Purim is over. I had a lot of fun. It is supposed to be fun. There was singing and laughter. Noisemakers and decorations. Costumes and games. And hamantaschen. Got to have hamantaschen. Yesterday I spent the afternoon after the Purim Carnival delivering home-baked hamantaschen to our “senior-seniors.” For the most part those are the ones over 85. At the request of a 99 year old woman, I brought Caleb. In every home there were smiles. OK—so how often do you see the rabbi, an adult, grown woman dressed in a tutu with a tiara arriving at your door with a goodie bag, daffodils and a dog? You gotta smile. Or maybe even laugh.
And that is what Purim is about. We laugh. We make merry because we survived. I laugh. I make merry because I survived.
Yesterday was also International Women’s Day. March is Women’s History Month. Later this week we will also celebrate Scout Shabbat, the Sabbath closest to the Girl Scout Birthday, March 12.
Why is this confluence of dates important? What is the role of women in Judaism? For one thing, we rely on women to pass down the tradition. Whether it was Rebecca who ensured that the covenant went to Jacob or Tzipporah who took matters into her own hands, quite literally circumcising her son or Ruth who promised that our people will be her people and our G-d, her G-d.
And then there is Esther. Esther who was an orphan living with her uncle, who in a fairy tale beauty pageant becomes the queen. Esther who Mordechai begs needs to save her people. She is afraid. She is unsure. She says no. Then Mordechai says, “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.” (Esther 4:14) It is the point of the story where the plot action changes. Esther changes her mind. She finds her voice. She goes to the king. She saves her people. It is powerful.
All of us have a moment like that. “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.” What moment is that for you?
One of those moments for me, is when I realized that one out of three girls will be raped, abused or physically tortured sometime in her lifetime. That is more, much more than the one in eight women who will get breast cancer in her lifetime. I have spoken out about this a great deal. Sometimes I feel like a broken record. I wrote part of my rabbinic thesis on this topic. I served on the Jewish Domestic Violence Coalition in Massachusetts. I have staffed hotlines. I am now the chair of the 16th Circuit Court Faith Watch Committee on Family Violence. I partner with Elgin’s Community Crisis Center whose annual fundraiser and auction is this weekend.
For a year now I have been a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Service. They have paid to train me in how to organize. How to find my voice. How to empower others to find theirs. I have participated in deep text study with colleagues around the country. I have made new friends. I travelled to Los Angeles to learn the Wellstone Organizing Method. It has helped me be a better congregational rabbi. It has helped me learn how to build coalitions.
I brought a team to meet with Congressman Peter Roskam. I met Senator Dick Durbin. I made Valentine’s to thank Senator Kirk. I am looking forward to a policy summit in May in Washington and a trip to Guatamala to see how AJWS partners put these organizing principles into practice. It has been exciting. Thrilling.
Now for the good news. American Jewish World Service for the past year has been working on its WeBelieve campaign, to reduce violence against women and girls and the LGBT community worldwide. This campaign has taken on urgency as we watched with horror as the girls in Nigeria were kidnapped. As part of our training in December, my fellow rabbis and I committed to work on a petition to the US Congress to reintroduce the International Violence Against Women Act. We have had over 500 rabbis sign representing every state in the union except Wyoming. I was delighted to work my own personal network and get the one rabbi in Idaho who is the husband of a college roommate to sign!
On Friday, Congress reintroduced IVAWA. It has broad bi-partisan support. It felt especially good as Purim was ending and Shabbat was beginning. It felt like that Esther moment, “Perhaps this is the moment for which you are created.”
Violence against women will not end overnight. The research however is undeniably clear and why AJWS is working so hard on this. If you can reduce violence against women, you reduce poverty levels as well.
Please join with me. Support IVAWA. Sign the petition. ecure.ajws.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=661
Speak out. Speak up. Be like Esther. If we succeed, it will can celebrate. It will be fun.
“Perhaps this is the moment for which you are created.”