It happens that I'm in the middle of Dan Simmons' latest SciFi opus, Illium/Olympos. As with most of his work, it's hard to put down. Among other things, the story involves the recreation or manifestation or actualization of ancient history in a way that allows for unpredictable deviations from the "original." This isn't one of those worn out time-travel yarns. It's the Trojan War revisited in the distant future with all of its old characters and some very new ones. No one knows how it's going to turn out this time.
What does this have to do with Purim? Despite knowing better, I think I've always experienced the Megillah reading as a recollection of something fixed firmly in the past. Not only literally, but figuratively as well. Never in my lifetime have the Jews in any part of the world been threatened with deliberate annihilation. Yes, there were those who wondered whether the young State of Israel would survive the '67 war. I don't remember worrying much in 1973 that we were about to be blasted off the face of the earth, but I guess ignorance was bliss. But something about this latest threat feels different.
I know that Ahmadinejad's mullah buddies mumble disclaimers to the press about his murderous intentions toward all Jews. "We have Jews here in Iran," they say. "We don't have anything against them." It's not convincing. Our modern Haman has made his intentions quite clear, and he has at (or almost at) his disposal weapons that neither the Arab palestinians of 1948 nor Egypt, Jordan, Syria or Iraq had in any of those previous encounters. His dismissal of the Holocaust eliminates any doubt as to the limits of his antipathy.
Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordechai. Tonight we tell the story and, sadly, it's not just history. The modern Haman seeks to destroy the Jewish State, to "wipe it off the map" and to disperse those Jews who survive his slaughter to the four corners of the earth. History repeats itself, or is recreated, reenacted. Soon, we could be living the story yet again. And no one knows how it's going to turn out this time.
Once again, though, I'm not too concerned. We've been there before. And today we have the IDF to add to all the other sources of our strength. I'll think I'll go drink to that.
Chag sameach!
Happy Purim!
