The Battle Beyond Understanding
Tech Tribe Dispatch #290
💡 Think:
This Shabbat is is Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat when we remember Amalek. Next week, the evening of March 13th and day of March 14th, is Purim. Join our Purim party!
On Purim the Jewish people confronted their archetypical enemy Amalek, the forbearer of Haman. The presence of Amalek is one within each and every one of us. It's the cynical voice that seeks to cool us off from our passion for goodness and G-dliness. "Do a mitzvah," it says, "but why be so excited about it?"
The evil decrees of Purim came about when the Jewish people placed their hope for survival in that cold, rational place - feeling that only by placing their hope and destiny in the hands of Achashveirosh, the ruler of Persia - would they achieve their salvation. The response? Mordechai and Esther didn't turn to lobbyists and their own prowess as influencers within the royal court. Instead the fasted, prayed, and gathered Jewish children in Public to proclaim their pride.
The redemption of Purim, then, came about only through the realization that it is through our unity, our bond to the Creator, that we can remain as a people.
This is why, on Purim, we drink until we don't know the difference between Mordechai and Haman. We transcend the logical realm where Amalek can take root, and touch a level within ourselves, a level within the divine, where our essential unity is found. We go out of ourselves, confirming the transcendent existence of the Jewish people.
🏃 DO:
✨ Join us for our March #FirstFriday Shabbat meal!
First Friday: Low Key Shabbat, Mar 7 at 7:00pm
🤠 Are you in Austin for SXSW Today?Tech Tribe brings the Jewish vibe to SXSW! Join Us for #openShabbat at SXSW!
🥳 Purim with Jewglers on March 11 at 1:00pm
👻 Shalach Manos pack at Snap, March 12th, 3:00pm
🎉Join us for the Tech Tribe Purim Feast - An Immersive Experience,
Friday, March 14 - 5:30 PM
📜 Purim at Amazon - Megillah reading and more. 1:30pm at JFK 27 (Hank)
🐦 Tweet:
🎬 Watch:
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📚 Read:
👨👩👧👦 The New York Times Profiles: A Chabad House for a Growing Family
🎭 How Purim Flips Theology Inside-Out and Upside-Down. A chassidic meditation on the ambiguity of Achashveirosh in the Megillah and of G-d in the world
🍻 An AI Can Never Get Drunk. Suboptimal gambling at the end of the world
💼 I’m starting to think AI can do my job after all
🔥 Lit:
This week, light Shabbat candles in NYC at 5:36 PM
For Shabbat candle-lighting time in your area click here.
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