TORAH TALK
Be Joyful. Seriously.
Purim - Scroll of Esther Mayn Shvester
Be Joyful. Seriously.
Purim - Scroll of Esther Mayn Shvester
This week Jews all over the world will gather to celebrate what the rabbis taught is the last holy day in the year cycle that begins with Passover. Purim, the holiday of disguises, merriment, and debauchery, is such an important holiday that the sources (Midrash Proverbs 9:2) teach that it will be the only holy day to be celebrated in the world to come. It is, after all, the holiday celebrated in the month of Adar when we are commanded to usher in happiness—literally, and strangely commanded to be joyful.
Admittedly that is a pretty hard commandment in a world where the news cycle routinely leaves us with decidedly less joy. And yet, we are also reminded by this holiday observance that joy can be an act of spiritual and even political resistance. The Book of Esther masterfully delivers the combined explosive energies of laughter, randomness, sexuality and violence, but it never mentions God. What then is so holy about this seemingly godless celebration of intoxication, frivolity and irreverence? And why might we actually need it every year?
On the one hand, the meaning of Purim is to be found precisely in the idea of concealment, and particularly the concealment of God. Esther’s name contains the root s-t-r which means “hidden,” and her Jewish identity remains secret, until it serves the important purpose of her standing up to the violence of Haman. When we come to celebrate, we too hide our identities as we dress in costumes and mask our faces.
On the other hand, the word megillah (scroll) is connected to the word megaleh, which means to reveal. Purim, then, is about searching below the surface—the invitation to pierce through randomness, vulgarity, and violence in order to uncover meaning and God’s Presence. The world these days often feels precarious, and we actually might need to elevate our silliness and our joy to match the degree of upset there is around us.
If one of the “goals” of the holiday cycle that begins with the miraculous, divine liberation from Egypt is to help us identify the godly powers within, then Purim surely is the holiday to solidify that teaching. The story of Passover is the story of how God takes us by the hand and redeems us from Egypt, leads us through the wilderness while providing for all our needs, giving us guidance (Torah) and protection.
When we, the Israelites, reach the Promised Land, the goal is that we will gradually learn to be independent, that we will internalize a moral compass and God-consciousness through the study and practice of Torah. That we can learn to work for redemption and encounter God’s Presence on our own.
Purim is about humans taking full responsibility and taking their lives into their own hands. The single most important exchange in the story is when, in response to Esther’s reluctance to confront the King, Mordechai tells her that perhaps it is precisely for this moment, that she came into the world. Without Esther’s courage and commitment, there could be no light and joy which the story includes. Without the hiddenness of God, humanity would not understand that each of us is critical to the transformation of the world from what it is into what it could be. Purim is about the miracle of human self-redemption. When we struggle to get out of the narrow places where we suffer, when we learn to make light in the darkness, is when we might experience the Divine and see ourselves as the change we wish to see in the world.
I can’t promise amidst the Purim revelry on March 20th you will encounter God’s presence (although that is a good idea for a costume). I can assure you though, if you spend some time appreciating what is concealed and what is revealed in our story, it might just lead you to higher, and more joyful ground.
Shabbat Shalom and Purim Sameah!
Rabbi Yael Ridberg
Admittedly that is a pretty hard commandment in a world where the news cycle routinely leaves us with decidedly less joy. And yet, we are also reminded by this holiday observance that joy can be an act of spiritual and even political resistance. The Book of Esther masterfully delivers the combined explosive energies of laughter, randomness, sexuality and violence, but it never mentions God. What then is so holy about this seemingly godless celebration of intoxication, frivolity and irreverence? And why might we actually need it every year?
On the one hand, the meaning of Purim is to be found precisely in the idea of concealment, and particularly the concealment of God. Esther’s name contains the root s-t-r which means “hidden,” and her Jewish identity remains secret, until it serves the important purpose of her standing up to the violence of Haman. When we come to celebrate, we too hide our identities as we dress in costumes and mask our faces.
On the other hand, the word megillah (scroll) is connected to the word megaleh, which means to reveal. Purim, then, is about searching below the surface—the invitation to pierce through randomness, vulgarity, and violence in order to uncover meaning and God’s Presence. The world these days often feels precarious, and we actually might need to elevate our silliness and our joy to match the degree of upset there is around us.
If one of the “goals” of the holiday cycle that begins with the miraculous, divine liberation from Egypt is to help us identify the godly powers within, then Purim surely is the holiday to solidify that teaching. The story of Passover is the story of how God takes us by the hand and redeems us from Egypt, leads us through the wilderness while providing for all our needs, giving us guidance (Torah) and protection.
When we, the Israelites, reach the Promised Land, the goal is that we will gradually learn to be independent, that we will internalize a moral compass and God-consciousness through the study and practice of Torah. That we can learn to work for redemption and encounter God’s Presence on our own.
Purim is about humans taking full responsibility and taking their lives into their own hands. The single most important exchange in the story is when, in response to Esther’s reluctance to confront the King, Mordechai tells her that perhaps it is precisely for this moment, that she came into the world. Without Esther’s courage and commitment, there could be no light and joy which the story includes. Without the hiddenness of God, humanity would not understand that each of us is critical to the transformation of the world from what it is into what it could be. Purim is about the miracle of human self-redemption. When we struggle to get out of the narrow places where we suffer, when we learn to make light in the darkness, is when we might experience the Divine and see ourselves as the change we wish to see in the world.
I can’t promise amidst the Purim revelry on March 20th you will encounter God’s presence (although that is a good idea for a costume). I can assure you though, if you spend some time appreciating what is concealed and what is revealed in our story, it might just lead you to higher, and more joyful ground.
Shabbat Shalom and Purim Sameah!
Rabbi Yael Ridberg