Every step I take is a step toward Jerusalem

RABBI MOSHE D. GUTNICK RABBINIC ADMINISTRATOR THE KASHRUT AUTHORITY

Time flies. Looking in the rearview mirror I see the dim glow of the Chanukah lights receding in the background. Looking forward, Purim is almost here. Both are joyous and rabbinic in origin. While Purim is first chronicled in the Bible within the Book of Esther – it was not commanded to us by the Almighty like Pesach or Sukkot, rather it was instituted by Queen Esther.

So too Chanukah was established by the Kohanim, High Priests, not by direct command from Hashem. Both festivals are celebrated as vehicles to show our gratitude to G-d for the miracle of salvation.

Yet there are profound differences between the two. The celebration of Chanukah is primarily one of spiritual salvation. The Hellenists did not issue a decree to physically wipe out the Jewish people. Rather, they sought to create a ‘spiritual Holocaust’ with the intention to obliterate every vestige of Jewish belief. Namely, desiring the Torah to be regarded as secular fiction, within which the stories were mere myths and the commandments ignored, so it no longer illuminated the way for Klal Yisrael.

A handful of brave Jews formed a victorious army until the Temple was recaptured and the Menora lights were rekindled once again. It was miraculous. As the victory was primarily spiritual, the celebration on Chanukah is a touch understated, rejoicing in the light and its ability to illuminate darkness.

Enter Purim. The evil Haman of every generation sought to unleash a genocide to annihilate us all on one day.

One courageous woman saved the day. Esther. In the face of this horror she could have prioritised saving herself within the palace. Yet strengthened by faith and risking her life, she entered the throne room of the King (and in a Kabbalistic sense, the throne room of the King of Kings) and the tables were turned. Jews were permitted to retaliate and our enemies were crushed.

The celebration exceeds that of Chanukah and we rejoice wholeheartedly, without the usual restraints and inhibitions. It is impossible to not see the parallels between these two festivals and our time, imbuing me with wonder. The Soviet Union sought to eradicate every vestige of Jewish identity. There were no Jewish schools, nor the legal permission to practice Shabbat, Yom Tov, Mikvah, Bris and more. Yet the light of Judaism was never extinguished – from the Chabad network of secret schools to the covert mohel, performing circumcisions.

From the shochet, ritual slaughterer operating in a clandestine fashion to the refusenik, Jewish light continued to shine. The Soviet Union is no more and Jewish faith is stronger than ever.

Hitler, of cursed memory, was the horrific ‘Haman’, except that unlike

Haman, he partially succeeded in his murderous plans personifying the worst evil in human history murdering six million men, women and children.

Where was the “Salvation will come to the Jewish people,” promised by Mordechai? It did not come for a third of our people and we are left with only questions and there are no answers …

There was one outcome which defies all logic and reason and is our salvation. We rose up. With the ashes still beneath the soles of our feet we marched to Israel. For the first time in human history, a nation returned to its Homeland and biblical prophecies began to be fulfilled in front of our eyes. The desert bloomed. Today, the joy of Jewish weddings echoes the hills of Jerusalem.

As Hashem sets out in a biblical promise, He gathered us in from every continent and returned the treasured Temple site and our City of Gold. With G-d Almighty’s blessing we have become a strong nation able to defend itself against our enemies. Witnessing all this, we are left without doubt that the time will come when the Temple will be rebuilt in all its glory and peace will reign in our Holy Land.

As I cast my gaze into my rearview mirror and also up ahead, I recall the miracles of yesteryear. Yet, my feet are firmly planted in the here and now, rejoicing in our modern day Chanukah and festival of Purim. All-the-while, in the famed words of Reb Nachman from Breslov, “Every step I take is a step toward Jerusalem”.