Parshat Ki Tisa- Purim
SERMON PARASHAT KI TISA – PURIM March 14, 2025
Rabbi David Edleson Temple Sinai, South Burlington, Vermont
Reaping the Whirlwind
There is so much going on around us that it is hard to know where to look, what to pay the most attention to, where to focus efforts at resistance or efforts in support. Whether you support much of what is happening, or strongly oppose it, the speed of change both here and around the world is dizzying.
For those among us that have profound concerns about what is happening, it’s hard to know how to focus. Do we put our efforts toward defending the basic rights of transpeople who are under attack? Or do we focus on rule of law and due process? Or do we focus on the world order? Or do we fight for Veterans’ care? Or do we put our energy into the fight against antisemitism?
There are so many moving parts, and frankly, we don’t all agree about any of them. Indeed, I wonder how much of the flurry of activity is meant to sow confusion, reinforce divisions, or simply provide cover for other agendas that are operating beneath the maelstrom.
The prophet Hosea, living in the 8th Century BCE famously captured such a time of confusion in these words:
כִּ֛י ר֥וּחַ יִזְרָ֖עוּ וְסוּפָ֣תָה יִקְצֹ֑רוּ קָמָ֣ה
They sow wind,
And they shall reap whirlwind—
Standing stalks devoid of ears
And yielding no flour.
If they do yield any,
Strangers shall devour it.
The next verse is:
Israel is bewildered;
They have now become among the nations
Like an unwanted vessel.
Perhaps the most difficult thing that many of us are experiencing is the sheer speed it seems the world around is changing, and changed. More than a few people I’ve talked to have described it as “the upside down”, as if they somehow woke up in a different universe where things are the opposite of what they thought, and they don’t know how to read and relate to many of people they encounter in the course of a day.
We are not the first to experience this. In fact, we are part of a people that has I think more experience with this than any other over the centuries. Every Passover we remember “A new pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph” and everything turned upside down, what took centuries to build can be undone overnight. The entire book of Job is a testament to the truth that we don’t always control or understand the forces operating around us.
Purim is also a testament to the sense that the world can turn upside down overnight. Chapter 3 begins:
Some time afterward, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite; he advanced him and seated him higher than any of his fellow officials.
All the king’s courtiers in the palace gate knelt and bowed low to Haman, for such was the king’s order concerning him; but Mordecai would not kneel or bow low.
This Haman comes out of nowhere. He is not one of King’s close advisors that was listed in Chapter 1. He had nothing to do with Vashti or the beauty contest. But here in Chapter 3, in two verses we get the rise of someone from outside the system who is granted unprecedented authority and power to operate independently from the king.
Within five verses, he decides to exterminate the Jews and the King signs off on this, having been convinced it was sound public policy because the Jews had different laws and customs.
It’s worth pointing out that the Jews also had Persian names like Esther and Mordechai, and they had positions of power in the court, and they had in many ways assimilated into Persian society. That’s the point. That’s why Purim is the quintessential diaspora holiday. The Jews had it great and then one day, they were public enemy number one.
Reading it this year, I was really struck by Haman’s rise to power and just how quickly things changed. These ancient texts often capture the human condition as if they are watching us right now.
Now, one of the gifts of Purim is that it is funny, a farce, a parody and a revenge fantasy. In short, it is a Mel Brooks script. Learning to laugh in the face of disorientation is one of our traditions greatest secrets to resilience. Laughing at the human condition is actually essential to connecting with others, to reducing our panic so that we can think more clearly.
And Purim doesn’t stop with humor. It ultimately points out that a plan needs to made, that the community needs to come together spiritually to execute that plan, and the it often comes down to one woman with the courage and strength to take action. Esther, Deborah, Yael, Judith – strong women save the day more than anyone. Purim teaches all of us to laugh, to let go of panic, but then to pray and take action.
Tomorrow is our Purim Spiel: Shushan of LaMancha. Mark is playing the King for the first time ever; it was what he wanted for his retirement. We’ve been practicing, we’ve got great backdrops, it’s family friendly, but alcohol will be served. Please come, and after we have cotton candy, karaoke, and just having fun together for one night.
Shabbat Shalom,
David
