Please listen closely as I’m only going to say this once: There is a thing called the laws of nature, and there is a thing called a Jew, and the two have absolutely nothing to do with one another.

According to the laws of nature, the era of the Purim story ought to have been a particularly safe one for the Jewish people. After all, they enjoyed great prominence with Mordecai serving as a ranking government official and Esther married to the king.

But the opposite held true. Precisely in this moment of natural immunity, the Jewish people confronted an unparalleled threat as they stared down a decree, ratified by a king who ruled the world, to eradicate every last Jew in his empire in a single day.

And the strategy the Jewish people pursued to achieve salvation seems exceptionally foolhardy.

Instead of just launching a lobbying campaign, they took it upon themselves to fast and pray for 3 days first. Esther, too, prayed and fasted for 3 days, even though she surely understood that her beauty was a vital part of her appeal to her husband, and fasting did little to help her countenance.

And yet, it worked—the Jewish people were delivered from the dastardly plot. But how?

Please listen closely, because I’m only going to say this twice: The Jew does not adhere to any natural order, but rather (and only) to a spiritual one.

Yes, the Jews enjoyed diplomatic immunity, but when they reveled in the wicked Ahasuerus’ feast, they found themselves exposed spiritually. And conversely, while fasting didn’t endear Esther to King Ahasuerus, it did endear her to the King of Kings, who, at the end of the day—as well as at the start and the middle of each day—is the only King that matters.

The same rule that holds true for the Jewish nation as a whole, holds true for every Jewish individual.

Everything a Jew needs comes from a single source, and it isn’t Amazon.

And that is why it states in the Jerusalem Talmud that a Jew believes in G‑d as he sows.

But this makes no sense! Day in and day out we witness heretics sowing seeds that grow into beautiful crops, so what’s G‑d got to do with it?

Please listen closely, because I’m only gonna say this thrice. A Jew and the laws of nature are like two trains passing in the night.

And so, while for everyone else the seed may in fact sprout by adding water, for the Jew the seed sprouts by adding faith.