Sermon Yom Kippur Afternoon 2006: A Day Like Purim

A Day like Purim
Yom Kippur Afternoon Sermonette
Jonathan Jaffe

Believe it or not, according the Zohar, the most famous of Judaism’s mystical sources, there exists a strong connection between Yom Kippur and the holiday of Purim. At first glance, this sounds absurd. Yom Kippur is a serious and solemn occasion in which we investigate our actions over the past year. Meanwhile Purim is anything but serious, and we are encouraged to forget our actions altogether and revel in the moment. As the Talmud instructs us, we should drink to the point that we can’t tell Mordecai from Haman. But these diametrically opposed holidays, one found in the beginning of Fall the other the beginning of Spring, do indeed share many important connections. So much so that Yom ha-Kippurim, the day of atonement, may be read as Yom C’Purim – The day like Purim.
In the book of Esther, our heroin goes before King Ahasheuerus to plead for the life of her people. Now here today on Yom Kippur, we come together before our king – Avinu Malkeinu – and plead for the life of our community. Esther says to Ahasheurus - "If it pleases Your Majesty, and if I have won your favor and the proposal seems right to Your Majesty, and if I am pleasing to you -- let dispatches be written countermanding those which were written by Haman.” We too come before God, asking for favor, to be seen in a pleasing manner, and for mercy. In fact, two of the most famous words in all of the high holiday service are found later in the book of Esther. We have an entire section of “uvechens” in the high holiday Amidah, literally meaning “therefore”, in which we urge God to consider merciful action. The word Uvechen is only found twice in all the bible, first in Ecclesiastes and then in Esther. But only in the book of Esther is it connected to fasting and repentance. Esther says:
I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so (uvechen) will I go in unto the king.

Likewise, the word “tokef” or power, as in “unetaneh tokef” recurs throughout the liturgy. We appeal to God’s power to redeem and sustain us. The only place the word tokef is found in all the bible is guess where – in Esther. Esther is writing an account of the salvation of the Jewish community, to be sent throughout the kingdom, as the book of Esther reads,

JPS Esther 9:29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote down all the acts of power (tokef), to confirm this second letter of Purim.

Esther’s writing gives us another connection to high holiday imagery – just as Esther writes down an account of God’s actions and sends it throughout the kingdom, so too are we inscribed today in the book of life. Our actions are recorded for eternity.
Finally, Yom Kippur is similar to Purim in its observance. No, Im not telling you all to drink heavily this evening at your break-fast. But on Purim we dress up as someone other than ourselves. Costumes are a part of the holiday. On Yom Kippur we dress up as well. Traditionally, Jews attend Yom Kippur services dressed all in white, signifying purity and likening us to angels. Others wear a traditional kittel, the garment we are buried in, and thus dress up like the dead, as Yom Kippur is seen as small taste of the permanence of death. In a more contemporary way, many of us dress our finest for Yom Kippur to signify the esteem in which we hold this holiday above all others. Either way, few of us are dressed today as we are throughout the rest of the year. When it comes to being judged by the eternal source of creation, we tend to dress for success.
So there you have it – Purim, named for the drawing of lots to choose what day the Jews were to be judged, is extremely similar to Yom Kippur, the day we confront our own mortality and ask for mercy. May we all be heard on this day of atonement, and find strength in the renewed bonds between one another. Happy Purim … I mean …. Shana Tova.