opinions \ letters
Article Didn’t Present Enough Evidence of Racism
Evil Doesn’t Always Wear
a Triangle-Shaped Hat
BY RABBI JASON BONDER
M any of us know exactly what to
do when we see a man wearing a
triangle-shaped hat — especially if we see
that man in our synagogue plays on the
holiday of Purim.

We boo and hiss and shake our noise-
makers when we hear his name read aloud
from the Megillah. Haman is that wicked
man whose name we are commanded to
drown out.

Fewer of us, I suspect, know that not once
in the entire book of Esther is it mentioned
that Haman ever wore a hat that has three
corners. So, what’s the hat all about? I think
I discovered the meaning of the hat all
over again this past Shabbat thanks to this
moment of history in which we live.

This month, at our family Shabbat ser-
vices, I wanted to find a story with connec-
tions to Ukraine. Thankfully, I came across a
story called “Haman and Mordecai: A True
Story in Honor of Purim” written by Solomon
Naumovich Rabinovich, born just outside
of Kyiv, and better known by his pen name,
Sholem Aleichem.

Aleichem set his Purim-themed story “in
one of the Jewish cities of our old home,”
and it begins with the arrival of Haman and
Mordecai in that unnamed city. The bibli-
cal duo arrive in town centuries after the
Purim story was first penned. Haman, who
Aleichem describes as a “rich magnate,
with an angry, severe glare,” is wearing his
triangular hat.

Despite the iconic head covering, the
Jews in this fictional town do not recog-
nize Haman. They ask Mordecai about the
rich magnate, and Mordecai explains in no
uncertain terms who they are. He mentions
that they are from Persia and Media, from
the Fortress Shushan.

Yet each character with whom Mordecai
speaks isn’t quite sure what to do. Perhaps
in disbelief, perhaps in confusion, none
of the town’s Jews are spurred to action
despite the villain’s presence. They fail
to take immediate steps toward ridding
their town of this known villain. Purim, and
Aleichem’s story, come to teach us that we
cannot react in this way to the presence
of evil. It is incumbent upon us to spot
wickedness quickly and then do something
in response.

This coming week, we will teach our
children to get loud in all kinds of ways at
the mention of Haman’s name. Haman’s tri-
angular hat will likely make its appearance
in Purim spiels across the world. But we
aren’t booing that hat. The triangle hat is a
teaching tool to communicate something far
more important and our whimsical tradition
of booing Haman is much more serious than
it appears.

When we take our children to hear the
Megillah, we are teaching them to build a
world in which good people stand up to bul-
lies wherever and whenever they see one.

We are instructing the next generation that
when we spot wickedness in our midst, we
push decorum aside and we get loud until
the evil plot is thwarted.

God willing, we will raise a generation of
people who have even just an ounce of the
courage it took for the Ukrainian soldiers
on Snake Island to stare down a Russian
warship and defiantly say, “Go f*** yourself!”
It is not enough to put this on the shoul-
ders of the next generation. We, the adults
in the room, need to heed our own advice.

Over these past two weeks, we have
watched a villainous plot unfurl. It is as if
this moment in history is testing the Jewish
people by asking, “Do you still need that
triangular teaching tool from your childhood
to spot evil?”
Vladimir Putin shouldn’t have to wear a hat
that has three corners for us to recognize his
wickedness. His brutal and unjust aggres-
sion should be enough to spur us to action.

Those of us who grew up attending
Purim services have been training for this
our whole lives. It’s time to stand up and
make noise until this modern-day Haman is
stopped. A good place to start is by booing
Haman with the kind of passion and cour-
age displayed by those soldiers on Snake
Island. But don’t stop there. Donate, write on
social media, encourage others to do the
same. May our celebration of Purim this
year, and every year, be a reminder to us
that not all villains wear triangular hats. JE
Jason Bonder is the associate rabbi at Congregation
Beth Or in Maple Glen.

Emet is a strong Jewish value, as is refraining from lashon
hara. With this in mind, I would like to respond to your arti-
cle of Feb. 24, “Black Jew Denied Israeli Citizenship Twice,”
whose headline implied that this was a decision motivated
by race.

There is no doubting the real pain and frustration that
Jared Armstrong feels. He was raised as a Jew and still spent
nine months converting to meet what he thought were the
objections of Israeli authorities to becoming a citizen, only to
be denied again. I cannot speak to whether this decision was
correct, not knowing all the facts. But neither can anyone
else who does not know all the facts say with certainty that
this decision was because of racism.

What do we know? We know that Israel rescued thousands
of black Ethiopian Jews at great risk and expense. We also
know that white individuals wishing to become citizens are
turned down because their conversions are not regarded
as valid by the Israeli authorities. Finally, we know that in
March 2019, Amare Stoudemire, a black American basketball
player who underwent an Orthodox conversion in Israel, was
granted Israeli citizenship.

These facts alone are enough to raise questions about any
assertion that denial of citizenship to Armstrong is caused
by racism. We also know that standards for conversion are
different in Israel than they are in the United States. It is quite
possible that this is the reason Armstrong’s application was
turned down.

Because racial discrimination is wicked, a charge of racism
is ugly and should be supported by stronger evidence than
was presented in this article.

Rabbi Yonah Gross | Congregation Beth Hamedrosh, Wynnewood
Writer Drank Republican Kool-Aid
It is evident from David Levine’s letter (“Endorsement Omitted
Key Details,” March 17) that he has been drinking too much
Republican Kool-Aid.

Levine implies that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is unqual-
ified because her “handlers” refuse to address such issues
as LSAT scores and class standing. He also opines that
Biden only nominated her to fulfill a “debt” to his supporters.

First of all, Jackson was endorsed by many legal scholars
of both political persuasions, and both white and minority
attorneys. I don’t remember anyone asking for LSAT scores
and class ranking of any of Trump’s three appointments
to the Supreme Court. In fact, Republican members of
Congress tried to whitewash Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged alco-
holism and sexual harassment charges — charges that would
have disqualified most candidates.

As far as fulfilling a debt, one of Trump’s major campaign
promises in 2016 was to appoint conservative judges to the
court to overturn Roe v Wade. Trump’s appointments were
selected by the conservative Federalist Society, and he dare
not go against any of their recommendations. JE
Jeff Ettinger | Huntingdon Valley
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