Purim is a time of rejoicing and of increasing our joy.
A time when the Jews "Had light and gladness and joy and honor."
On Purim joy is the result of the unexpected happy ending,
from being saved, and from having peace.
Joy is experienced when we internalize that
everything we have is a divine gift and
are open to and aware of God's blessings.
So much joy and simcha comes from knowing that we matter and
that God loves everyone more than we can even imagine.
With joy comes a deep desire to give.
Giving feeds our soul, makes us happy,
helps us expand ourselves.
When we give, we receive so much more in return.
On Purim we give gifts of money, time, and resources.
We don't understand how the world works and
why there is so much pain and suffering.
It is a crazy, upside-down world.
Moses asks God to " show me Your glory.'
God responds, 'You shall not be able to see My face,
for no human can see me and live…My face may not be seen."
In this life we will never know the ways of God and how it all fits together.
We do not run the world.
Maybe in retrospect, in hindsight we will understand, but maybe not.
Yet, Purim is about acknowledging God is in charge,
behind the scenes, orchestrating events.
The challenge is to live in spite of not knowing-
to get into the trenches and work hard to make the world better.
On Purim we are grateful
for the good we have been blessed with,
for the love that we have for each other and
for the eternal relationship we have with God.
Purim sameach
Shabbat shalom
Much love
Elissa
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