Today Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Purim. This is one of our most joyous and raucous holidays where holy rabbis literally tell us to get totally drunk in celebration.

Why do we celebrate? Because thousands of years ago, a Jewish queen named Esther successfully stopped the plot of her husband's evil adviser to systematically murder all the Jews in their city. Esther devised a plan, stood up to her non-Jewish husband the King, and saved the lives of all her people in the city. For this we party, we drink, we eat, we dress in costumes, we listen to this amazing Book of Esther, and we yell and boo and make noise whenever the evil adviser's name is spoken in the story.

We celebrate life with abandon.

I share this with all of you because the world is dark right now. The horrifying news from Ukraine, along with the threats that it bring us is enough to make any of us shut down in anxiety and fear.

We can help by doing what is in our control. Not only with money and resources that we can share with those in need, but with choosing to take moments to celebrate life amidst this death and fear. By putting love and good energy into our communities. By investing in our own and our children's emotional and physical health. By calling on the strength of our foremothers and forefathers who faced hardships in the past and persevered.

By living life with joy and purpose.