Tonight, the holiday of Purim begins. Purim is the holiday we read Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther), hearing the story year after year of the Jewish people’s near-annihilation but eventual triumph. If this was Netflix preview description this is how I’d summarize Megillat Esther: After Stealth-Jewess Esther becomes queen, she hears of a plot to kill all Jews. Esther is faced with a choice: reveal her true self and save her people, or die trying…
Dramatic, right? I’d watch that limited series.
Like most kids, I grew up loving Purim. I loved the idea of the beautiful and righteous Esther HaMalka, Queen Esther, defeating Haman with said beauty and righteousness. I loved the Shushan (the city where the story takes place) that I formulated in my mind. (In retrospect, I now realize that the “Shushan” I created in my mind was definitely just a Jewish version of the made-up city of Agrabah from Aladdin… I digress). We grow up idolizing Esther, viewing her as the model for a strong Jewish woman, a woman who ensured the continuation of the Jewish people, a model diaspora Jew (a Jew not living in Israel). Okay, inter-faith or non-Jewish readers, please stick with me. As I got older, I wondered why an inter-married Jew who hid her Jewishness was our model. If we want diaspora Jews to feel proud, to feel a sense of responsibility to others, shouldn’t we pick a new story? This question came up recently in my 4th grade Hebrew School class.
We were learning the Purim story, talking about Esther and how she had to hide her Jewishness, and so I asked my students if they ever felt they needed to hide their Jewishness. Keep in mind this is at a Reform synagogue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. There are over 60,000 Jews between 60th and 100th St on the UWS. Some said, “No, I’m proud to live in a place with lots of Jews and I never feel scared to be Jewish.” Others said, “Well even if I’m not acting Jewish, I’m still Jewish.”
Always the inclusive, progressive teacher, I quickly said, “Yes of course! There are lots of ways of being Jewish!”
I wasn’t super proud of the way I handled that situation in class, I felt like I could have clarified or made a more definitive statement… so I consulted with a few friends who helped me realize a better answer lies in the Purim story itself. Esther isn’t the only hero.
A very important character is Esther’s cousin, Mordechai. The whole reason Haman wanted to annihilate the Jews was because Mordechai, as a practicing Jew, refused to bow down to Haman. It was below Haman’s stature to strike back at just one Jew, so he decided to strike back at ALL Jews. Mordechai and Esther are foils, exact opposites. Mordechai is a proud, unapologetic Jew. Does this mean Esther is an ashamed, apologetic Jew? No! Whatever Esther’s Jewish “practice” was, she still filled an irreplaceable role in the events of this story.
Every type of person serves their purpose, and this is the message I choose to emphasize. Of course it would be nice if every person observed their religion in the same way you do, (because of course — you the person reading this, of whatever faith you are — the way you observe is the right way, right???) Kidding. Obviously that’s not how the world rolls. And we can hope and pray for them to practice the way we do!!! But until then, this the message I am taking from the Purim story. We are irreplaceable cogs in the human story. Irreplaceable and all equally imperative.
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opening theme: reCreation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 Licensed
