A Reflection for the TJCII Family
This past Tuesday, we celebrated Purim together with the reading of the Megillah, the book of Esther. The story unfolds in ancient Persia — what we know today as Iran. For many years, when we gathered to celebrate Purim, that setting felt historical and distant. This year, it felt very close to home.
We are now in direct conflict with that same nation. Operation Lion’s Roar is being described as the largest air combat campaign in Israeli history, with roughly 200 fighter jets in operation — among them 30 women pilots. Our skies are filled with Israeli stealth fighters and unmanned aerial vehicles, and Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.
So when we read the scroll of Esther, it described our current reality.
In Esther’s time, the Jewish people were living under Persian rule. They were not sovereign. Their future depended on decisions made in royal courts, far beyond their control.
It is important to notice that the conflict in the story began not with armies, but with words. Haman presented the Jewish people to the King as different — as a group that did not fully align with the empire.
Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of every other people and who do not observe the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who carry out the work, to put into the king’s treasuries.” Esther 3:8–9 (TLV)
The distinct identity of the Jews was presented as a liability to the kingdom. This pattern is not new. Throughout history, negative narratives about the Jewish people have often preceded action. Jewish distinctiveness is portrayed as destabilizing or dangerous. It rarely starts with violence. It starts with redefining who the Jews are and what their presence means.
The book of Esther calls us to pay attention to language. But it also points us to something even deeper.
Persia was the strongest empire of its time. When the king sealed a decree, there was no appeal process. From a human perspective, it was final.
History has seen similar moments. Governments have passed laws that stripped Jews of citizenship, expelled them from countries, or limited their participation in society. At the time, those decisions looked permanent, but they were not ultimate.
Governments have authority. Empires have power. But they do not control the covenant.
The Jewish people in Persia were in exile — but they were not outside of God’s promises.
God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham:
“Yes, I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, in order to be your God and your seed’s God after you.” (Genesis 17:7, TLV)
At Sinai, that covenant defined Israel as a distinct nation with responsibility before God:
“You will be to Me a kingdom of kohanim (priests) and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6, TLV)
And the Torah is clear about God’s faithfulness even when His people were in exile:
“…when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I hate them into utter destruction, and break My covenant with them, for I am Adonai their God.” (Leviticus 26:44, TLV)
The Jews in Persia were in exile and vulnerable, but they were still living inside His covenant.
Within TJCII, we recognize that God’s ongoing faithfulness to Israel is rooted in His covenant. It is part of His unchanging character. If His covenant with Israel could fail, then none of us could rest securely in His promises. Purim reminds us that God keeps His promises.
This does not remove the weight of what we are living through. Esther did not dismiss danger. She fasted, acted wisely, and risked her life. This does not lessen the seriousness of what we are facing. Because the pattern we just heard is not only about hostility – it is a story of unexpected reversal.
“On the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them, (v’nahafoch hu) it was turned around, and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.” Esther 9:1
The Hebrew phrase v’nahafoch hu literally means, “and it was turned over” or “it was flipped.”
If you want a simple example, think of a café hafuch. Normally, people drink coffee with some milk. But a café hafuch is upside down or flipped because this drink is mostly milk with a little coffee. It is opposite from what you would normally expect.
What was supposed to go one direction — the execution of Mordecai the Jew and the annihilation of the Jewish people — went in the opposite direction. Mordecai was raised to a position of authority in the same empire that had issued his death sentence. The gallows built for him became Haman’s end, and “many of the peoples of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them” (Esther 8:17).
That is v’nahafoch hu – a complete reversal of outcome.
Modern Iranian leadership has used language calling for the end of Israel’s existence, framing the “Zionist regime” itself as the problem. But declarations of elimination have been made before — and they have not endured.
We are living through serious days, but we are not living outside of covenant.
Throughout history, empires and regimes have challenged God’s covenant, yet His faithfulness has remained unchanged. That is why, even in war, we rejoice at Purim — not because of our circumstances, but because the Holy One of Israel is faithful.
Submitted by Bracha, TJCII Israel