A courageous Jewish leader reaches the halls of power in the most unlikely of ways and saves a nation. A wicked villain with a fragile ego, hellbent on destruction. Persia c. 4th Century BCE, or Ukraine 2022?
In recent years I've become a foreign policy junkie. So much so that two years ago, I covertly completed a Masters in International Affairs just for the heck of it (well, I guess partly to appease my mom considering I dropped out of law school to help start JGSI). So I’ve been glued to the news lately, with heartache for the people of Ukraine, with sheer admiration for Zelensky’s leadership--loving how he expresses his Jewishness in such a public way on the world stage--and with fascination how history is repeating itself this Purim season.
There’s a line in the Megillah that gets me every year, and especially this year. Esther is reluctant to risk her life before the King to intercede on behalf of her people, but Mordechai exhorts her: “For if you surely remain silent at this time, then relief and deliverance will arise to the Jews from somewhere else; but you and your father’s house shall perish: and who knows–perhaps for a time like this you have reached the throne?" (4:14)
Perhaps for a time like this. Esther never anticipated saving her people from genocide when she became Queen, and I’m sure that when Zelensky was an actor playing the accidental president of Ukraine on TV he never anticipated defending his country from annihilation.
Thankfully, most of us will never be faced with challenges of this magnitude. But every day, in whatever situation we find ourselves, we have a choice to either remain silent and passive, or to recognize that we were perhaps put here for a time just like this. Things will work out either way, but what's YOUR role going to be?
In our own small way, JGSI is seizing the moment for Jewish grad students and alumni to instill the message of Purim and Jewish leadership during this dark hour. We and our students are executing 43 unique Purim-themed events on grad campuses that will reach 1,490 participants around North America this week, including hamantaschen bake-offs, costume contests, happy hours–and charity collections for Ukraine.
In the Purim spirit, please consider contributing to one of the following humanitarian aid efforts for Ukraine by the Jewish community:
