“Worry! Be Happy!,” Rabbi Elaine Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings

February 27, 2026 | 10 Adar 5786

Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we move toward Shabbat, and this week Purim. You can also listen to it as a podcast.

Worry! Be Happy!

We might think the title should be “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” like Bobby McFarrin’s 1988 hit. You may remember how he recognized, “in life there is trouble but if you worry you make it double.” But, is this really true? Must we rid ourselves of worry in order to clear the path for our happiness? Might it not be possible to live in the paradoxical struggle that both can occur at exactly the same time?

The Shabbat before the Jewish holiday of Purim holds the title of Shabbat Zachor, Sabbath of Remembrance. We invoke the story of Amalek who attacked the stragglers, weak, and vulnerable as they left Egypt. As Deuteronomy 25:17-19 reminds us:

Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt — how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear.

The text continues with what to do with this information: Therefore, when יהוה your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that יהוה your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

What does it mean to remember not to forget to blot out their memory? It strikes me as a contradiction. This message summons us to remain aware of what happened. Might it then cause us to worry that such enemies may strike us in our vulnerable moments? Let’s recognize that Amalek did not race to the front to overcome the leaders and the strength of the community. Amalek and those with him acted like bullies, garnering their false power on the weak. Why make such an effort not to forget to remember to blot out their memory?

The holiday of Purim provides the response. Whether it is Amalek or Haman, there will be those who prey on others and seek their harm. That is one focus of the story of Purim. We live with this kind of worry. It is present and we must remain diligent and mindful. As Mordecai sent word to Queen Esther situated in the palace, “Who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” (Esther 4:14).

Who knows, perhaps you, reading this Shabbat Awakenings, also have this opportunity when we encounter those who seek to harm or destroy us.

At the same time, Purim focuses us on the chance to rejoice, to be happy in our lot of our Jewish communal connection. The rituals and celebration demand joy from us. Allow yourself simply to be happy and engage in the silliness. It is what makes Jewish tradition remarkably wonderful.

When we hear, “Worry, Be Happy,” we do not have to choose. We thrive with both, holding them as two truths in the way we live Jewishly. The Jewish month of Adar is upon us and with it comes worry and joy. May the experience strengthen us all.

Shabbat Shalom and Hag Sameah! שבת שלום וחג שמח

I welcome your thoughts and experiences here.

Rabbi Elaine Zecher