The Troubled Land and Purim
-By Elhanan ben-Avraham-
Trouble is nothing new to the Holy Land. Jerusalem itself is the epicenter of trouble historically, being invaded, then razed, and then rebuilt countless times in its long history. Jerusalem is not on any major trade route, has little water to speak of, and contains no great natural resources worth fighting over, but it is the place where all the major irreconcilable ideological ends of the universe meet in conflict, seeking a Solution.
Though holiday cards tend to show sweet and peaceful images of the birth of Jesus, he was born into a troubled time under a brutal Roman military occupation when crucifixions were common Roman displays on the roads leading to the Holy City. Before him was the merciless invasion by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar which the Bible describes, after him was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and in the seventh century was the invasion of the Muslims. The Middle Ages saw the incursion of the Crusaders attempting to take the Holy Land back from the Muslim invaders. In the 20th century, the Land was captured in war by the British under General Allenby. The new Jewish state was met with war at its inception in 1948, then Jerusalem was captured by the Jews in a defensive war in 1967, and since then, there have been several wars. It is a troubled land.
Today the Land of Israel is surrounded by trouble. There are daily and incessant threats from those who want to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet which was founded as a result of the destruction of a third of the Jews of Europe in the Holocaust. The very unhappy Muslim world, spread vast around the region, is in turmoil and revolution, to what end nobody can predict. The immediate neighbors, the Palestinians, are unable to accept any compromise for peace with Israel, and half of its population supports the terrorist organization Hamas, whose only raison d’etre is the destruction of Israel as stated in their covenant. But the real concern for Israel today is Iran, ancient Persia.
But even that is nothing new to Israel’s Jews. Israel is about to celebrate the festival of Purim, which is the memory of the planned annihilation of the Jewish people by the machinations of Haman, the Agagite and descendant of Amalek. It is by the courage of two Jews, Esther and Mordechai, that the plan was defeated, and the wicked Haman was hanged on his own gallows which he had prepared for Mordechai. The relieved Jewish people rejoiced at their deliverance, and Israel will now rejoice as well as we celebrate that festival and read the scroll of Esther once again. The same attempt by Saddam Hussein to destroy Israel with his scud missiles in 1991 ended on the day of Purim by some divine coincidence. Saddam himself, thinking himself a new Nebuchadnezzar, ended as that king did, captured as a wild man in a field with long hair and fingernails and then hanged on his own gallows in Babylon.
As we celebrate, we realize that a new Haman has arisen in Persia today, again breathing destruction to the Jews in his fathomless hatred, as if there really is something new under the sun. But this new Haman is attempting to gird himself with nuclear weapons to accomplish his desired deed. And his stated desire is not new to Iran, as he is but carrying forth the plan of the Ayatollah Khomeini whose Islamic government has many times stated the annihilation of Israel as one of its central goals. But that too is nothing new, since long ago, the Prophet Daniel wrote the vision given him predicting the central role of Persia in the scenario of the final events of the latter days.
The Jews of the troubled land again prepare in the face of our vast array of enemies. As we do, we behold the abundant rains and snows blessing the land and making it fertile, and we watch as the Holy Land is being restored to its former glory and strength. We turn to the pages of our ancient scriptures for understanding, and we lift our faces to the heavens and its King for comfort, strength, and deliverance, realizing that the author of Life is also the author of drama, leaving not a dull moment in His amazing universe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elhanan ben-Avraham, born in 1945, is a professional artist, poet, writer, father of two, and grandfather of four, and he has been living in Israel since 1979. He has served in the IDF, taught the Bible internationally, published five illustrated books of poetry, painted two large Biblical murals in public buildings in Jerusalem, and most recently produced THE JERUSALEM ILLUSTRATED BIBLE, among many other works. He and his wife live in a quiet village in the Mountains of Judah.