Announcements

Dear Coalition Community,

When Jen and I met she was working professionally as a theater lighting designer, and theater –
particularly musical theater – is an important part of American culture that we enjoy as a family.
Several times a year, I head into New York City with our family to see a show. And we are also
season ticket holders at the Bushnell in Hartford.

Last year, I took Talyah into the city to see White Rose. It was a new musical being staged
for the first time at Theatre Row Theater and told the story of a group of university student
activists who stood up to Hitler in Nazi Germany, creating leaflets that challenged his
propaganda. Among the characters in the show are university professors, soldiers, and a Jewish
woman hiding her identity who works in a print shop. The secretive nature of producing this
subversive leaflet requires that every person wear a mask that protects their identity. Produced
in the midst of the rise in Antisemitism in the United States and the war with Hamas in Israel, the
show invites us to ask whether we are safe, and whether we will once again need to be part of
an active resistance in order to ensure our future survival. As I watched the play, I couldn’t help
but notice my emotions – sadness and anger at the idea of people being forced to hide their
identity. I also felt inspired and in awe of the bravery it took to be part of a resistance
movement, with a reveal at just the critical moment with everything on the line.

The themes of hiddenness and bravery are also prominent in the story of Purim, which we
celebrate this month. According to the Megillah, the given name for Esther is Hadassah. Esther is
actually a hidden name taken to conceal her identity as a Jew from the King and is related to the
word ashteer – meaning “I will hide.” The rabbis see Esther’s hiding as an act of self-preservation.
In order to be the heroine in our story, she first needs to hide in order to remain safe. She can’t
reveal herself at the right time if she is not selected in the first place because of her Jewishness.

But what is missing from this holiday, now observed as a joyful party, is the stark
reminder that hiding, bravery, and risk have been features of the Jewish experience. It has often
not been safe to be Jewish. The Purim masquerade exists because Haman’s plot is foiled, but the
holiday remains a constant reminder that there have been attempts throughout history to
destroy the Jewish people. The Book of Esther ends with her revealing herself and the Jewish
people being saved. But the saving of the Jewish people is not magical or Divine. The Jews are
simply given “permission to defend themselves” and are able to fend off their attackers. For
many Jews around the world, reading the Megillah at Purim is a reminder that the struggle
remains. Many feel at risk when they wear a kippah or a star of David necklace. Many grasp on
to the hope that Jews will no longer need to wear a mask in order to feel safe.

Purim is not an invitation to forget the challenges of identity, but rather a request to be
bold and courageous enough to stand for the truth, and to fight for the rights of all people to
identify as they wish. In that regard, we use the celebratory nature of the holiday to gather
strength for the long road ahead. Because we know that the story of Purim has been told by
every generation of Jews – just with different characters.

Kol Tuv,