Purim in a time of bombs: When Esther’s voice calls us to peace

This evening, at sunset, we enter Purim, the festival that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire, as told in the Meguilat Esther. This ancient story teaches us that in the face of adversity and attempts at annihilation, solidarity, courage, and faith can change the course of history.

Yet this year, it is difficult not to sense a painful irony in the calendar. Today, the world faces a major military escalation around Iran — the former heart of the Persian Empire.

This coincidence — celebrating a miracle tied to Jewish survival at a moment when the historical territory of those events is once again overshadowed by war — confronts us with profound questions:

What does deliverance mean in a modern world marked by armed conflict?

How can we reconcile gratitude and remembrance with empathy for all the lives affected by today’s violence?

How do we honor the past without losing sight of the urgent need to advance peace and human dignity for all?

Purim is neither a celebration of revenge nor of domination; it is a celebration of survival, courage, and above all, responsibility.

At the heart of this festival stands a woman.

Esther is not a warrior heroine. She does not wield a sword. She does not call for bloodshed. She dares to speak. She dares to stand up. She dares to take a political and personal risk to prevent the annihilation of her people.

Her courage is moral courage.Her weapon is her voice.Her power lies in influence and determination.

At a time when conflicts are multiplying and rhetoric is growing more radical, Esther’s figure challenges us: what is the place of women in the building of peace?

Too often pushed to the margins of negotiations, women nonetheless stand at the center of family, social, and communal balances. They carry memory, education, and transmission. They are the first to suffer in times of war — and often the first to rebuild afterward.

May this festival not be only the remembrance of a danger averted, but the renewal of a commitment: to raise voices for peace, to support those — and especially women — who work toward de-escalation, and to refuse to let History repeat itself in tragic form.