Purim and Pesach! Pretty exciting times! They’re well worth waiting that extra month for this year. With Purim this week and Pesach coming within a month, there is much to celebrate.

Each has its distinct traditions and storyline.

Purim is about our rescue from the jaws of physical destruction by Haman and his cohorts, while Pesach is about our transformation into a nation with that great gift of freedom. Reflecting upon these great events, we have every reason to celebrate.

But what about those who, in those days and throughout the ages, were not saved by the great miracles of Purim or Pesach or have suffered unduly because of enslavement and persecution? Yes, we remember them with special prayers, the spilling of drops of wine during the seder, eating some maror or having the Fast of Esther before Purim to remember how close we came.

But is it not a contradiction to celebrate in the face of someone else’s suffering?

For that reason, we offer a disclaimer. What happens is bashert, part of destiny. It’s really out of our control. Some laugh, some cry, and some rejoice while others grieve. Don’t even try to figure it out. It’s complicated, and just when you think you’ve got it, God tosses you another curve ball and you’re back to square one.

While we might not be able to understand the intricacies of bashert, we can definitely pick up some pointers about modifying the equation. Even if the outcome might be the same, bashert is not without the human touch.

Reb Zussya and his brother Rebbe Elimelech, two renowned chassidic leaders, used to travel among the people in disguises so as to get the pulse of the people and, when necessary, share in the pain and suffering that was so bountiful.

On one particularly cold night, they stopped at an inn and warmed themselves together by the fire. At the same time, at the same inn, some local peasants were having a party. A bit drunk, the peasants danced in a circle, and one decided to kick Reb Zussya in the head each time he passed.

After a while, Reb Elimelech could no longer bear seeing the pain of his brother, but the two of them were no match for this group of drunks. Reb Elimelech suggested that he switch places with Reb Zussya. After some insistence on the part of Reb Elimelech, they changed places.

But the next time the peasant passed, he said: “It’s not right to keep hitting this one Jew. Next time around, I’m going to hit the one alongside.” Said Reb Zussya: “One cannot outsmart God. What is bashert to Zussya will come to Zussya!”  

Exactly! Often unknowingly, we are fulfilling God’s mandate through our very actions. But bashert is not about lying back and letting destiny take over. We are neither robots nor puppets without independent power or ability to chart our own course.

Bashert really means that we’re psyched to accept the final outcome, whatever it may be. But until that point, it’s incumbent upon us to play our hand – and head and heart – to the fullest. It might just be that I hold the key to a decision that’s yet to be set into motion.

I take the maror of life, which comes in its many different forms, and I sweeten it with my ability to celebrate life. I might reduce the extent of my recitation of Hallel, as I do on Pesach, but I don’t eliminate my ability to offer thanksgiving and praise for those things that fill my life with joy today.

I lament the fact that there are poor and hungry in this world, so I share what I can, but I enjoy and celebrate the blessings that are mine, as we do on Purim.

In the face of past and present adversity, I celebrate my ability to move forward and through my positive actions, make the world a bit better for all.

Purim and Pesach! Yes, much sacrifice has been made throughout the ages. How best to honour it? By not getting stuck in bashert mode and looking at life as futile, but rather by creating new and successful realities with our celebration of life and all that it affords us.

The reality of having a yom tov reminds us that we are bashert to have joy and gladness, light and enlightenment – and that with our personal touch, we can create happier endings.

Chag Purim samayach!

Rabbi Mordecai E. Zeitz i spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Tikvah Ahavat Shalom Nusach Hoari in Montreal.