Book of the Exile – Purim
Rav Adin Steinsaltz says that Megillat Esther is the Book of the Exile.
Unlike other parts of the Bible the story takes place outside Israel, though Haman and Mordechai were previously involved in a controversy in the Holy Land itself. The Diaspora Jew is especially challenged if their inner and outer worlds are at loggerheads.
The question in such a situation (e.g. German Jewry in the 1920s and 1930s) is, “Can I regard this as a safe, long-term home? Can I handle my tug-of-war?”
In lands where the Jewish and general dimensions are comfortable with each other there is a question: “What can my Jewishness contribute to my civic identity – and vice-versa – without compromising part of my being?”
