the point of seeing. We are generally divided into two groups: those who do not see (or do not want to), and those who do. Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen by the Creator to lead the nation because he definitely belonged to the people who do see which is not that obvious, and more, who did strive to see, without choosing to see only things nice, or choosing to close his eyes or divert his look. 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the blessed memory, also was the person who strived to see, and to look deeper. When Michael and I presented him with this work, he and Lady Elaine smiled with the broad smiles of the people who got the message momentarily. We are so glad that this work of many has been in the Rabbi Sacks home and his family. It is about our ability and will to see, most of all, the things which are not obvious. 

Normally, we celebrate Purim with images of exalted joy, and Michael who loves our music, dance, and way of celebration, created many works of an exalted joy, some of them dedicated to Purim specifically, because it is an epitome of Jewish celebration to be Jewish. 

But in the post-October 7th world, and with the newly defined feeling of Purim as the celebration of our resilience, which is the only way to prevail over evil, we are thinking about some other images. Among them, Michael’s very special work with its strong message speaks strongly. 

Michael Rogatchi (C). Spiral of Fate. Oil on canvas. 76 x 84 cm. 2005. The Rogatchi Art Collection.

The work was created in 2005, and its name is Spiral of Fate. There is not without reason that a spiral is one of the corn-stones of the way of the world’s construction and functioning as it is seen by Judaism. With awe, we just see in front of our eyes, one more time in our long and eventful history, how the development of our lives gets into another level of a spiral. 

Remembrance and resilience dominate our pre-Purim and Purim days today, in the 5785th year of our history. 

It is different, after October 7th, but it is strong, focused and it provides us to appreciate who we are twice so.