Let's face it, Purim is coming and it's time to get serious.

For the many Jews and non-Jews who may not be up to speed on celebrating Purim, it's a very simple holiday. An evil man named Haman made a plan to kill all the Jews of a land mass known as the Persian Empire. A man named Mordechai discovered Haman's plot and, along with a woman named Esther, prevented the plot from happening. The turn-around in world events moved from a plan to kill all the Jews to the hanging death of the mass genocide planner.

Saving humankind from the verge of destruction is the essence of Purim. Purim demonstrates that it only takes one person to save the world. It also teaches that because the world was "drunk," preoccupied with self indulgence, it didn't realize that massive human destruction was at hand.

Most of the world acts as if it was Purim all year 'round.

In general, Purim is celebrated as a day of frivolous activities. It's a day of jokes, costumes, gift-giving and festive meals - all celebrating that evil was discovered, foiled and didn't succeed. Purim is the only Jewish holiday during which drinking alcoholic beverages outside ritual purposes is condoned. There is an unusual Jewish legal phrase that allows one to get lost in frivolity or inebriated to the extent that the difference between the evil Haman and the praised Mordechai is not recognizable.

Now, let's get more serious.

There is one day of the year for Purim-like behavior to exist. The problem is that most of the world acts as if it was Purim all year 'round. Purim is the one day permitted for the world to be a little crazy, but it was only meant to last one day.

Purim is a day during which people are allowed to put aside their usual skills of rational thinking. Yes, for one day, it is permitted to act like a naive child who sees good and evil and doesn't know the difference.

Judaism teaches that the world must learn to recognize evil and make clear distinctions between good and evil. Yet, Purim recognizes that evil is often blurred, and blurred evil can lead to grave and dangerous consequences.

Purim is a statement that you have one day to act like an absolute fool, but the rest of the year, you better wake up and get it right. For the rest of the year, you better be sober and resist your desire for self-indulgence, blindness and irresponsibility.
You might find it comfortable to believe that the "Hamans" of the world don't plan to do what they say they will do. You might find it politically correct to simply say, "Oh, he's just an extremist and no one will follow him." Or, how about, "He dresses nicely, let's call him a moderate and let's appease his wants." Finally, one has to be very skeptical of those who say, "Come on, everyone just wants to get along. We can all make money together. Now lets party."

Purim teaches that even when it is not comfortable, even when you are tired or fatigued, you must be alert and you had better be skilled in recognizing who is an evil Haman and who is a praiseworthy Mordechai. If you don't understand that the world must remain sober and stop acting as if it is Purim, then you will find the world acting as a fool and treating evil as good and good as evil.

So, how can one seriously speak of a Palestinian state at the time of Purim? Perhaps, this is the best time to get the world's values out of the phase of self-indulgence and into the world of reality and sobriety.

Do the Arabs deserve a state where there won't be a Jewish-starred flag flying overhead and a national anthem that speaks of a two-thousand-year hope for a Jewish homeland? Well, there are some twenty-two Arab states that can boast that there is no Jewish star on their flags. Let there be a twenty-third Arab state and call it "Palestine." There happens to be a large land mass currently named Jordan whose population happens to be 70% Palestinian.
There happens to be a huge land mass of eastern Jordan that is sparsely populated and could become divided into a second Palestinian state, and it would serve as a strategic buffer between Iraq and Jordan. The land mass is so large that all the Palestinians could live without a concern for overpopulation, with plenty of land to farm and populate, to build roads, schools and hospitals, as well as high tech industries - if a state is really desired.

Then the Palestinians would be free to establish, to their heart's content, their own army t
What would the Palestinians have to give up in order to create a real sovereign state? Their refugee status.
hat could protect them and Jordan from an Iraqi invasion. The Palestinians could have their dreams fulfilled in their own air force and airports. Their imports and exports could pass through Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. There would be no checkpoints, since this Palestinian state would be comfortably planted in the midst of the Arab world. The Palestinians would have, as Condoleezza Rice desires, one contiguous land mass and would not depend on Israel for work, water, electricity or garbage collection.

So, what would the Palestinians have to give up in order to create a real sovereign state with plenty of land in which their children can play and grow? They would have to give up their decades of refugee status. They would have to give up being political pawns and homeless for life. The "Right of Return" would mean becoming pioneers in their new land and no longer living in order to terrorize and kill Jews. They could build their own new capital city and call it "Al-Kuds" - "Jerusalem" - in the land bordering Iraq. Their new Jerusalem could be custom-designed to every Arab or Islamic religious requirement - a mosque on every desired corner.

The Palestinians could build villages and start-up industries. They could plant olive trees in the millions, build universities and even establish their cultural pride of Palestinian weaving and embroidery centers. They could build Palestinian tourism filled with modern day attractions in accordance with Islamic law. This could be done without continuing to dig explosive smuggling tunnels into Israel or launching endless numbers of rockets at Israel in hope of killing numerous Jews.

Within the context of Purim, it is time to become sober. It is time to deal with evil and to deal with good in the most rational and effective manner. Instead of making serious political decisions that reflect a lack of rationality and sobriety, we must be mindful that Purim is not really about acting crazy and striving for self-indulgence or an inebriated mental state; it is an appeal for reality and for taking actions that will promote life and civil human existence. Therefore, build a twenty-third Arab state and call it "Palestine" - but just not in a place where endless numbers of Jews and Israelis will have to meaninglessly sacrifice their lives for generations to come.