This must be about the 3000th time we’re celebrating Purim, the day when the Jews should have died but lived.
Unfortunately, there have been many times when the Jews faced death and were saved at the last moment. One of my favourite psalms describes this situation, Psalm 69
Can a person feel happy even while facing certain death? The answer is "yes" on condition that he believes that the Lord will rescue him at the last moment. This is the belief in salvation. The expectation of salvation is born out of the certainty that we will die, yet a miracle will happen, and we won't die. The two concepts go together: the concept that we will die and the concept that we will be saved from death. Either God will save us from physical death, or He will grant us salvation after death. Judaism does not believe in salvation after death; that is a Christian belief, which Christianity took from Greek philosophy. The Jews rejected that idea, for them, the only kind of salvation is salvation that comes to save them from death.
Being saved from certain death, as the Jews were in the story of Purim, is certainly a reason for celebration. The joy at being saved was obviously so great that Jews not only celebrated the event at the time it happened but have been celebrating the miracle every year since. That means that they have celebrated the miracle of Purim about 2000 times, perhaps more.
I think it’s fair to ask, "Doesn't repeated celebration, year after year, weaken the enthusiasm to celebrate?" Are the Jews of today happier than the Jews of bygone years? Will their happiness increase or decrease with each passing year?
This question may be asked about all the Jewish festivals: Passover, when we became free, or Hanukkah, when we wrested control of the holy temple from the Helenized jews and Greeks, Shavuot, when we received the Torah at Mt Sinai, etc?
This answer is subjective: depending on a person’s attitude toward himself, someone who is content with himself, his appearance, his achievements, etc., will rejoice more each birthday, so will a nation.
Jews are positively delighted with all that they have achieved; just give a Jew the chance, and he will rattle off all the achievements in science, literature, philosophy, agriculture, and more.
But the main achievement is, without doubt, overcoming attempts to destroy them, defeating their enemies the way that they defeated the wicked advisor to the Persian king thousands of years ago in Persia, the festival of Purim.
The number of times that the plans of enemies to destroy Jews have been foiled is uncountable. Adding the frequency of these events together, we arrive at the conclusion that the intensity of celebrations has increased, and not weakened. Each year, Purim is celebrated more fervently than in previous years.
Despite our eagerness to celebrate, however, we yearn for a time when nobody will plan to destroy us, when everyone loves us, and the reason to celebrate will disappear.
This doesn't mean that we won't be happy. We must not confuse happiness with celebration. While celebration at overcoming enemies leads to feeling happy, happiness can exist without celebration, and is more permanent when it exists by itself. This permanent feeling of happiness is what we should be searching for, not for temporary happiness brought on by victory over our enemies.
Death by natural causes, old age or illness is a reason for sadness, but not a reason for unhappiness. Inner happiness continues even in the face of death, that is the meaning of the Biblical promise;
בִּלַּ֤ע הַמָּ֙וֶת֙ לָנֶ֔צַח וּמָחָ֨ה אֲדֹנָ֧י יֱהֹוִ֛ה דִּמְעָ֖ה מֵעַ֣ל כָּל־פָּנִ֑ים וְחֶרְפַּ֣ת עַמּ֗וֹ יָסִיר֙ מֵעַ֣ל כָּל־הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה דִּבֵּֽר׃
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
