The More Things Change, The More they Stay the Same.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose". These words are from Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, a 19th-century French journalist. The phrase is loosely translated to English as “the more things change, the more they stay the same." These words have been taking up much of my headspace this week. As a new phase of the war between the USA and Israel vs. Iran unfolded, and we were reading the Megila on Purim in real time, it felt like deja vu. Not unlike Haman in ancient Persia, the modern-day Supreme Leader fit the role with his genocidal ambitions against the Jewish people. One of the most popular days in Iran for the past 40-plus years has been Al Quds Day. Quds Day or Jerusalem Day is held on the last Friday of Ramadan, and is an annual day of protest organized by the Iranian government against Israel. While nominally about Jerusalem, the Quds Day rally serves as a forum for regime figures to call for hostilities against Israel and the liberation of Palestine, envisaging the inevitable elimination of the “Zionist regime.” “Death to Israel” is a common chant at the rallies, often accompanied by “Death to America. One of the most popular areas that the Iranian regime designated in Tehran is called Palestine Square. In June 2017, coinciding with the annual Quds Day rallies, Iran unveiled a large digital clock in Palestine Square. The clock was programmed to count down from 8,411 days, corresponding to a 2015 statement by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who predicted that "Israel won't exist in 25 years". He claimed in his statement that there will be nothing left of the Jewish state by 2040. The statement was made in the aftermath of a September 2015 nuclear deal signed by a previous American administration with Iran. When news broke of the killing of the Supreme Leader and much of that leadership, it was uncanny as to how much it resembled the outcome of his ideological heir in the Megila. The Purim story, as it is well known, does not mention G-d, but His presence is felt everywhere. A turning point of the story is that after Mordechai implores Esther to go to the King and plead the case of the Jewish people, Esther implores Mordechai to gather the people in fasting and prayer. Between the diplomacy of Esther and the prayers of Mordechai, the tides were turned, and Haman met his fate. One of the blessings that we recite prior to the reading of the Megila is dedicated to thanking G-d for the miracles that were “בימים ההם בזמן הזה.” The translation is “in those days in our time.” While much has changed in the past approximately 2,000 years since the Purim story, much has remained. We continue to pray that “May the One who answered Mordechai and Esther in Shushan Habirah answer us.” ​ Have a Peaceful Shabbos, ​ Rabbi Yaakov Fisch