A FINAL WORD

Purim, the “nahfoch hu” upside down, topsy-turvy, hide and seek holiday, can challenge us in many ways. Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner relates a parable of two friends asked to identify townspeople they know on a dark night. The first man receives a flashlight, and he easily accomplishes his task by simply directing the beam of light into the face of the passersby. The second friend receives no flashlight. The night is quite dark, so he must concentrate all his faculties to identify people. He finds himself paying attention to people’s voices, pattern of footsteps, and even scent. As dawn breaks, the first man turns off his flashlight because he no longer needs it. The second man, however, has developed new skills during the night. He now has special trained senses that help him recognize what others often miss.

So it can be with each of us as partners and parents. It is so easy to use only our everyday vision to assess what is happening in the lives of our loved ones. Purim allows us to find out who is “hiding beneath the mask” and to search for intent that underlies performance. t is interesting to note that G-d’s name never is mentioned in the story of Purim. It may be that those who truly pay attention are able to find G-d’s presence in human events even when G-d is not explicitly evident.