I have a confession:
I hate Purim. When I tell people this they look at me like I have no soul.
I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I have trouble with a holiday, nay, a month that tells me I have to be happy. Something about all that pressure almost always assures that I actually end up having a miserable day.
Nonetheless, while I don’t like the actual holiday, I can still dig some of the thoughts behind it. Now that I’ve found some stable wifi on my travels, I’ll share some things I have learned in Purims past.
Purim is about learning that things are not as they seem. In the Purim story, what looks like demise for the Jews turns out to be success for us and the demise of our enemies. They also say that in the age of Moshiach, Yom Kippur will be come a day of joy – Yom Ki Purim, a day like Purim.
It’s about revealing what is hidden; when we dress up, the costumes we choose often reveal some hidden aspect of our personality. Furthermore, drinking often gives us leave to say and do the things you hold yourself back from when you’re sober (not that I know anything about that, I’ve just been told).
It also, perhaps most importantly, enjoins us to search for the hidden hand of God in all things, because that’s the way God interacts with the world in our days, and generally, we don’t understand what the hack she’s doing until the end of the story.
In any case, I’m obviously no Rabbi, and that’s the best I can do after no sleep on the midnight bus from Montreal.
Good Purim, Good Purim Everybody! Remember, Purim isn’t over til the party is, and in Jerusalem, it’s just getting into full swing about now.
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do I know you?
Whats up Laya?!!!!
Ha! Sarah, the infamous Purim of 2002. I was at that party (DB’s house, yes?). But I’m fairly glad you don’t remember me being there.
becs – cuute. I’ll be home soon babe. can’t wait. Too much travel.
aww lay! that’s such a sweet pic of nomo. i visited ck’s new place today. very cute. SUPER location. oh– and i finally found an opportunity to wear one of the tank-tops u gave me. check it out on my bloggie! can’t wait to see u oh-so-soon. Love, keysie
Laya, you will appreciate this… a few years ago I went to a big Purim party where all the frustrated baal chuvas took the night off from religious purity and were really partying.(this was the year that we thought the war with Iraq was going to start that day, it was actually a very scary time with sealed rooms ect)
R.Shalom Brodt showed up at the party- and made everybody turn off the music, stop dancing and he started telling stories. Everybody was capitvated (and a few were pissed) but it reminded us all about what the holiday was about, especially that we should be davening for protection against our enemies. It was one of the highest Purim moments ever and a much needed reminder for a lot of people.
Was my post deleted?
My feminist interpretation of the Purim story from my younger days: if you are young and hot, a rich and powerful man will dump his brainy wife for you and you can pretty much make him do anything you want.
Needless to say, I usually dressed as Vashti at the Sunday School parties.
Dido
All that said, I do enjoy a holiday when I’m hailed as a heroine and everyone knows my name.
I don’t think you’re crazy…Purim’s been wearing thin on me the past few years, the more involved i am in behind the scenes spieling, the less religious the holiday itself feels. But as for “learning” that things are not always what they seem, that’s something any student of literary theory or human nature learns very quickly, with or without Purim. There are masks that people wear on Purim, which is fine. We understand that those are temporary. The challenge is to discern daily truth in the reality that we perceive. And that takes a while…
see you soon.
And taltman, hatred for you, over something like this, is not happening. So send it on when you can…
Hope everyone (else) had a great time today…
Hey, check out the mask that I made for Purim! It was quite the hit at shul! 🙂
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~taltman/A-Haman-inejad.jpg
“Fight against Amalek in every generation” Torah, Exodus 17:16
(Esther/Hadassah don’t hate me. I’ll send it to you tonight!)
Yes. I am scared of the excesses of Purim. People get hurt and even killed sometimes.
On the other hand Purim is very profound. As you say, it is about masks.
Like, that G-d is masked behind Nature.
Seeing the world through that kind of mentality, that G-d is behind stuff. Very heavy.
A real holiday for GM. Paradoxically, a thinker’s holiday. Not at all kiddie carnival it seems.
It is SO much fun to dress UP. Glitter and feathers. The more it isn’t your usual look at ALL, the more Purim it is, the more genuinely religious it is. GLAMOUR. Black…. and COLOR. Rhinestones. Hats. Mystery. It’s OK to be corny, silly and overdressed on Purim. But in attractively.
But please, no firecrackers, and only drink too much not too much. You are supposed to know how to do that. We do, too.
Maybe it is Purim every day, with G-d saving us at the last minute all the time, and lots and lots of masks all over. Might as well dress up.