In 1946, at the Nuremberg Trials, a dozen high-ranking Nazi officials were hanged for crimes against humanity. As Julius Streicher, the editor of the antisemitic newspaper Der Stürmer, ascended the gallows, he stared at the witnesses and shouted, "Happy Purim!"
In 1953, Joseph Stalin, the ruthless butcher of millions of innocent people, had bloody plans for dealing with the “Jewish problem” in the U.S.S.R. Just as things were reaching a crisis point, he died with a stroke... on Purim!
In 1990, Saddam Hussein's army began firing SCUD missiles into Israel trying to destroy it. After the U.S.-led forces attacked Iraq with strength, they were quickly victorious and the hostilities ended... on Purim!
The entire 20th century, as a three-thousand-year history of the Jews, was filled with similar stories. During the Tel Hai Battle, a pivotal moment in Zionist history occurred on... Purim, when Joseph Trumpeldor's final words became a foundational ethos for the Jewish defense forces, the Haganah and Mossad.
In 2026, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who for the last half-century shouted "Death to Israel" betraying the historic relationship among Persians, Muslims and Jews, died just before... Purim.
Purim began today, on the night of Monday, March 2nd, commemorates the biblical story set in the Achaemenid Persian Empire about 2,500 years ago. Haman, a senior official in the Persian court, plots to annihilate the Jews of the empire. But when Queen Esther intervened, the decree was overturned and Haman was hanged with the gallows he had prepared for the leader of the Jewish community at the time.
The jolly Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates the eternal divinely orchestrated salvation of the Jewish people. Even when we don’t see the miracle, it is there. Even when life feels confusing, Hashem is working behind the scenes. May we merit to see the hidden blessings in our own lives, to turn our worries into trust, and to fill our homes with true simcha — and not just on Purim.
