Fire and Ice
Yesterday was the Fast of Esther. Observant Jews did not eat or drink from sunup to sundown, and neither did I.
We do this in remembrance of the day about 2400 years ago that Queen Esther of Persia asked all the Jews to fast and pray for three days with her, so that when she went to King Ahaseurus the next day he would hear her and rescue the Jews from Haman. (That was the first of many men throughout history who have decided that the thing to do is kill all the Jews.)
Well, it worked, and that's why we celebrate Purim, which is today. Happy Purim, everyone. As usual with the Jews, the theme of today's holiday is, "They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat."
I have fasted before on major observances, but yesterday I had more success than usual in keeping my mind on the reason for my hunger and thirst. I said to God, "May my fast be the last bit of energy we need to bring the Messiah, although my fast is shorter, includes fewer people, and comes from a less pious person than the fast in Persia all those years ago. Those people prayed for redemption, and You delivered it. I pray for redemption in the same manner on the same day; may You deliver it now."
Well, today I ran across this in science news. Astronomers have discovered fire and ice in the tail of a comet.
Now, the Bible teaches that shortly before the Hebrews left slavery in Egypt all those thousands of years ago, God sent a series of plagues to straighten the Egyptians out and to demonstrate His power. One of the plagues was a massive hailstorm, which the Bible tells us consisted of hailstones and fire from the sky. The Midrash interprets this to mean that the fire burned inside the hailstones, which would be impossible under ordinary circumstances, but which God produced in this case as an open miracle to show the Hebrews Who was rescuing them.
When Moses prayed that the plague end, again according to Midrash, the hail stopped falling on the spot. The hailstones that had not yet hit the ground miraculously remained in the air, and there they are to this day, ready to come down as part of the cleansing of the Earth when the Messiah arrives.
And, according to NASA, there they are, all mixed up in the tail of a comet.
You don't have to take the Midrash literally, of course, but it's interesting, isn't it? And on the day after many Jews fasted in commemoration of an ancient prayer for redemption, myself included.
I take a certain amount of satisfaction, deserved or undeserved, from that.
Benshlomo says, We want Mashiach now, we don't want to wait.
We do this in remembrance of the day about 2400 years ago that Queen Esther of Persia asked all the Jews to fast and pray for three days with her, so that when she went to King Ahaseurus the next day he would hear her and rescue the Jews from Haman. (That was the first of many men throughout history who have decided that the thing to do is kill all the Jews.)
Well, it worked, and that's why we celebrate Purim, which is today. Happy Purim, everyone. As usual with the Jews, the theme of today's holiday is, "They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat."
I have fasted before on major observances, but yesterday I had more success than usual in keeping my mind on the reason for my hunger and thirst. I said to God, "May my fast be the last bit of energy we need to bring the Messiah, although my fast is shorter, includes fewer people, and comes from a less pious person than the fast in Persia all those years ago. Those people prayed for redemption, and You delivered it. I pray for redemption in the same manner on the same day; may You deliver it now."
Well, today I ran across this in science news. Astronomers have discovered fire and ice in the tail of a comet.
Now, the Bible teaches that shortly before the Hebrews left slavery in Egypt all those thousands of years ago, God sent a series of plagues to straighten the Egyptians out and to demonstrate His power. One of the plagues was a massive hailstorm, which the Bible tells us consisted of hailstones and fire from the sky. The Midrash interprets this to mean that the fire burned inside the hailstones, which would be impossible under ordinary circumstances, but which God produced in this case as an open miracle to show the Hebrews Who was rescuing them.
When Moses prayed that the plague end, again according to Midrash, the hail stopped falling on the spot. The hailstones that had not yet hit the ground miraculously remained in the air, and there they are to this day, ready to come down as part of the cleansing of the Earth when the Messiah arrives.
And, according to NASA, there they are, all mixed up in the tail of a comet.
You don't have to take the Midrash literally, of course, but it's interesting, isn't it? And on the day after many Jews fasted in commemoration of an ancient prayer for redemption, myself included.
I take a certain amount of satisfaction, deserved or undeserved, from that.
Benshlomo says, We want Mashiach now, we don't want to wait.
posted by benshlomo at 12:15 PM
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