THE Purim spirit intensified in the air the costumed cuteness of kids, delicious and fun mishlochei manot treats with their final touches. Pre-Purim and Purim pizza parties and banquet cooking, not to mention the Shushan Purim doings today.
My tiny taschen baked with their fragrance wafting through the air. And by the time you are reading this it may already be a fun Friday night Shabbos post-Shushan Purim!
But as these light Purim happenings occupied us this week, the heavy Iran question seemed to be intensifying in the air as well.
In Israel, especially, Iran is on everyones mind. Just last Wednesday the drones of four fighter jets noisily passed over a friends house. Immediately this family wondered, is this the attack on Iran? A modern day Purim? A few minutes later the planes turned back, so that thought was dashed. Looks like it was just an Air Force mishloach manot delivery.
Seriously though, there is this feeling in the air of: Is history repeating itself? There is a feeling of the threat of annihilation of the Jews in their land by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There is a feeling in the air of a very familiar Purim story possibly unfolding.
Of course, in the ancient Persia of the Megillah, Islam was not yet born. Persia, unlike Iran of today, was not a symbol for Islamic take-over.Yet, the theme of wanting to wipe out the Jews from the Persian Empire is the same as the desire to destroy the Jews in the land of Israel. The place and people is the same. Iran in ancient times was Persia, and in place of Ahmadinejad the villain Haman was at the heart of the story.
I wouldnt be surprised one bit if Ahmadinejad knows Megillat Esther, the Purim story, from an intimate Jewish perspective. It has the dimension of a political intrigue.
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