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I have a book of Jewish holidays and this was in the book. This is a one day observance. According to one Rabbi the Book of Esther is the only book in the bible in which G-d is not mentioned interestingly enough.
The Jewish holiday of Purim begins at sunset, Saturday, March 23. At synagogues across the world, people will read the Book of Esther. But its story of celebration is followed by another, darker chapter — one many Jews are thinking about this year.
Aaron Koller teaches Near Eastern and Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University, and has written about the Book of Esther, which tells the Purim story. It's a story that takes place after the destruction of the temple, when Jews were scattered throughout the Persian empire.
"There is an evil advisor to the king, who essentially randomly gets upset at the Jews for no good reason," explains Koller. "He sends out messages throughout the entire kingdom — 11 months from now, everyone should just kill their Jewish neighbors."
But then the king's wife, Esther, reveals that she's Jewish. And the evil advisor, Haman, is killed instead. The story has been told for thousands of years, and it's always sort of a party.
Even in ancient times, Koller says the reading has been accompanied by what he calls a "carnivalesque" atmosphere — drinking, costumes, cross-dressing — that enact the upending of the social order that underlies the story. There are Purim spiels which re-enact the story (with the audience drowning out the name of Haman), often mapping it onto social critiques of the day.
This tradition has continued through to today. Sari Laufer is a rabbi at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles, which puts on spiels and carnivals.
"We're going to cheer when Esther appears," says Laufer, "and people are in costume — I'm usually in an animal onesie... I've not heard a lot of quiet Megillah readings in my time."
Purim is usually considered kind of a kid's holiday. Haman's plot is foiled, big cheers, big finish. For most Purim plays, and for many Jews, that's the end of the story.
While there's a raucous, joyful celebration, Rabbi Laufer acknowledges the story is more adult than that.
"I really do think it's about power and autonomy," says Laufer. "It's about survival."
The Jewish holiday of Purim begins at sunset, Saturday, March 23. At synagogues across the world, people will read the Book of Esther. But its story of celebration is followed by another, darker chapter — one many Jews are thinking about this year.
Attempted destruction, deliverance, and a celebration
Aaron Koller teaches Near Eastern and Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University, and has written about the Book of Esther, which tells the Purim story. It's a story that takes place after the destruction of the temple, when Jews were scattered throughout the Persian empire.
"There is an evil advisor to the king, who essentially randomly gets upset at the Jews for no good reason," explains Koller. "He sends out messages throughout the entire kingdom — 11 months from now, everyone should just kill their Jewish neighbors."
But then the king's wife, Esther, reveals that she's Jewish. And the evil advisor, Haman, is killed instead. The story has been told for thousands of years, and it's always sort of a party.
Even in ancient times, Koller says the reading has been accompanied by what he calls a "carnivalesque" atmosphere — drinking, costumes, cross-dressing — that enact the upending of the social order that underlies the story. There are Purim spiels which re-enact the story (with the audience drowning out the name of Haman), often mapping it onto social critiques of the day.
This tradition has continued through to today. Sari Laufer is a rabbi at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles, which puts on spiels and carnivals.
"We're going to cheer when Esther appears," says Laufer, "and people are in costume — I'm usually in an animal onesie... I've not heard a lot of quiet Megillah readings in my time."
Purim is usually considered kind of a kid's holiday. Haman's plot is foiled, big cheers, big finish. For most Purim plays, and for many Jews, that's the end of the story.
Chapter 9: The Purim story's surprisingly dark turn
While there's a raucous, joyful celebration, Rabbi Laufer acknowledges the story is more adult than that.
"I really do think it's about power and autonomy," says Laufer. "It's about survival."
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