When Purim time comes around I am particularly sensitive to women’s issues as shown by my blog last year and this thoughtful article from Lilith Magazine.
Then I did a great deal of research for my story inspired by the life of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira and I learned of his Purim celebration in the Warsaw Ghetto where he insisted that no matter the circumstances, they would have Purim.
So it is with the joy of Purim. The obligation to rejoice is not only the person who is already happy, or merely for the individual who is in a potentially joyful situation. Rather, even if the person feels lonely and brokenhearted, with mind and spirit crushed, he must inject a spark of joy into his heart.
Knowing Rav Shapira’s story guarantees that my view of Purim is irrevocably expanded.
BubbeWisdom 