The Fast of Esther
It was a dark moment for the Jewish people and all the options looked bad. Haman’s plans were proceeding apace and if nothing was done, darkness would reign. It was in this moment that Esther chose to take on responsibility. She chose to act rather than stand aside, knowing the lives she could save.
Yet before she acted, prior to deciding the course of action that would unravel all of Haman’s plots, Esther and her maidservants declared a fast. They would spend a day in reflection and prayer, trying to understand their own agency. The fast would let them connect with God in a deep way so that the right path would illuminate itself to them. In memory of their fast, Jews started the practice of the fast of Esther, a fast from sunrise to sunset on the day preceding Purim.
Today we live in a different kind of dark moment. It is hard to see a path in which the remaining hostages come home or a lasting peace is built in the Middle East. There is so much violence and destruction, and the prospect of more. It is frightening and overwhelming.
This year I plan to make a point of fasting on the fast of Esther with the prayer for light to emerge into the darkness. I am hoping that an act of fasting and prayer will help illuminate a way forward, a path towards greater hope. I want to pray for a future for Israel and Gaza in which we can be proud, that honors the sacred humanity of all who live in that region. My eyes are clouded; I will fast in the hopes of seeing more light.
This year the fast begins at 7:15am and ends at 7:40pm. May it show us the way forward to hope and redemption.
With love and hope for the future,
Rabbi David Booth
