Dear Friends,
As we approach the Festival of Purim, I want to talk about the leadership role which Esther assumes in the story about Purim which is found in the Megillah or Scroll of Esther. Mordecai, who is Esther’s uncle or cousin informs Esther that Haman, the evil prime minister is going to destroy the Jewish community. In Chapter 4:14, Mordecai tells Esther that if she doesn’t utilize her role as queen to intervene to save the Jewish people, that “help will come from some other place.”
The commentators discuss what is meant by this verse. Many people believe that help will come from G-d if Esther doesn’t intercede. In fact, this may be a veiled reference to G-d in a scroll that otherwise doesn’t mention G-d’s name.
I am intrigued by what this story tells us about being a leader. How many times in our lives are we presented with an opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone? How often are we faced with a leadership moment when our actions could make a significant change in our world? How many times do we respond to the challenge by asserting leadership and when do we back away and not assert leadership?
I am inspired to know that each of us has opportunities to be a leader in certain situations and I hope that Esther will remind us to seize the moment and not let these opportunities to help others go unmet. Let us not wait for help to come from some other place especially if we are uniquely positioned by a particular time and place in our life to be a leader.
Debbie Friedman, the noted musician, songleader, and liturgist who died recently,wrote a prayer of healing in which she asks G-d “to give us the courage to make our lives a blessing.” May each of us have the courage to be “the some other place” from which help can come by being an “Esther” in our generation.
Hag Purim Samaech!