I realized that Purim is fast approaching. Like many people this has always been one of my favorite holidays. As a child there was nothing more fun than getting to dress in costume (Queen Esther, of course) and then getting to yell at the top of your lungs in synogogue?!!! A child’s dream!
There are many great parts to Purim that can be explored year after year. The first one is the actual story. When was the last time you actually read the whole thing? I think you might be surprised at the ending. It doesn’t stop at “happily ever after.” The ending can be very hard to reconcile with the message we get soon after at Passover, which is don’t revel in the destruction of your enemies — they are humans too. Confused? Go read the Book of Esther.
Another great thing to explore is the names of the main characters. For example, did you know that Esther means “revealing the hidden?” Put that in context —- interesting…
Modern feminists have given Vashti to her place of honor. Personally, I love her. She’s a queen and she won’t be exploited by anyone. Go, Vashti! Traditionalists might say that she’s uppity and not a “proper” woman — well, neither am I by those standards.
Hamentaschen, the traditional Purim cookies of the Ashkenazim, offer many great opportunities for the Jewitch. Haman’s hat — come on. They look a lot like something else to me. The tradition of sending them to some one as a gift, gives you a chance to create an edible charm of goodwill — just don’t forget to give some as an offering.
My Purim ritual has become a favorite for me and my non-Jewish friends. I host a Purim-schpiel. The idea being that we gain power over our enemies by mocking them. I’ve found that the insights we all gain into the story through this ribald, joyous, racous retelling have been quite amazing. We have lots of food and wine, and people are assigned the various parts. They pantomime and adlib as I read the story, and add my own commentary. It’s definitely adults only in my version, because it does get a bit on the naughty side. But great fun is had by all!
I’ve told you what I do — how do you celebrate Purim?
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