One Voice, One People

By Tzeira Creditor
Virginia Commonwealth University

For many of us who go to colleges and universities with smaller populations of Jews, finding people with the same or similar Jewish values and ideals as ours can be very challenging. Another challenge of life occurs when you are trying to explain to your friends the ideas of the holidays, what your customs are and why you do what you do. Therefore, when you are trying to explain Sukkot, you can say, "we build this hut because back in the time of the Torah the people created a similar structure in order to dwell for an undetermined amount of time."

However, when you try to talk about Purim, you might feel that it gets a bit harder to explain. You can tell them the story of Esther and Mordechai, Haman and his gallows, or the reason why Vashti was sent away, but when you first think of "Purim," what is the first comparison that comes to mind? The Jewish Halloween, minus the trick-or-treating. But that is not a sufficient explanation. You can then go on to explain mishloah manot (Purim gifts of food), and hamantashen. Your friend might look at you and say "What in the world are hamantashen???" You then go ahead and explain that they are symbolic of the hats that were worn in Prussia at that time. You can also explain the short story of Purim, which explains how the Jewish people triumphed over the works of evil against them.

However you decide to explain the holidays to your friends, either with wit, sarcasm, or serious and in depth truth, there will always be a lesson to be learned by Queen Esther; One Voice, One People.

When she was living in the palace, Esther took the initiative and stood up for what she believed in. When the people saw this, they too stood up for what they believed in. Our history has proven repeatedly that if we act as one, our accomplishments will be greater than if we acted alone.

On campuses around Virginia, Hillels are sending mishloah manot to their members, having Purim Balls, making hamantashen, and sharing the essence of Purim with their respective campuses. Esther showed us what we need to do regarding life and Israel. Together we stand as one with Israel. We are ONE VOICE, ONE PEOPLE.

Hazak Ve’ematz (Be Strong!) and Hag Purim Sameah (Happy Purim!).

[Posted 2/20/04]