March 1, 2026|י"ב אדר ה' אלפים תשפ"ו Purim, Prayer, and the Courage to Act By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

In its recent letter, Agudath Israel of America calls upon Jews everywhere to respond to the current crisis by intensifying tefillah. “At this critical and historic hour,” the letter states, “our primary response must be spiritual.” While prayer is undeniably vital, the letter notably omits mention of the brave soldiers standing on the front lines, putting their lives at risk to defend our people. To frame the response as purely spiritual risks overlooking the very individuals whose courage and action embody the Purim model of faith in motion.

There is deep truth in the message about tefillah. The Ramban famously teaches that while our daily prayers are rabbinic in origin, there is a Torah obligation to cry out to God specifically in times of crisis. When we are endangered, when events feel beyond our control, the Torah commands us to turn to the Ribbono Shel Olam. It is almost as if Chazal instituted daily tefillah so that when history shakes us, prayer will not be foreign but instinctive. In that sense, Agudath Israel is absolutely right: intensified tefillah is essential.

And Purim does indeed model national prayer. When Haman’s decree was issued, the Jewish people fasted and cried out. At Esther’s request, the Jews of Shushan gathered for three days of fasting. Tefillah and teshuvah were central to their response.

But Purim is not only a story about prayer.

The letter frames Purim as teaching that “salvation comes through tefillah, unity, and unwavering bitachon in Hashem.” Yet the Megillah itself presents a fuller, more demanding picture. When Mordechai urges Esther to approach the king, she initially hesitates. The danger is obvious. She could have insisted that prayer alone was enough. Instead, Mordechai challenges her: “Who knows if for this very moment you attained royalty?”

In the world of Purim — a world in which God’s name is hidden — emunah does not mean passivity. Esther fasts. She prays. And then she walks into the inner court uninvited, risking her life to save her people. And we celebrate that act as the turning point of the story.

Purim teaches that salvation comes through tefillah — but through tefillah that leads to courageous action. Through bitachon that produces responsibility. Through faith that expresses itself in risk and sacrifice.

This has real implications for our own time. The courage of Israeli soldiers defending Jewish lives today is a living continuation of the Purim lesson: faith in action. If “our primary response must be spiritual,” as the letter states, we must remember that spirituality in the Purim story did not end with fasting. It culminated in action. To pray for soldiers is essential. To support them is essential. But we must also be willing to say clearly: when Jews step forward to defend their people from those who openly seek their destruction, that is not merely permitted — it is a religious ideal rooted in the very story we are about to read.

Agudath Israel is right to call for tefillah. Yet if we invoke Purim honestly, we must embrace its full lesson. Not only the fasting of the Jews of Shushan — but the courage of Esther entering the king’s chamber. Purim is not a model of prayer alone. It is a model of prayer that gives birth to action — and of action that itself becomes an expression of faith. And in our time, that action is exemplified by the soldiers who stand ready to defend our people.