As Jews around the world prepare to celebrate Purim, G-d appears to many to be hidden from this world. The global COVID-19 death toll has reached 6 million people. Before the pandemic reached an end, the war in Ukraine erupted and continues unabated, threatening the global supply of grains. The Ukraine war is quickly transforming into a humanitarian disaster, with all attempts at a ceasefire failing and Russia dropping massive bombs on Ukrainian cities. As if that were not bad enough, the Iranian threat to the State of Israel shows zero signs of abetting and may even get worse, now since Iran sees how the West has failed to do more than sanction Putin for his crimes against humanity.
However, the Vilna Gaon, “the pious genius from Vilna” in the 18th century wrote a commentary on the Megillat Esther (Scroll of Esther) that teaches us that even if G-d appears hidden, we should not lose hope. The Lithuanian sage relates the story of a prince who sinned and was punished by his father. So, the son was banished to a forest....
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