The mood in Israel has changed somewhat, as we hear from press reports and as those of us who were there recently can testify from personal experience. The somber, disheartened, and gloomy mood of the twelve or thirteen months since the Yom Kippur War has lifted perceptibly – but not radically. The mood is no longer black, just gray. There is no longer fear, just anxiety; no longer anger, just resentment. Circumstances may suddenly improve, but that does not seem likely. The defense, diplomatic, and economic realities do not promise to change for the better in any unexpected manner.What a way to enter the festival of Purim! “When Adar comes, one should increase his joy.” How – with prices soaring, Arabs rattling sabers, the Russians holding back their Jews, and the U.S. blowing hot and cold?How shall we be authentic in celebrating Purim – the only time Jews are permitted a bit of controlled abandon – in a year of such depressed morale?But it can be done. Purim itself, despite the joviality and occasional jocularity, is not an exercise in detached fantasy. There is a healthy realism underlying all the joy and happiness.Why, the Talmud asks, do we not recite Hallel on Purim? One answer offered is that the Hallel begins with, “Praise the Lord, you servants of the Lord.” This, however, we cannot recite on Purim – “because we are still the servants of Ahasuerus.” Only those who are completely free can qualify as “servants of the Lord” and extol Him for it. But the triumph commemorated on Purim was not a complete one: we are still the servants of Ahasuerus.No self-delusions here – no mistaking the avoidance of Haman’s genocide for ultimate freedom. No impetuous conclusions about a temporary relief from oppression constituting the “beginning of redemption.”Yet, despite these limitations – and notwithstanding the qualified nature of the victory – we must be happy in Adar. We must surrender to joy on Purim, even if we have to force it on ourselves. No Hallel yet – but fun a…