Purim: Jews in Exile
By Lesli Koppelman Ross Throughout Jewish history, Jews living in the Diaspora have been challenged by the question of how much to assimilate into the broader cultures in which they lived and how much to maintain a separate community. Today referred to as "dual loyalty," Jews have often been accused of disloyalty to their country because of their allegiance to their own community (and to the State of Israel). Approaching the issue from a traditional perspective, the author of this article argues that Purim offers a lesson in how Jews can be equally active in the Jewish community and the broader society. Logic and world history tell us that the conquered Jews should have adopted the customs and standards of those among whom they were forced to live. Instead, as Purim instructs, they saved themselves not by "fitting in" with the surrounding populations, but by maintaining their values and way of life. The philosophy they developed to compensate for their generally mis...
