Let us set the scene. The year is approximately 1200 CE. Hotu Matu’a, a Polynesian chieftain, leads a couple dozen of people across the Pacific Ocean to one of the most remote places on Earth, Easter Island. Fleeing tribal wars on his home island, it is here he creates a new civilization, the Rapa Nui. The people of this civilization create Moai (Mo-eye-E), monuments dedicated to their ancestral gods. The tallest is 33 feet tall and weighs 82 tons, as heavy as a space shuttle. These monuments were completely carved using primitive tools. To make matters even more challenging, the massive stones are mined across the island from where the great statues will finally end up. The legend says that the statues walk magically into place. In reality, they are dragged over land. The islanders use the natural resources of their new home, the forest, to create huts, boats, and rollers to transport the Moai. They craft levers and ropes to lift the giant monuments into place. In total, the Rapa Nui build 900 Moai. But in doing so they hasten their own downfall. Once the forest was cut down, an ecological disaster over takes Easter Island. Without trees for canoes, there was no way to leave the island. The people created their own prison. The story of the great Moai of Easter Island is tragic. A people so dedicated to their faith perish in trying to make their world more perfect.
In this week’s parsha, Ki Tisa, for the first time since crossing out of Egypt, the Torah tells of the human dimensions – a story of anxiety and restlessness over the absence of visible leadership and incomprehension over the true meaning of one God. The Israelites question the mysterious relationship between Moses and the unseen God. Moses ascends the mountain, and as days pass without his return, the people grow anxious. They crave something tangible, something to guide them. In their desperation, they create the Golden Calf, believing it will bring them closer to God. Moses returns to find them worshiping an idol, and God’s anger flares. Moses pleads for their forgiveness, but the moment leaves a lasting impact. Nothing would be the same from that point and a midrash says that all of the ills that have befallen the people since are traceable to the sin of the golden calf.
Two very different peoples yet similar stories. The Rapa Nui and the Israelites both wanted to channel the power of God through idols. Both were punished for their belief that their idols would bring them closer to God. We know that the Rapa Nui no longer exist, while the Israelites and Jewish tradition have continued. Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about the Rapa Nui other than they all but vanished by the mid 1800s.
History teaches us to learn from past mistakes. This week, as part of Jewish tradition, we read from the megillah the story of Esther. A Jewish Queen who uses her influence to protect her people from certain death. Esther’s name means “hidden” in Hebrew. First, she kept hidden her identity as a Jew in the palace of the Persian king. She also didn’t lose hope when it seemed that God’s protection of the Jewish people was in hiding. Even when she was sequestered in darkness, she called upon her strengths and courage to have an impact, and her actions ultimately saved the Jewish people. We too can tap into our own hidden powers and utterly transform events.
Wishing you a chag Purim sameach and shabbat shalom!