Tamar rolled over in bed again. It was only 6 a.m. Too early to call anyone about her plans, but she couldn’t sleep a wink. Ever since her dream around 2 a.m., she’d been tossing and turning all night.
She was excited and nervous! She needed to share her idea with the world… but everyone was still sleeping. Just a bit longer, she thought. At 7 a.m., everyone would wake up, and she’d tell them all. She pulled the blanket a little tighter and rolled over again. Sixty minutes. She could wait that long.
Suddenly, Tamar found herself somewhere completely different. Hundreds of girls were standing around her, all dressed in their finest gowns, sparkling jewelry, and fancy shoes. A very serious officer was checking names. Tamar looked around. Where was Queen Esther? And what did she look like? Wait… sther wouldn’t be the queen yet. She would look just like the other girls. How would Tamar recognize her?
And which of these men was Haman? Did his hat really have three corners? Tamar wandered a bit more. She moved outdoors. The palace gardens were huge and beautiful. She spotted a wooden swing and gently rocked back and forth in the light breeze. Ahhh, what a wonderful place to be.
“Tamar! Tamar! Get moving! It’s 7:20, and you’re going to miss the bus!”
“Miss the bus?” Tamar reached for a flower. “What bus?” she thought.
Then she jolted awake. No flower. No swing. No Queen Esther. Just Tamar Schwartz—about to be late to school again because she’d had the most amazing dream.
“Maaaa! How does this always happen? I was up from 2 a.m. until 6, waiting to tell you about my Purim idea, and then I must have fallen asleep. Ugh! I’m going to have to rush. I’ll tell you later!”
Tamar got dressed, grabbed her knapsack, and ran to the bus stop just in time to make the bus.
Miri had saved her a seat, just like every day. “Miri, you are the best friend ever! I would be lost without you,” Tamar exclaimed. “And now I’m going to tell you my Purim idea. Oh, and thanks for saving me a seat.”
Tamar reached into her bag to pull out the yogurt her mother had packed, made a loud bracha, and took a sip.
“Miri,” Tamar began, “I had the most amazing dream last night. I was at the very first Purim in Shushan! The kids had incredible costumes, everyone was dancing with friends through the streets, thanking Hashem for saving their lives, and preparing meals for the poor. It was so busy and exciting!”
“And then,” Tamar continued, “I found a group of girls sitting and talking. At first, I thought it was a secret meeting, but they seemed to be inviting everyone in, so I joined. One girl was leading the discussion. She said, ‘Girls, it’s easy to miss Yad Hashem in this neis. It’s different from when Hashem split the Yam Suf. This neis seems like just a story. Esther, a regular girl like us, became queen. Mordechai Hatzadik heard a plan, saved the king… Esther saves us. A story—but it’s not. We have to look deeper. We have to recognize what it really is.’”
Tamar paused for a dramatic effect. Miri was spellbound.
“I knew what would come next! Miri, isn’t it amazing to realize this?? We see Purim as this HUGE neis. We read the Megillah every year and see how it all came together. But it wasn’t like that for them. It seemed like each piece just happened! I wanted to hear it all! But then I woke up. My room was silent. It was dark outside. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get back to Shushan and the Purim celebrations.”
Miri was still staring, so Tamar continued.
“So, I had the best idea, Miri! This Purim, we can create our own Shushan. We’ll show how it all happened. Imagine turning the shul’s simcha hall into Shushan Habirah! Everyone could play a part, feel the excitement of Purim, and remember that Hashem saved us. Isn’t that brilliant?”
Tamar held her breath. Miri laughed. “Tamar, you have the most amazing imagination in the world! How do you even dream these things? I feel like every week you have another idea!”
“Do you like this one, Miri?” Tamar asked eagerly. “I love it!” Miri exclaimed. “I forgot how hidden Hashem is in the Purim story. This is perfect! I’m in, Tamar. Let’s make it happen.”
Tamar almost jumped up and down on the bus seat. Maybe this idea could really come to life!
At recess, Tamar shared the idea with all her friends. Everyone laughed at the dream part. That was Tamar—the friend with the brightest smile, amazing energy, and a million ideas.
After school, Tamar hurried home to tell her mother everything. She practiced on the way: “Ma, don’t worry! You won’t have to do much… just drive me around, and pay for some supplies, and help me get it to shul… okay, maybe it’s more than a little more help. But it will be worth it!”
Mommy was ready for her when she walked in. It was as if she knew that if Tamar mentioned she had an idea, she’d better be ready! She was sipping her coffee and had a plate of cinnamon buns on the table. It looked promising.
“Ma! I had this amazing dream,” Tamar began, and she told her mother every detail—the crowds, the girls, the gardens, everything…“And so, Ma,” she finished, “we should make this happen.”
Her mother laughed. “Tamar, if I said no, you’d make it happen anyway. But I love the idea! I’ll call my friend on the Purim planning committee and tell her about it.”
Exactly one month later, Tamar was standing in the space she’d dreamed of. The shul looked just like Shushan Square! Everyone was having the best time. Then the Rav got up to speak.
“A girl in our shul had a dream that she was in Shushan at the first Purim. In her dream, she heard an incredible conversation. A conversation we need to have today. A conversation about things that just seem to happen. But we know, nothing is by chance. Our world may look like teva, nature—sun rising and setting, people rising to power and others losing power… but none of it just happens: everything is guided by Hashem.”
“So tonight,” the Rav continued, “we thank Hashem for the hidden neis of Purim. A hidden neis that could seem like it just happened because the right people were in the right places. Sometimes we forget that, because we read the Megillah as a clear story. But the story unfolded slowly, and the Yidden had to look to see Yad Hashem. And as we see things unfold in our times, we have to look for Yad Hashem too. And thank Hashem for all He does for us and for our Tamar, who brought the Purim story to life for all of us. Each of us has a special vision to see Yad Hashem in our lives. Let’s try to see Hashem everywhere we can.”
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 72 Purim.
