                And Mordechai Refused to Bow Down!
                      by Gary M. Cooperberg
   March 1992                                      Adar II 5752

       "Mr. President, there is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the people in
all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither follow they the
President's policy; therefore it is not for the President's profit to suffer them."  (paraphrase from
Esther 3:8).
       Well he finally did it.  James Baker very clearly and unambiguously told us, "No loan
guarantees without a complete settlement freeze".  Will we finally learn our lesson and be equally
unambiguous by telling the good Secretary what he can do with his loan guarantees?
       It is the month of Adar.  We Jews have a rich history of having powerful tyrants
threaten us.  While Purim today is a time of celebration and fun, we would do well to consider the
deeper meanings and historical reality of that holiday.
       In those days there was no Jewish State, yet the ruler of the world's most powerful
country, and his "Secretary of State", arbitrarily decided to create a "New World Order"--- a
world without Jews.  Things did not look good for us at that time.  With no country, no army, and
no organized body to prepare any kind of defense, it certainly seemed as if the Jewish People were
doomed.
       The lesson of Purim is that we Jews must never permit, what may truly seem to be,
"insurmountable" threats to our safety or existence to cause us to forsake our obligations as Jews,
no matter how desperate things may seem.  "And Mordechai bowed not . . "
       Although the chief executive of Persia and his Secretary of State had virtually sealed
the fate of the Jewish People, the Living G-d of Israel intervened, arranging a very unusual chain
of events and sending us two very brave and faithful leaders who not only rescued us from certain
annihilation, but who paved the way for the rise of the second Jewish Commonwealth in Israel.
       Bush and Baker have far less power in our generation than did Ahashverosh and
Haman in theirs.  The Third and eternal Jewish Commonwealth in Israel has already begun.  And
the threats now before us are nothing at all compared to what we faced with Ahashverosh and
with Hitler.  
       Last Purim we watched the terrifying threat of Scud Missiles virtually melt away.  This
Purim we will see further miracles as the ever hastening Jewish redemption continues despite all
the efforts of our enemies to thwart it.  
       Purim is the holiday which glaringly reminds us that things are not what they seem to
be.  The downtrodden, virtually doomed Jewish nation was instantly transformed to the most
respected in the empire.  This was but a foretaste of what lies in store for us.
       Our country will continue to grow and be built in all areas, including those not yet in
our possession.  Jews from all over the world, including the United States will continue in ever
increasing numbers to return home to Israel to live and help to build her.  Our economy will
develop from within making us the envy of the world, and we will one day see the great United
States crawling on her knees to little Israel as it begs her for loan guarantees for its already
sagging economy.  "The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy and honor."  (Esther 10:16)