THE HISTORY LESSON
July 4, 2026 will mark 250 years since the founding of the United States. When we think about 250 years, it feels like a long time — yet in the scope of history, it is just a moment. How about 2,500 years ago, when the mighty Babylonian Empire destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem and exiled the Israelites to Babylon?
From that exile comes the story of Purim. In the Persian Empire, a royal adviser named Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people because of his hatred toward Mordechai. The story, told in the Book of Esther, describes how that decree was overturned and the Jewish people survived. The holiday of Purim, which this year starts on the evening of Monday, March 3rd, celebrated that reversal — when a plan for destruction turned into deliverance.
Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire destroyed Jerusalem and the second temple in the year 70 CE. Later, the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the Middle East, including the Land of Israel, for 500 years. To be followed by the British Empire once governed vast territories around the globe.
Empires rise. Empires fall.
Yet the Jewish people, though small in number, endured through Babylon, Persia, Rome, the Ottomans, and beyond. Today, the modern State of Israel exists as a sovereign nation — something that would have seemed unimaginable during many periods of exile.
So, what is the lesson?
History teaches humility. Power is temporary. Hatred destroys the hater more than the hated. And attempts to eliminate a people have never erased them from history — but they have erased the empires that tried. Purim is not only a Jewish story; it is a reminder that cruelty and domination are never lasting foundations for greatness. Endurance, identity, faith, and moral courage — those are what survive time.
As America celebrates 250 years, perhaps the deeper question is not only how powerful a nation becomes, but what values it chooses to stand for — because history always renders its verdict.
Holidays are usually decorated with the bouquets of flowers. Please accept my contribution.
Happy Purim!
