In a couple of weeks the Jewish nation will celebrate the holiday of Purim. While most Jewish holidays can be summed up with, “they came to kill us, we won, let’s eat!”, Purim takes on a whole different atmosphere. Perhaps the biggest difference between the holiday of Purim and all other Jewish holidays, is the fact that the name of God is not mentioned in the book of Esther even once.

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CLICK HERE Send Mishloach Manot (Purim holiday packages) To IDF soldiers Who Will Be On Duty During Purim

The story of Purim takes place after the destruction of the First Jewish Temple that stood in Jerusalem. Jews were exiled and were living under the Persian king Ahasuerus.

Things were actually great between the Jewish population and the native Persians until Haman, an anti semite who held the second highest position in the kingdom, decided to implement his “Final Solution” to annihilate the Jews.

There was no real reason for Haman’s hatred and the only detail we know about the Jews at the time was that they were NOT united. Haman approached the king to justify his wish to destroy the Jews and used the following explanation,

“There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people’s, and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them.”

One of the explanations why evil almost prevailed was the lack of unity between the powers of good. The plan to completely wipe the Jews off the face of the earth was closer than ever to materializing as Hamas (I accidentally wrote Hamas instead of Haman, but I think I will keep the typo) received permission from the King to carry his plan for the Final Solution. Messengers were sent to all 127 provinces and the order was given to kill all the Jews on the 14 of the Hebrew month of Adar.

There was no attempt of any diplomacy from any of the other nations to stop this immoral anti semitic act. Only through wild coincidences (what we would call the hand of God) was Haman’s plan foiled. Even after the King found Haman guilty of treason and had him and his entire family hung, he could not reverse the decree that was already passed and the Jews were about to become the victims of yet another pogrom.

What King Ahasuerus did next was something so revolutionary that even the Jews at the time did not know how to deal with it.

Ahasuerus told the Jews they have permission to defend themselves! For the first time since the Temple was destroyed, Jews would not be walking like sheep to the slaughter house but would rather stand tall and fight those who seek their destruction.

PURIM 2015

The Jews have come a long way since the time of Hamas (oops, I did it again). We have survived many who have tried to destroy us, but things today are a little different. We are not at the whim of a foreign king but rather have our own country with our own army. The world has also come a long way since the darkest times of anti semitism. Many people in the world have learned from the past and instead of trying to kill or destroy the Jews, have befriended us.

Look at the amount of Christians Zionists out there. While many look upon them with a suspicious eye, I say the world is in a better place when they are supporting the Jews and not trying to kill us. At the time of Purim and again during the Holocaust we were angry at the entire world for staying silent as we burned. It is a good thing that there are people in the world who will no longer stand silent during any more Hamas-like decrees against the Jews.

The name of God does not appear even a single time in the book of Esther. God’s name missing from the book of Esther is not to say that it was not God’s hand that saved us, but rather a lesson for us (humanity) that we must take responsibility and unite against evil. Today the State of Israel is a light amongst the nations. This is not some allegory about a chosen nation but rather a description of reality. The State of Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East where minorities, women and religions have freedoms that our neighbors consider blasphemy.

 

IDF, The Moral Compass

The men and women who serve in the IDF are here to protect Israel against the modern day Haman. Israel has no interest in war and never had. The IDF has always responded to threats and terror and never initiated a war out of thirst for more land or hatred. While it is clear that Israel in general and IDF soldiers specifically do what they can to protect innocent civilians, the world is constantly pointing fingers at Israel and blaming us for protecting ourselves against those who seek to destroy us.

READ ALSO: An Inside Look Into IDF Urban Warfare Training

 

It’s Time To Wish IDF Soldiers A Happy Purim

On of the traditions of Purim is to hand out special holiday packages to friends, family and people who are unable to afford to celebrate. This custom is to counteract Haman’s original claim that we are dispersed and separated. It is to show that our unity is our strength and as long as the power of good stands up against the power of evil, good will always prevail.

In two weeks, Jews all over the world will celebrate our victory over those who attempted to destroy us. We will drink, eat, sing and and make a loud and clear statement that we are here to stay, together! While we will be busy partying, IDF soldiers will be on duty keeping Israel safe.

Standing Together has a goal to deliver Purim packages (Mishloach Manot) to 900 IDF soldiers who will be on duty in Hebron. There is no other place in the world that symbolizes Jewish continuity like the city of Hebron where Abraham, Issac and Jacob are buried together with Sarah, Rebbeca and Leah. This gesture is the least we can do to thank the men and women who are putting their own lives on the line to keep Israel safe.

Each package cost only $15 and we need your help to make sure all 900 IDF soldiers have a reason to smile on Purim.

Click HERE or on the DONATE button below to sponsor Mishloah Manot for IDF soldiers. 

 

IDF WINTER GEAR CAMPAIGN

The winter months are freezing up north and Standing Together with the help of sponsors from around the world have already given out thousands of winter gear packs to IDF soldiers. We have another 3,000 soldiers who we need to get to and we (they) need your support.

A complete winter gear pack cost $100 and there are 100-120 soldiers in each platoon.
Sponsor as many soldiers as you like or a full unit by clicking on the guys below!