Page 276 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

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CHAPTER 20 COINCIDENCES IN JEWISH HISTORY AND BEYOND
CHAPTER 20 COINCIDENCES IN JEWISH HISTORY AND BEYOND 255
20.2 Two Events of Recent History

The coincidence that I am about to unfold in this comment is the strangest I have
ever encountered. I am carrying this coincidence with me for the last year [that
is, back in 2003], amazed by it, and yet unable to tell of it because it is, well … a
coincidence. Yet, it is so extremely strange that a feeling has been steadily growing
within me, in recent months, that if I had not made this coincidence public, it
be unfair to those of us who may consider this more than a coincidence. So, for
those in Israel who have experienced in recent years loss, personal injuries, pain,
and despair because of “the situation” (a recently introduced Israeli term relating
to, well … the situation), here is an extremely strange coincidence, for anyone to
read, shape her or his own judgment, and perhaps draw some personal solace.

20.2.1 Two Jewish Festivities: Commemorating a Disaster and a Rescue
from One
Two festivities in Jewish tradition signify two events of contrary symbolism. The
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first is Tishah B’Av (the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av, corresponding,
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roughly, to the month of August); the other is Purim (which usually occurs at the
end of February or the beginning of March).
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Tishah B’Av is the traditional date of the destruction of the fi rst and the
second Jewish temples in Jerusalem (destroyed at 586 BC and 70 CE, respec-
1
tively). Tishah B’Av has come to symbolize the worst catastrophes that befell the
Jewish people throughout history. On this day, religious Jews fast to mourn the

destruction of the temple, the exile of the Jewish people, and the calamities that
befell Jews over the centuries as a result of the exile (Galut). 4
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Purim is the polar opposite of Tishah B’av. This festivity signifies Jewish sal-
vation from disaster and celebrates redemption. While Passover celebrates transi-
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tion from slavery in Egypt to freedom, Purim commemorates the deliverance
of the Jewish people from a malicious plan to exterminate all Jews living in the
Persian Empire. As the story is told in the book of Esther (3:13, 15): “Letters were
sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate
all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of
the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar … And the king and Haman sat
down to drink.”
The book of Esther recounts how the Jews were miraculously saved from the
plot to annihilate them. This book, by itself, is ridden with bizarre coincidences,
one of which is described in section 16.2. Suffice it to say that even the name

of the book, which is the name of the heroine and central figure in the story, is

indicative of the contents and message of the whole book. The root of the name