On Adar 24, Czar Alexander I of Russia declared the Blood Libel -- the infamous accusation that Jews murdered Christian children to use their blood in the baking of matzah for Passover, for which thousands of Jews were massacred through the centuries -- to be false. Nevertheless, nearly a hundred years later the accusation was officially leveled against Mendel Beilis in Kiev.
Link: A detailed look at the Beilis case, including primary evidence, photographs, interviews and a documentary.
The Torah tells a story about each one of us, a story in which one day we all eventually return home.
Some read it as an instruction. But it is best read as a promise:
And you will return to G‑d, your G‑d…you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut. 30:2)
Because, ironic as it may seem, returning home, to your true self, to your people and to your G‑d, and discovering your own essence that was somehow lost along the way is the most independent act a human being can do.
It means taking ownership of your life, shedding the harness of circumstance, overriding the whip of impulse, and saying, “It’s my life. I will be who I am. And I am one with my G‑d and with my people!”
Nobody can tell you to do that, not even G‑d. It’s the one thing that’s entirely up to you.
But He can write in His Torah that you eventually will come back home.
Because how could it be otherwise?