Preparing for Purim involves reorienting ourselves well in advance. In fact, we are told to begin increasing our joy right at the onset of the month of Adar. The sages state that when the month of Adar begins, we are to start amplifying our joy.

Certainly the holiday of Purim is a festival of joy, but why should we start celebrating in advance?

Interestingly, we assume that the holiday of Purim is synonymous with happiness and joy. How could it not be? A terrible disaster was averted. An evil and powerful man, Haman, was brought down, and innocent lives were saved. All this was accomplished through a reaffirmation of Jewish identity, unity and common destiny. Without question, it was a joyous moment. And yet, there’s also a downside to the events.

The predicament of exile in which the Jews of Persia find themselves at the beginning of the story hasn’t really changed. The Jews begin the Purim story exiled in a foreign empire, and they end the story in exactly that same place. Although the evil decree of Haman did not come to pass, neither could it be rescinded. The only way for the Jews to protect themselves is to deliver a pre-emptive strike against anyone armed and ready to join Haman. The only solution possible is warfare.

Haman’s racist and genocidal views are not disproved. They’re simply rendered unfavourable to the king, but they remain ever-present within the empire. Although Mordechai is promoted to a high political position, there’s no change to the Persian infrastructure. The system that appointed one Haman could well appoint another in the future.

In other words, the dilemmas of the Persian Empire remain unchanged for the Jews of exile. They avoid a crisis but cannot solve the underlying cause.

So where’s the joy?

Perhaps the Sages are aware how easily we would fixate on all the things that go wrong and forget that the orientation of Judaism is to find the joy in our actions. We are told to worship God with joy, yet the worship alone is not enough. It’s crucial to begin our joy at the beginning of Adar so that we can read the Purim story after having created a context of happiness. We place the crisis of Purim within our joy and solve it from that vantage point. If we contextualize our world based only on our challenges, we may, in fact, create the very environment that would challenge us the most.

Set the moment to begin changing perspective. Don’t wait for happiness to find you. Rather, find those moments that form the basis of a new approach. Begin finding joy as the month of Adar begins. Increase the joy as the month progresses, and then read of a planned genocide against the Jews from within a firm foundation of Jewish joy – that’s the strategy Purim gives us to face any enemy.

Thousands of years ago, the sages asked: “Who is the wealthy one?” Most often, the answer is translated as “The one who is happy with what he has.” A careful translation, however, shows the answer to be “the one who finds happiness from within what he has.”