A brand new airplane crashed in Ethiopia this week.
Eerily similar to another accident involving the same model airplane, the 737 Max 8 has been grounded around the world until the investigation is completed and the issues are resolved.
Not all countries were on board with the grounding right away, insisting that the aircraft was airworthy and flew thousands of flights a day safely.
I want to give a Purim shoutout to Indonesia and China for taking the initiative which snowballed into a worldwide ban of what was billed as a modern, fuel-efficient, air vessel. Here's why:
Haman's downfall was orchestrated by Queen Esther's clever plan of inviting the king (and Haman) to her feast, only to disclose that she was a Jewess and thus was included in Haman's evil decree to annihilate the Jewish nation. But to execute this plan required serious guts. The rule was that no one - not even the queen - dared come to the king without being summoned. Esther had not been called for 30 days. The offense was punishable by death.
But with the lives of her entire nation on the line, there was no room to think about personal consequences however severe. Life is too precious to ignore. Thankfully, the king extended his scepter sparing her life, and subsequently, she was able to plead for her people.
Sure, grounding the airplanes can be inconvenient. Money lost by airlines. Travelers with canceled flights. crowded airports. Billions lost by Boeing. But that is all trivial compared to preserving a single priceless life.
Perhaps if we can take this value to heart and share it with the world, we can reach a time when there is no room for hate and murder, no room for life-involving decisions to be swayed by money or honor. A time when life is paramount, valued and appreciated by all.
This can be summed up by a single Jewish word that fits perfectly with the Purim spirit: L'chaim -To Life!
ב"ה