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“Thou most holy one! Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel; our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried unto Thee, and were delivered; they trusted in Thee and were not confounded.”[1] Psalms 22:4-6. Yea, all kind Father, whoever trusts in Thee will never be put to shame. How wondrous are the measures of Thy providence! Thou inflictest wounds, but not ere Thou hast prepared their remedy. Thus on this day, is the redemption of our people through Mordecai and Esther, recalled to our mind. On account of his faith was Mordecai persecuted; because he disdained to pay that homage to a mortal which is due to the IMMORTAL only. Measures were already taken to uproot the people of Israel from the earth, but this very Mordecai, who, in accordance with the wise maxim, “Fear the Lord and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to change,”[2] Proverbs 24:21. had saved the king’s life, had prepared the means of saving his people. Worthy of his faithful guardianship was his ward Esther, who — a queen — obeyed her guardian in the royal palace, as she was wont to obey him when a child, and when Mordecai in his memorable message, addressed to her the words “and who knoweth but that thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this,”[3] Esther 4:14. she risked her life for the salvation of her people.
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O, let us, also, all-merciful God, never forget our vocation, and strengthen our will to further the well-being of our fellow-creatures, even at the cost of sacrificing some of our dearest interests. “Be not far from us when trouble is near, when there is none to help;”[4] Psalms 22:12. “for Thou dost not despise nor abhor the affliction of the afflicted; nor dost Thou hide Thy face from him; but when he crieth unto Thee Thou hearest.”[5] Psalms 22:25. When Thy wisdom visits our sins with punishment, let us not lack the courage afforded by confidence in Thee. But let us not grow over-bearing nor presumptuous because of our own strength; let us, like unto Esther, begin our attempts at rescue with prayer unto the Hearer of prayer, and this will stand by us in the hour of danger. The enemies who prosecute us without a cause will then be entangled in their own nets, and be confounded as was the crafty and ambitious Haman. And if we are thus saved, then, O, then! let us not forget the fountain of our salvation, but let us rejoice in Thee, sing praises unto Thee, celebrate feasts of gratitude unto Thee, and resolve to perform Thy will. Let us remember that the offerings most acceptable unto Thee are those which we bring to the poor and needy, as was ordained in the time of Esther, “that the days whereon the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.”[6] Esther 9:22. Thanksgiving and praise, cheering ourselves and cheering others, rejoicing and causing others to rejoice — let such be the character of our feasts and festivals, so that whilst the body feasts, the soul also enjoys that mental festivity which can be enjoyed through faith and confidence in Thee, the salvation of our soul. Amen.
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“Prayer for the Feast of Purim (פורים)” by Marcus Heinrich Bresslau was first published in his תחנות בנות ישראל Devotions for the Daughters of Israel (1852), p. 46-48.
In his preface to Devotions, Bresslau is clear that his prayers in English were adapted from traditional teḥinot that had earlier been published in France, Germany, and Poland. If you know of a specific prayer that may have served as the basis for this one, please leave a comment or contact us.
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