Posted on March 13, 2025 by Rabbi David Katz
Purim is a holiday unto itself; it’s like no other celebration in our calendar. What other Jewish holiday encourages us to get so drunk we can’t tell the difference between the hero and the villain? What other holiday has everyone booing and screaming and making noise in the sanctuary? What other holiday has silliness as its center and irreverence on display? Even Rabbis are made fun of – no one is exempt from being ribbed. Purim is the ultimate release from seriousness and sadness.
Yesterday I listened to our Hebrew School students sing “Haman Was a Wicked, Wicked Man.” They swayed and smiled and laughed and as their voices rose. “He would have murdered all the Jews though we were not to blame, Sir.” A serious theme told in fairy tale form….the little girl gets to be Queen and she saves her people and becomes the hero! The good guys win and the bad guys lose. The children sang with such gusto and joy and I realized just how powerful it is to encage one’s worst nightmare in fiction.
Bruno Bettelheim wrote about function of fairy tales in his book, The Uses of Enchantment. He said that fairy tales address our worst fears and also our hidden hopes. The hero must go through trials before before the crown is won or getting home can happen. In our minds we are endangered but in the end, we pull through.
Comedy is a weapon. Said Freud, there is an aggression in wit. Someone is always the butt of the joke. How perfect then, the reading of the Book of Esther – it is a tool that appears innocent but allows us to express our desire to get back at those who would threaten us.
Friends, we live in challenging times. On every page of the newspaper appear accounts of military and economic warfare. Allies have become adversaries and adversaries have become allies. Anti-Semitism is rampant and security is a central concern. Many feel threatened or insecure or despairing. It is Purim that offers a vacation from the uncertainty. With carnivals and costumes, parody and play, satire and spoof, schpiels filled with jokes and sweet dough shaped like hats – for one day we Jews are encouraged to forsake the real world and fly with our imaginations to the city of Shushan where the King is holding a feast.
Let’s come together tonight and be joyful. The primary mitzvah is to hear the megillah read and immerse ourselves in merriment. Let’s do it.
Oh, today we’ll merry, merry be!
Rabbi David Katz
