PURIM 2024 – All The World’s a Shpiel

By Rabbi Emily Stern

There are worlds right here where God is less concealed
And you know the sound of Her laughter
Worlds here are there are less u-turns made
less need to make amends
Worlds where there’s not as much conflict
Not as much killing, not as much sadness.

Worlds of transcendence, transparency
where questions get answered if you listen to a tickle in your ear
There is holy space here for the downtrodden with racing minds,
Those who strive to align with their truth, and the ones whose truth disapproves
Strange philosophies hidden in dark chat rooms,
glamour, misery, artistry, mastery, pride- each has a home here in You.

Why are we surprised when a holy man dies?
Do we wonder “why him? Why so sudden? Why this affliction?”
How many still wonder why that one doesn’t get punished
when they abuse their power?

Because the joke’s on us in this world.
We’re inside costumes and we don’t remember who we are.
Because our only consent came before the dawn of time
That’s what makes this world so great.
And hard to be in.

On Purim, we see it’s a play.
This world! And all stumble upon the majesty
of the Great Orchestrator’s sleight of hand.
Every grain of sand is called by a name
down to the fledgling molecule, whose inner chambers contain
free-will, good-will, and willingness to submit to what’s entirely pre-determined.

Long after even this world endures, there will be laughter
at the foibles of this Purim shpiel
We’ll see science and faith are not at odds
like how one person has so much while the other starves

God,
do You ever forget we are actors?
Do You ever think, this one really matters?
Is anyone Your beloved more than another?
Are blessing and curse all the same?
I think they are. I think in Your eyes, we are One.
All precious, all play.
All love.