Words of Peace and Truth

The picture above is of a piece I completed several months ago.  A woman ordered it as a birthday present for her husband whose mantra in life is "Shalom al Yisrael- Peace Unto Israel."  A nice refrain to live by and certainly this world would be a better place place if more people lived holding the banner of peace as their cause.

With Purim right around the corner I couldn't help but title this blog post with a phrase from the Book of Esther which also has to do with peace.  In the ninth chapter of the Book of Esther, we are told that Esther and Mordechai sent books to all 127 provinces of the King of Acheshveirosh, detailing the laws of Purim and the story of Esther.  The books were called "Words of Peace and Truth."  If there was ever a holiday whose commandments were meant to increase brotherly peace and a sense of community amongst the Jewish People, it was Purim.  We send baskets of food to our neighbors, give charity to those in need, eat a festive meal together with family and friends and drink a little liquor perhaps to mitigate any feelings of resentment or ill will we might be harboring toward our fellow Jew.

You see, the whole reason we were in Persia in the first place is because we had been kicked out of our land nearly 70 years prior to the story of Esther because we weren't able to get along with each other.  And one thing God really has no patience for is lack of peace between His children.  Esther who is a descendant of the tribe of Binyamin was willing to put her life on the line to save the Yehudim, descendants of the tribe of Yehuda.  This was a huge deal since for hundreds of years, going back to the time of the Judges, there was a lot of bad blood between the two tribes.  In fact the tribe of Binyamin was nearly wiped out in a civil war.  Oueen Esther's ultimate act of selflessness rectified a centuries old conflict that had been festering within the Jewish People.  To keep this feeling of brotherly love going and remembered for years to come the holiday of Purim was established with all it's peace promoting laws and customs established as "words of peace and truth."

And lastly, yesterday was 2/28, my oldest brother's birthday, whose name happens to be Binyamin Shalom...so peace unto you brother-man, and many, many happy years to come! And peace and happiness unto all as we celebrate this very meaningful holiday of Purim in one week's time.