Unfortunately the killing continued.
“Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.” – Esther 9:5
“The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies;” – Esther 9:16
The Feast of Purim (pur = lot, pl. purim = lots)
“Everything we do on Purim is super-exaggerated…. So why is this celebration more crazy than any other celebration? Because, in short, the joy of Purim is not about the downfall of Haman or the rescue of the Jewish people. Purim is not about Esther or Mordechai, Shushan or ancient Persia. It’s about us.” – From “Why Do Jews Go Berserk on Purim? Isn’t there a better way to celebrate?” by Tzvi Freeman
Really? Let’s see:
“And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews… to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly… as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,” – Esther 9:20-23
Mordecai, not HaShem (HaShem is not even mentioned here) establishes the custom, the moed/מוֹעֵד—appointed time:
“…these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them,” – Esther 9:31
Nevertheless:
“Purim is about us. All Jewish holidays are manifestations of deep imprints within the Jewish psyche, each with its particular time of year to blossom. What blossoms on Purim? That we grew up and took ownership of our Jewishness. That’s why one early halachic authority puts it like this: ‘Purim is greater than the day on which the Torah was given.’ It’s the day that we took the Torah …in the days of Achashverosh, they revisited the whole thing and accepted it… It means they affirmed that which they had already accepted—at Mount Sinai…. They said, ‘We are Jews. Maybe G-d has abandoned us, but we have not abandoned Him….’ At Sinai, writes Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the love poured down from above. In Shushan, it rose from below. And so too today… he [Maimonides] is telling us Purim is a whole different category of happiness—a Divine happiness…. You have become the Divine Presence [Shechinah].” – Tzvi Freeman http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/3263355/jewish/Why-Do-Jews-Go-Berserk-on-Purim.htm
In conclusion, in accordance with this line of thought Purim has nothing to do with Purim, and everything to do with us. One proves that he/she is a Jew if they go berserk on Purim. That’s great (irony added). You will be well advised not to blindly follow the crowd into this madness. Of course there is nothing wrong with showing kindness and helping the poor. And here is another perspective on being Jewish:
“…he is not a Jew who is one outwardly… but he is a Jew who is one inwardly… whose praise is not from men but from God.” – Romans 2:28-29
It’s a study of the cycles of change and growth, cycles of transformation and passages, and the Purim story feels like a failed test to me. It’s not a step up, it’s a step down. On the upside of the passage, the hero of the story resists the temptation and goes up the ladder. On the downside, the antihero gives into temptation and goes down the ladder. When he gives into temptations of the lower self, alienation from the higher self occurs. In this case moral equivalency with the enemy, the people who had vengeance and murder on their minds is the result. The spiritual self is shot down and cut off from any real help from above. The higher spiritual power could easily come to their aid and subdue the enemy, but it can’t.
Reflections on Purim, considerations, group discussion:
- Which actions where motivated by higher and which by lower nature?
- Where there any alternatives in response?
- How should “…days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:22) be observed? Comment at the bottom!
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