How do you tell the Purim story to kids? [Forward]
Jewish tales often feature a lot of (ahem) adult content. The Torah/Tanakh is ripe with plenty of sex, violence, prejudice, and more. Sometimes the Torah warns us about the dangers of these things. Other times, like in the story of the Megillah, violence in particular is an integral part of the story. So how do we approach these messy tales without washing over their complexities or scarring our kids? The Forward writes about the dichotomy:
“Lest I seem like a spoilsport, let me say that I’m all about Purim: the costumes, the partying, the poppy seed hamentaschen. But witnessing my daughter’s ultra-spongy consciousness absorb the fundamentals of the Purim story, I had to wonder if we were headed down a slippery slope. Was this the very moment she was being queued up for the great Us vs. Them narrative of the forever embattled Jews and all our ensuing psychological trauma?”
Esther’s gender and Purim’s other meanings [Zeek]
We’ve heard the Megillah year after year, often taking away the meaning that God projects Israel through the bravery of certain chosen people– in this case, Esther and Mordecai. But beyond the theology of the tale itself, what can be gleaned about the story’s take on sexuality, gender, transgression and openness of self? Zeek is there:
“My experience of Purim as an opportunity for boundary-crossing transgression is nothing new; in fact it’s a very old tradition. The oldest surviving text of Yiddish Purim parody-plays (called Purimspiels) is a manuscript from 1697 known as the “Achashverosh-shpiel,” a play considered so vulgar at the time that it was burned by the government of Frankfort, Germany. In 1728, the government of Hamburg banned the performance of Purimspiels entirely. Today, purimspiels are common in yeshivas and religious communities. But the celebrations have also been reclaimed in recent years by Jewish feminists, queers, and progressives of all types, in part because of the possible feminist readings of the story and in part because of the topsy-turvy carnivalesque nature of some Purim traditions. These groups, marginalized by the mainstream Jewish community, are building on the rich history of Purim theater to create powerful spectacles and performances that critique, amplify, and challenge the politics of our times, the Jewish community, and the Megillah’s story itself.”
Hear the Megillah and so much more: Purim celebrations in Israel [Haaretz]
Are you in Israel right now? Want to hear the Megillah and the excellent stylings of a klezmer band? Like to check out one of Israel’s most popular Modern Orthodox synagogues among singles? How about listening to the Megillah while protesting religious discrimination against women? Check out these great synagogue listings by Haaretz, including start times and congregational information.
Purim as a time for inter-faith dialogue [Jerusalem Post]
Normally Passover (and to a lesser extent, Chanukah) get saddled with the responsibility of enabling inter-faith dialogue: all those church Seders! But in this piece from the Jerusalem Post, Purim is re-framed as an opportunity to make friends across the borders of a religious institution.
“Given Esther’s role in subverting Haman’s plans, the modern Zionist message of Jewish self-reliance, emphasizing the need for Jews to identify the enemy, highlighting the greater risks we as a minority face in the world, warning of the risks of complacency amid existential threats, all ring true.
But ultimately, Esther and Moredechai had to convince Ahasuerus that Hamanidejad, er, Haman, posed a threat to the kind of king he wanted to be, and the kind of kingdom he wanted to lead. If we only learn from the Purim story that ‘goyim’ are bad like Haman and Amalek, we miss learning how to befriend non-Jews, whom we still need, even with a sovereign Jewish state.”
