According to the Hebrew calendar, we are now in the month of Adar. This month begins my favorite time of the year. It is during this month that we celebrate the holiday of Purim, perhaps the most fun and festive occasion in the Jewish year. Purim is filled with frivolity and joy, and this is one of the happiest (and definitely silliest) seasons of our religious tradition. Purim is filled with frivolity and joy, and this is among the happiest – and definitely silliest – seasons of our religious tradition.
With the coming of spring we enjoy the returning promise of warmth and milder weather, outdoor activities, and the eventual blossoming of nature. It is also one of the happiest times of the Jewish year.
This year, Purim will be celebrated on February 28. It is customary to include Purim songs and stories, as well as readings from the megillah, the Biblical book of Esther. Of course, we are encouraged to dress up in costume - as a character from the Purim story, from Jewish history, or anything else that strikes you might choose. Purim is the occasion, after the long winter, for us to “let loose” and enjoy the goodness of life that the season represents. How appropriate to know that this accompanies our transition from winter to spring.
As I hope you know, one of the most treasured traditions of Purim is that of mishloach manot (or sh’lach mones in Yiddish) – the sending of gifts. The holiday provides a simple reminder of the Jewish value and priority of generosity. I hope that every one of us will make a special effort to do at least one (more) act of such generosity and kindness for the less fortunate during this month of Adar. Then this season of Purim will truly be a joyous one for the people whose lives we touch. Share your Purim memories and ideas here – and let’s celebrate a season of goodness together…
Enjoy!
With the coming of spring we enjoy the returning promise of warmth and milder weather, outdoor activities, and the eventual blossoming of nature. It is also one of the happiest times of the Jewish year.
This year, Purim will be celebrated on February 28. It is customary to include Purim songs and stories, as well as readings from the megillah, the Biblical book of Esther. Of course, we are encouraged to dress up in costume - as a character from the Purim story, from Jewish history, or anything else that strikes you might choose. Purim is the occasion, after the long winter, for us to “let loose” and enjoy the goodness of life that the season represents. How appropriate to know that this accompanies our transition from winter to spring.
As I hope you know, one of the most treasured traditions of Purim is that of mishloach manot (or sh’lach mones in Yiddish) – the sending of gifts. The holiday provides a simple reminder of the Jewish value and priority of generosity. I hope that every one of us will make a special effort to do at least one (more) act of such generosity and kindness for the less fortunate during this month of Adar. Then this season of Purim will truly be a joyous one for the people whose lives we touch. Share your Purim memories and ideas here – and let’s celebrate a season of goodness together…
Enjoy!
I love Purim for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it is the one holiday where we get to explore our darker emotions. The Purim story is an explosively hot novel filled with love, sex, anger, clan warfare, bravery, and disembowlment. I'm surprised that Oliver Stone hasn't given it its proper treatment yet. It's the one holiday where we can drink to excess, feel anger over them that done us wrong, get silly, make noise in synagogue, and eat cookies. OK, pretty much every holiday has cookies. The point is that most holidays are about seeking the high road. Even in Pesach, we spend an entire seder praising God rather than kvetching about Pharaoh. On Purim, we get to kvetch.
ReplyDeleteA number of years ago a certain son of mine, whose name i won't mention, dressed up as James Brown, cloak and all. I had a difficult time in the temple, couldn't stop from giggling, which I started at home even before we went to services.
ReplyDeleteHe always has me giggling, except when he makes serious statements which do happen sometimes.
Chag Purim, oh son of mine.