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The story of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the survival of the Jewish individuals, has continued to reverberate all through historical past, Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm of New York instructed Fox News Digital.
Lamm is chief govt of BZ Media, which works to “deliver collectively the artistic expertise and philanthropic sources to supply the perfect Jewish and Israel content material for mainstream Gen Z audiences and past.”
The story of Purim is discovered in the Book of Esther, half of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament.
In trendy instances, Purim is widely known with a retelling of the story of the Purim miracle, a feast, charitable giving, and dressing up in costumes. The date of the holiday adjustments annually; in 2024, it happens on the night of Saturday, March 23, and thru Sunday, March 24.
“Set during the reign of the Persian Emperor Ahasuerus — known in the Greek historical tradition as Xerxes — the Book of Esther narrates an attempt by Ahasuerus’s viceroy, Haman, to exterminate the Jewish people,” stated Lamm.
Modern celebrations of Purim sometimes contain dressing in costumes. (Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive through Getty Images)
The story “then records the Jews’ subsequent salvation through the forceful efforts of Ahasuerus’ Jewish queen, Esther — aided by her cousin Mordecai.”
He went on, “The most poignant interaction between Esther and Mordecai comes in the wake of Haman’s announcement of his intention to destroy the Jewish people. Mordecai beseeched Esther to intervene with her husband Ahasuerus exclaiming, ‘Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ (Esther 4:14).”
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These phrases, which “called a reluctant hero to decisive moral leadership,” stated Lamm, “finally convinced Esther to act.”
Several centuries later, this phrase seemingly moved one other chief to behave. That was President Abraham Lincoln, stated Lamm.
Purim is an annual celebration of the survival of the Jewish individuals in opposition to Haman’s try and exterminate them. (iStock)
“About two weeks before publishing a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln met with nationally prominent abolitionist Rev. William Weston Patton,” stated Lamm.
During the summer time, Lincoln expressed a want to emancipate the slaves in the South, however had not but finished so, he stated.
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“And so it was that Lincoln found himself, on a Saturday morning, confronted by a fiery Patton making the religious case for emancipation,” stated Lamm.
“Patton tried a variety of different arguments, all of which Lincoln parried. But in the final moments of their meeting, Patton unleashed one additional salvo: Esther 4:14.”
“Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Patton stated he instructed Lincoln, “At the time of national peril of the Jews, under Ahasuerus, Mordecai spoke … to Queen Esther, who hesitated to take the step necessary to their preservation, in these solemn words: ‘For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed; and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’”
Patton believed Lincoln might “be his generation’s Queen Esther,” Lamm instructed Fox News Digital.
Rabbi Ari Lamm of New York, at proper, instructed Fox News Digital that the biblical story of Purim may have reverberated via the centuries and given President Lincoln a lift of braveness. (Getty Images/Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm)
“We believe that in divine providence you have been called to the presidency to speak the word of justice and authority, which shall free the bondsman and save the nation,” Patton reportedly instructed Lincoln.
“In response, all Lincoln could say was, ‘Whatever shall appear to be God’s will I will do,’” stated Lamm.
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While it’s unattainable to know if Patton’s quoting of Esther was the catalyst to maneuver Lincoln to behave on the Emancipation Proclamation, Lamm believes that it simply may have been the case.
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“If David Gilmour Blythe’s 1863 painting of Lincoln drafting the Emancipation Proclamation — in which Lincoln draws his inspiration from two resources: the Constitution and the Bible — is any indication, Patton certainly succeeded,” he stated.
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