Last night at sundown the Jewish holiday
Purim began and continues until tonight’s sunset. It is one of my favorites
of all religious celebrations. As a Rabbi who spoke at the Peace
and Unity Prayer Vigil at the Islamic Foundation North in Waukegan a
few years ago said. “Purim is a holy day when we are commanded to have fun.”
To familiarize folks with her story
and the joyous festival which commemorates it—I’m talking to my fellow Goyim—we review just what the hell went
on.
A young girl, Esther, is picked by a drunken Persian king to be his new bride. She keeps her Jewish identity a secret. Meanwhile her protector and cousin Mordecai discovers a plot
to kill the king and by informing saves his life.
The King appoints the vain and treacherous Haman as his new Vizier. Haman is offended
when Mordecai is insufficiently
obsequious to him in public. Miffed,
he plots to have not just Mordecai, but all of the Jews of kingdom killed. He gets the king, who has been participating
in public drinking festivals for six
months and is perhaps a tad addled,
to sign such a decree.
After sending words to the Jews of the kingdom to join in
three days fast and prayer Esther gets the king drunk yet
again at a royal drinking festival that she hosts with Haman among the guests. After the first night of debauchery Esther reads to the King the annals of Mordecai’s life saving service.
She then asks Haman what boon the King should give to a man who has done him great
service. Vainly thinking she means him,
Haman says the honoree should be
dressed in the royal robes and paraded before the people on the king’s own horse.
The king astounds Haman by bestowing the boon on Mordecai
and orders him to see that the command is carried out.
On the second night of the Festival Esther reveals that
she is Jewish as is her cousin and that by the edict the king himself had
signed all of her people, and she herself were marked for death. Outraged,
the king orders Haman hung on the gallows built for Mordecai and names the Jew as his new
Vizier.
But he cannot revoke
his own edict. Instead, he issues another
which allows Jews to arm themselves and
slay their attackers. On the 13th
Day of Adar the planned attacks are launched but the Jews slay their
attackers by the hundreds and thousands, including all seven sons of Haman.
The Jewish people are saved and flourish for a while as never before in exile.
Purim celebrates the deliverance exuberantly with costumed recreations of the story, noise makers meant to drown out Haman’s
name whenever it is read in the telling of the story, special foods, and, of course plenty of drinking and merrymaking.
.jpg)
Back in 2012 the celebration coincided with International Women’s Day on March
8. This year the slippery Jewish lunar calendar
missed that mark by just a day.
Back then I was intrigued because at the center of Purim
is one of the few women of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament to take a leading
role in the story. The lovely Queen
Esther always struck me as wonderfully subversive
and feminist. The story of Esther, heroine and savior of
her People, resonates with women whether Jewish or Gentile.
So I wrote her a poem imagining her sitting down with
some contemporary sisters.
Purim/International Women’s Day
14th day of Adar 5772/March 8, 2012
Queen Esther tossed her head,
gleaming
black hair
tumbling
to those lovely shoulders
that
had enticed a lecher King.
She
laughed.
Her people, the Women of another age,
leaned
toward her
waiting
her word.
She cast her blazing eyes upon them,
laughed
again
and
spoke at last.
“So many Hamans.
Where shall we begin?”
—Patrick Murfin
No comments:
Post a Comment