Opuscula פורים עצובSad Purim

 

I JUST WATCHED a Jewish Humor Central video titled What Tel Aviv University Students (Don't) Know About Purim .

It seemed as if most of the students interviewed were at least Jewish by birth.

TAU - where I briefly worked - is not a place where Judaism is part of the curriculum for all students - unlike Bar Ilan in nearby Rehovot where my daughter studied - but the students' ignorance was both saddening and astonishing.

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS, - and I very briefly taught at one - teach, or perhaps taught, the students about the holidays both major (Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and the three "pilgrimage" holidays of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukot) and minor (Purim, Hanukah).

Either the people interviewed at TAU were raised in an home that was rabidly anti-Jewish or they slept their way through school. Their ignorance is appalling.

I know many Jews in the U.S. and Israel who are less than observant, but THEY KNOW THE PURIM STORY. They may not bother to hear Megelat Esther twice - or even once - but if you ask them who were the lead characters in the Purim spiel they would tell you Esther and Haman, maybe even Mordechai and Ahasuerus. They MIGHT even know that HaShem's name is not mentioned even once in the whole "megelah."

I would not push my luck asking a Jew in Tel Aviv "How many megillot are there?" (I know you know there are five: Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, Job, Lamentations.)

Most small kids know about dressing up in costumes. No more Esther, Mordechai, and Ahasuerus; now, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, kung fu fighters, an occasional soldier (usually in IDF uniform). For one TAU student, her costume was a bunny, and I don't think she was thinking in terms of a Playboy bunny. (Maybe she planned to lay Easter eggs a la the Cadbury bunny.)

The interviewer on TAU's campus wisely did not ask what Jews DO on Purim, in addition to hearing the megillah. I guess no one sends gifts to their neighbors anymore; no one gives a donation for the needy (a local food bank gets our donation).

One student volunteered that it is a custom to get drunk on Purim; funny how THAT tradition lingers on even when most religious authorities discourage it.

It's not just Israelis-at-TAU who are Purim ignorant. The interviewer asked several people who sounded like Americans (Canadians are Americans, too) about the minor holiday and their answers were no better (or worse) than the Israelis.

The PROBLEM with Purim is that what happened "back then" - 519–465 BCE when Ahasuerus, a/k/a Xerxes I of Persia lived - and today is that Jews still are threatened, albeit now not by Persia (Iran) alone but by Muslim extremists and anti-Semites around the globe.

Then, as now, Jews must be prepared to defend themselves; the European ostrich mentality of "don't make waves" didn't work in Europe and it won't work anywhere today.

Purim is more than just a day to hear the story of Esther; it is more than a day to send food packages to friends and give donations to the needy. Purim is a day when Jews should remember when, across Ahasuerus' 127 provinces, Jews took up arms to defeat the anti-Semites encouraged by Haman

We - Jews - need to defend ourselves from the Hamans of today.

Meanwhile, חג פורים שמח

Opuscula Purim with Yeshiva "boys"

 

A RUSSIAN MEMBER OF KNESSET, Ksenia Svetlova (Zionist Union) is outranged to the point of ranting on Facebook about a suggestion that females stay off the streets of Bnei Brak during Purim celebrations.

Why, the MK asks, should she be forced to stay inside while the men celebrate?

SILLY WOMAN. Doesn't she know that the yeshiva "boys" will take the admonition to get so drunk they can't tell the difference between "Mordechai and Haman"?

MOST rabbis, regardless of sect, discourage such behavior ^{Note 1} and incidents occurring due to drunkenness are punishable ^{Note 2}.

Saving a woman from males' immodest behavior is the basis for many rabbinical rules. The "women's' section" at the Temple was to protect both women AND less-able men (the old and infirm) from the boisterousness of the Water Festival during Sukot. ^{Note 3}

While the MK has a point - why should women be forced to celebrate Purim inside their or their neighbors' homes while drunks are allowed to roam the streets, and while she has a point that the (Ashkenazi) Chief Rabbi of Bnei Brak, Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau, opts to deny females their freedom so his yeshiva "boys" can behave like the bulls of Pamplona , she needs to understand that in the rabbi's culture, the action is for the females' safety.

Expecting haredim to behave in a civilized manner on Purim obviously is expecting too much, and R. Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau fully understands his people.

Bnei Brak is the community that in 1977 placed a chain across a major street to prevent Shabat violations; a young man was killed and a friend injured when they ailed to see the chain. The the mayor and municipal council members of Bnei Brak were indicted on grounds of non-criminal negligence that resulted in a traffic fatality there. ^{Notes 4 & 5}

Sadly enough, U.S. law - and it varies by state - may not find a drunk guilty of a crime committed while under the influence. ^{Note 6}

The bottom line for MOST Jews is to pass on the "falling down drunk" עד לא יודע tradition and follow one of the options of later rabbis. ^{Note 7}

---

1. Beis Hora’ah

2. Mi Yodea (מי יודע)

3. Chabad

4. JTA

5. JTA

6. Criminal Defense Lawyer

7. Jewish Boston

P U R I M

Purim - What it is not

Purim is NOT a Jewish version of halloween, a pagan-cum-Paulist holiday. According to Tomorrow's World, a Jesus-focused web site:

Centuries before the birth of Jesus, pagan Rome celebrated February 15 (beginning the evening before, February 14th) as a sensuous festival in honor of the idolatrous worship of Lupercus — the deified "hero-hunter of wolves."

The ancient Roman practice especially encouraged young persons who were "going steady" to indulge in licentious acts of fornication. Church leaders in the late fifth century sought to infuse into the festival of "Lupercalia" a Christian value by renaming it "Saint Valentine's day." On the pagan Lupercalia, "handed down from the Roman festival of the Lupercalia, celebrated in the month of February... names of young women were put into a box and drawn out by men as chance directed," (Encyclopedia Americana, article, "St Valentine's Day.")

Roman church leaders in the fifth century debated the inclusion of the festival Lupercalia in "Christian Rome." Due to the immense popularity of the holiday with the pagan "cum Christian" Roman citizenry, it was decided to include the holiday—except for "the more grossly sensual observances." In 496 A. D. Pope Gelasius "Christianized" the pagan Lupercalia by changing the name and day of observance from the 15th to the 14th of February.

Moreover, on halloween, people threatened neighbors and strangers alike with "trick or treat" the meaning being either you give us a treat or we'll give you a trick (as in tipping over an outhouse, beating up a person, or otherwise causing the reluctant giver distress. Purim, on the other hand, sends, preferably at the hands of a child, gifts to neighbors and friends.

Purim - What it is

Purim is a post-Biblical story that came to life during the reign of Persian King Ahasuerus אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, better known by his Greek name, Xerxes I, who ruled over 127 counties, "from India to Ethiopia." He lived between 486 to 465 BCE. (Source: Bible.org.)

NOTE: All transliterations are from "The Book of Esther" Illustrated by Arthur Szyk, published by the Maariv Book Guild & American-Israeli Publishing Co.

Ahasuerus, in the third year of his reign, wanted to show off his riches so he threw a party. Meanwhile, Vashti, Ahasuerus' queen, was putting on a party in her quarters.

Ahasuerus ordered his queen to appear before all his guests so they could look upon her beauty. Vashti took exception to this and refused.

It may not be nice to fool with Mother Nature, but it could be fatal to refuse a king's command. Encouraged by his counselors to consider that Vashti's refusal would send a message to other women to disobey their husbands, Ahasuerus had to do something. What he did - at his counselors' instigation - was to take away all of Vashti's properties and her right to come to the king. He also ordered a search for a new queen.

Enter Hadassah, a/k/a Esther.

According to the Megelah (scroll), Esther was "of beautiful form and fair to look upon."

Somehow, and the story is silent here but it seems to have been a round-up of good-looking women, Esther ended up in the custody of Hegai, the keeper of the women.

Esther was an orphan, but she had an uncle, Mordecai, who hung around the gate to Shushan, Ahasuerus' capital.

To condense the story, Esther becomes queen and the evil Haman plots to murder all the Jews, starting with Uncle Mordecai who seems to best him at every turn. Haman cons the king into declaring a day when Jews across his kingdom can be massacred.

Mordecai learns of Hamen's plan and convinces a reluctant Esther to show the king Haman's true colors. She does; Ahasuerus sees, Haman (and sons) is hanged, and Ahasuerus issues a decree that Jews can defend themselves.

As the story goes, we are attacked, we defeat the enemy, we eat.

Now, go read the whole megillah (which, incidentally, is but one of five, the others are:
Ruth רות
Song of Songs שיר השירים
Lamentations קהלת
Job איכה)

The story of Ruth is read on Purim evening and again on Purim morning. Men have an obligation to hear the megillah twice. Source: ילקות שמ''ש קצד

Purim practices

For most people, Purim falls on the 14th day of Adar (Adar Bet/Adar 2 when there are two Adars - leap year). However, for Jews in Jerusalem and all other cities that had walls when the events in the story unfolded, the megillah is first read on the evening of the 15th of Adar and again on the morning of 15 Adar (remembering that the Jewish day starts in the evening). Source: ילקות שמ''ש קצג

The reading may begin anytime AFTER three medium stars are visible. Source: קצור שלחן ערוך השלם של ר מרדכי אליהו הלכות מגלה

A mourner in the first 7 days (shiva) treats Purim as if it is a Shabat. Source: קצור שלחן ערוך השלם של ר מרדכי אליהו הלכות מגלה

Women may read the scroll for themselves with the blessings. ). Source: הילקות שמ''ש קצג Women are allowed to chant the Scroll of Esther on behalf of men if no competent men are available, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the late Sefardi chief rabbi, ruled in February, 2009. Source: HaAretz.

Only the hazan must stand as the blessings are recited and the megillah is read; all others may sit for both. Source: ילקות שמ''ש קצו

If there is a brit melah on Purim, the brit takes place before the megillah. Source: הוד יוסף חי קנג

A woman may write a megillah if she has the knowledge. Source: הוד יוסף חי קנד

When Purim falls on a Sunday, the pre-Purim fast is pushed back to Thursday. However, if there is a brit on Thursday, the meal should be postponed for everyone until after the fast ends. Source: קצור שלחן ערוך השלם של ר מרדכי אליהו הלכות מגלה ג

To honor the day, people should dress in clothes suitable for Shabat. Source: קצור שלחן ערוך השלם של ר מרדכי אליהו הלכות מגלה ד

Mishloach Manot and Matanot La’Evyonim

The day after Purim, Rabbi Meir Shalom of Porisov would invite the town’s poor to his home and give them a sum of money and other help. His students asked him: “Didn’t they receive a considerable amount of mishloach manot and matanot la’evyonim (money distributed to the needy on Purim) only yesterday? Why is it so urgent to give them charity now, the day after Purim?”

The tzaddik (righteous man) answered, “On Purim everyone knows it is a great religious obligation to distribute matanot la’evyonim, but they might think such a mitzva (good deed) applies only to Purim, rather than year-round. Therefore, I took it upon myself to remind the community that it is obligatory to give charity the rest of the year too.”

Purim is one of several times during the year when Jews have added incentive to be generous to the poor. As the rabbi in the story above ponts out, " it is obligatory to give charity the rest of the year too.”

In addition to giving tzdekah - which actually translates to "justice"; the gifts to the poor are owed to them; it is there due, and giving is a mitzvah, which may be why we learn that the poor always will be with us.

As far as mishloach manot, there are some basics from קצור שלחן ערוך השלם של ר מרדכי אליהו .

Everyone is obliged to send a gift to at least one person.

The gift must include at least two different items; two of the same, e.g., drinks, would count as only one item.

Everyone, including the poor that receives community support, must send two items to at least two (other) poor people. The gift to the poor must be money sufficient to purchase a meal.

The gifts should be given on Purim day (the 14th or 15th of Adar, depending on the location of the person giving the gift.

It is almost Adar Bet Time to PANIC!

Pesach is almost here

It's Sunday morning, the 23rd of Adar Aleph (Adar 1) .

There are seven more days left in Adar 1 (not counting today.)

Purim falls on the 14th of Adar - Adar Bet (2) if there is an Adar Bet otherwise the 14th of Adar 1.

Doing the math, I see we have 21 days before Purim.

We haven't yet even lost an hour on the clock as the government messes with our minds.

But The Spouse went into

PESACH PANIC MODE

She'll remain in this mode until Mimunah, when all of our friends suddenly become "Moroccans for a night." (Wonderful time.)

Now we have a smallish house - two bedrooms and the office, plus a couple of bathrooms and a two-car garage that can't be used for cars due to all the other "stuff" inside: sukkah wood, gas burner for frying Friday night fish; the usual things one finds in a Jewish family's garage.

She is not quite as bad as her mother used to be. Mother-in-Law, whom I love dearly, used to whitewash all the walls of the quarters she shared with her late husband. Wiping down the walls, as my "modern" wife does, was insufficient for my M -  I -  L.

Sara tackled the guest room today.

The furniture is moved.

The mattress and innersprings are tipped out of the bed frames. We argue: does she help me or does she not? I win; she does not. The slats are removed.

First she does a "once over lightly" with a dust mop, then comes the furniture polish and rag to get into every nook and cranny of the bed frame.

Meanwhile, I bring out the 6-foot A-frame ladder to dust the ceiling fan's blades and light fixture.

Before the innersprings can be restored to their position, she wipes it down: top, bottom, and sides.

Next comes the mattress; same procedure.

Now the floor is attacked where furniture will once again be placed. Fortunately, several years go (about this time of year on the Jewish calendar if I recollect correctly), I bought and installed "sliders" under the corners of all the furniture. (I used a floor jack to raise the bed, corner by corner.)

The vacuum is silenced and I bring in the small three-tier step-stool to being down the curtain rod and the curtains hanging from it. Off come the curtains - dainty things - and soon are in the washing machine.

Meanwhile, the mattress pad and bed covers had been airing out in the driveway (we're forbidden by the mafia that controls the Homeowners Association to have clothes lines in the backyard so putting the stuff in front is a bit of "Residents' Revenge"; prohibiting clothes lines hidden in the back yard makes a lot of sense in south Florida where a wash can dry in 30 minutes or less.).

The Spouse busies herself with "other things" until the wash is done.

Once washed and dried in a non-environmentally friendly electric dryer, the curtains are restored to their normal location and the floor is (re-)vacuumed; no footprints allowed.

This week I have the pleasure of Pesach prepping the office.

Mind, hametz is strictly forbidden in the office. Weak cold tea and hot coffee are the only things allowed from the kitchen to the office. I even remember to "de-crumb" myself before approaching the room. (My wife is not the only crazy one in the family.)

I don't mind doing the office. It's my space and I can put things where they are convenient for me. It does necessitate getting on the small, 3-tier ladder to reach some pictures and to move around some "must have close at hand" books. Once back on the floor, I get to empty each drawer, dust it inside and out, and - having dusted each item that was in the drawer, return the item . . . to be forgotten until next year. (Is there hametz in a dry erase marker? Would a dog eat it if there were?)

Once I'm done with the office my next job puts me back on the 6-foot A-frame ladder dusting the hanukiah (Hanukah menorahs) collection and the walls on which they sit. There are (now) only about 20 hanukiote; there were more, but when the kids moved into their own homes they took their favorites with them.

For me, the rest is all downhill. Empty, dust, and refill my clothes drawers; hose down the outside of the windows (and spray the accordion shutters with their annual shot of lubricant while I'm at it).

Finally, wash the cars, pull out and wash all the mats and wash them.

But I have to hurry. Purim is only 21 days away and from then to Pesach . . .

Funny thing is, we do not envy our neighbors who either limit cleaning to the kitchen and dining room or the folks who wink at "spring cleaning" and hide their hametz behind taped kitchen doors.

With our grand-daughter in Israel, all this pre-Pesach prep makes up a little for not having any small hands to help in the search for hametz - we do it, but it's no fun.

Halloween Is Not a Jewish holiday

 

Nor is it an "American" holiday;
It is a Christian holy day

If costumes are what you want, wait for Purim.

The name "halloween" is a corruption of "All Hallows Eve."

That event was "borrowed" by early Christians in Ireland from the local pagans who, on that time, communed with their dead.

Neither pagans communing with their dead not Christians "adapting" the superstitions is unique to Ireland; Mexico has its Día de Muertos, the day of the dead.

The difference between halloween and Purim? We send gifts on Purim; on halloween, people demand treats or there will be "tricks" - such as defacing property and other vandalism.

Samhain - Halloween's foundation

Samhain was halloween's predecessor in Ireland.

In its ‘dark' aspect, Samhain marked a period of destruction and chaos. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of this was the ritual killing of the Irish kings of Tara.

According to Irish mythology, November 1st marked the day that the demonic Fomorian race oppressed the people of Nemed. During the festival, bands of men, women and children dressed in masks and costumes embodied the havoc-causing divinities and inflicted their own terror and chaos on the neighborhood.

This combination of darkness and light, fear and hope, order and chaos gave Samhain its particular coloring of a merry time of misbehaving.

According to the article, some Samhain traditions are maintained in today's halloween:

• The symbolic kindling of fires in the lit pumpkin
  
• Games of worth in the popular ‘bobbing for apples' – a water ordeal.
  
• The havoc wreaked by deities and the dead in modern movies like Halloween, Scream, Dracula and vampire stories, American Werewolf in London and other horror classics;
  
• The identification of the living with deities and the dead in Halloween trick-or-treating and costume-wearing
  
• The sacral fear surrounding the Samhain celebration survives in urban legends of ‘razors hidden in apples' to harm children.
  
• The tradition of Samhain feasts in Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and Halloween candy;
  
• Mischief survives in the mild "tricks" played on those that do not propitiate the costumed revelers
  
• Abolition of traditional hierarchy is still present in the ascendance of children over adults during the Halloween season.

From Wikipedia we read: Today's Halloween customs are also thought to have been influenced by Christian dogma and practices derived from it. Halloween falls on the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day (also known as All Saints', Hallowmas or Hallowtide) on November 1 and All Souls' Day on November 2, thus giving the holiday on October 31 the full name of All Hallows' Eve.

"Souling", the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls,has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating. The custom was found in parts of England and dates back at least as far as the 15th century.Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during Hallowmas, collecting soul cakes, originally as a means of praying for souls in purgatory. Similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. The custom of wearing costumes has been explicated by Prince Sorie Conteh, who wrote: "It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities"

In France, Christians, on the night of All Hallows' Eve, prayed beside the graves of their loved ones, setting down dishes full of milk for them. On Halloween, in Italy, families left a large meal out for ghosts of their passed relatives, before they departed for church services. In Spain, women, on this night, made special pastries known as “bones of the holy” (Huesos de Santo) and put them on the graves of the churchyard, a practice that continues to this day.

Could any of these customs have led to leaving a glass of milk and a cookie out for "Santa Claus" or carrots for the "Easter" bunny?

Dia de Muertos

Once a year the Aztecs held a festival celebrating the death of their ancestors, while honoring the goddess Mictecacihuatl, Queen of the Underworld, or Lady of the Dead. The Aztecs believed that the deceased preferred to be celebrated, rather than mourned, so during the festival they first honored los angelitos, the deceased children, then those who passed away as adults. The Mictecacihuatl festival lasted for an entire month, starting around the end of July to mid-August (the 9th month on the Aztec calendar), during the time of corn harvests.

After the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs in 1521, they tried to make the Aztecs adopt their Catholic beliefs.

What the Spaniards accomplished was more like a compromise; a blend of beliefs. The Spanish conquerors succeeding in shortening the length of the Mictecacihuatl festival to two days that conveniently corresponded with two of their own Catholic holidays: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, which take place on November 1 and 2 of each year.
The preceding text is copyright protected © Thaneeya LLC: http://www.celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com/dia-de-los-muertos-history.html#ixzz2ikRLijU0

According to Wikipedia, "Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased."

American holidays for all

There ARE holidays Jews and non-Jews alike can celebrate together.

Thanksgiving is one, although there are a few in the Ashkenazi Orthodox community who forbid celebrating this day. On the other hand, at least one Gadol b'Dor approves of the holiday. (See http://yohanon.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving.html)

Fourth of July, America's Independence Day. Unlike Thanksgiving, it has no obvious religious aspect.

Memorial Day, honoring those who served in the military.

Labor Day, honoring those who earn their daily wages.

There are minor holidays as well; Columbus Day, and Presidents' Day (Jeff Davis Day in some places in the South) to name two.

Are Jews lacking holidays?

We have holidays on top of holidays.

There are The Big Three, the שלוש רגלים: Passover, Sukot, Shavuot. Not only do we have The Big 3, but they all are multi-day events.

There is Purim where we dress up and send, often at our children's hands, food gifts to our friends, relatives, and neighbors.

And Hanukah, an 8-day feast.

On a more somber note, there are the two days of Rosh HaShana and the long day of Yom Kippur.

Finally, we have our 52 times-a-year holiday - Shabat.

Do we need to borrow holidays from others?

In a word: No.

We have our Jewish holidays and our American holidays. If we need more, we can add Israeli holidays to our list.

For me, I'll skip halloween and go directly to Thanksgiving.

By the way, Christmas, New Years, and Easter also are not "American" holidays; they are strictly Christian. (OK, New Years marks a Jewish event; the melah of their god.)