Stop Living in the Past

The Baal Shem Tov explains the Talmudic statement, “One who reads the Megilah backwards, does not fulfill his obligation.” He interprets “backwards” to mean that one can read the Megilah following all the laws, with all the proper intentions, but at the same time, he might think “This is ‘backwards,’ it’s irrelevant.

In truth, like all of the stories in the Torah, the Purim Megilah contains insights and lessons that are important for us today as well. When we read the Megilah, it might have taken place a long time ago in a faraway place, but to Jews, it is always entirely current.