SACRAMENTO (SDJW)–State Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) delivered the daily invocation in the Senate chambers on Thursday, March 5, marking the holiday of Purim. Hertzberg summarized the story of Purim from the Book of Esther and had hamantaschen distributed to each of his 39 Senate colleagues. He also praised Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego), chair of the Legislature’s Jewish Caucus for successfully sponsoring a resolution last week, condemning the defilement of an Israeli flag with a swastika.
Following is the text (as prepared for delivery) of the brief address by Sen. Hertzberg, a former Speaker of the State Assembly.
In every religion there is a time for somber reflection and a time for festive celebration. This is a time for Jewish celebration. Today, Jews around the world celebrate the festival of Purim, and a festival it is! It is the most joyous of all Jewish holidays. Throughout California and all over the world, Jews are celebrating this deliverance with festive carnivals, dressing up in costumes like the American Halloween tradition, and enjoying triangular shaped cookies, called hamentashen, that remind us of the evil villain Haman.
So what is the history of Purim? Here is our story: In the ancient Persian city of Shushan, the king ordered his wife to dance before him and his male guests. She refused, and can be seen as a modern-day feminist heroine in her own right – losing her role as queen for her defiance.
So then a search began for a new queen, and Esther, who was secretly Jewish, was selected. When Esther’s uncle Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman, the king’s advisor, Haman decreed that all Jews would be destroyed. In response, the King’s beloved Queen Esther revealed her true identity. Esther stood up for her people, saying: “Spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.”
The king was outraged that anyone would threaten his queen and agreed. Esther issued an edict giving Jews the right to assemble and protect themselves against harm, and when the battle ended, everyone celebrated with a feast.
Purim is a holiday that is the epitome of what most Jewish holidays are about: they tried to kill us, we survived, now let’s eat.
But it also contains a more serious message. It is a holiday that reminds us that blatant anti-Semitism, prejudice, hatred and xenophobia are as old as the Bible. With the alarming rise in anti-Semitism in the world, and even here in California, we must open our eyes and continue to stand up against it — just as our heroine, Esther and her Uncle Mordechai did in those days.
And just as Sen. Block and a large coalition of Senators did last week to protest the defiling of the Israeli flag with swastikas here in Sacramento.
So let us pray.
May we not harden our hearts towards our neighbors and not succumb to prejudice ourselves.
May we not only celebrate our survival, but also share our good fortune with others, giving food and assistance to those in need, as this is universal across religions.
And it is the best way to show gratitude to God — by showing compassion and kindness to all of God’s children.
We pray also that — like Esther and Mordechai — we may prove strong in protecting the rights of all Californians.
Amen.
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Preceding provided by State Senator Hertzberg. Following is a video of a news conference held by Block and his legislative colleagues concerning the swastika defacing an Israeli flag.
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