Purim is almost here and the festivities have already begun. We are discovering that Purim is a big megillah in Israel!!! It is something like Halloween in Chapel Hill, although it lasts longer and carries a lesson. In case you need a refresher, Purim celebrates the foiling of evil Haman’s plot to slay the Jews. The story in a nutshell: Beautiful Queen Esther (our heroine), is chosen by the Persian King, Ahashuerus to replace the former queen,Vashti, a proto- feminist who talked back to the king and was thus no longer suitable queen material. Esther’s cousin, Mordechai (our hero), who raised her like a daughter, hides her Jewish identity from the king. The king’s advisor, Haman (villain), detests Morechai because he refuses to bow down before the king. Haman “acts out” his anger and plots to kill all the Jews. Mordechai persuades Esther to tell the king about this nefarious plan. As we’ve seen, the king does not like assertive women. In preparation for the confrontation, Esther fasts for three days to purify herself for the task. Luckily, her mission is a success. She persuades the King to stop the potential massacre. Haman is hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. The Jews’ enemies are destroyed and the people rejoice and get drunk. The holiday fits the timeworn Jewish theme—they tried to kill us, they didn’t succeed, let’s eat. The eating part includes triangular shaped cookies filled with various delicious combinations of fruits, nuts, or chocolate, and the giving of gift baskets loaded with said cookies, candies, and other goodies. The dressing up part has expanded way beyond the original queens, kings, mordecais and hamans, to include the vast range of typical commercial, gender-biased choices (superman, pirates, princesses, etc.) as well as more original homemade get-ups. According to an article in Ha'Aretz giving parents tips on how to economize, the average Israeli family spends 200 shekels ( about $50) on costumes. Leading up to the holiday, costume displays spill out of the shops onto the sidewalks, the aroma of freshy baked hammantashen (or Haman’s Ears as they are called here) wafts from the bakeries, and school and youth groups in creative outfits march through the streets in local “Ad Lo Yodah” parades. Ad Lo Yodah roughly translates as “until you don’t know.” The commandment is to celebrate until you are so plastered that you can’t tell the evil Haman from the righteous Mordechai. How much drink that involves is a much-debated question. Needless to say, the children don’t get drunk but they do dress-up, sing, dance and PARTAY! Children's activities abound at local malls, museums, parks and theaters. The actual Purim holiday begins tomorrow night with the reading of the Megillah (Scroll of Esther) and continues Tuesday and Wednesday. Purim means “lots”, referring to how Haman decided the date to initiate his destructive plan. Day one, the 13th day of the Jewish month of Adar, is the date Haman chose for the extermination of the Jews and the day they fought for their lives. The following day they celebrated their survival. A third day, Shusan Purim, is celebrated in walled cities (i.e. Jerusalem) because the book of Esther says that deliverance from the massacre wasn’t complete until the next day in the walled city of Shusan.
This just in from Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Israel's Sephardi community, as reported by Yair Ettinger in today's paper: women may chant the Scroll of Esther in front of men if no competent men are available. He rejects the claim that such sacred chanting is analogous to women's singing voice, something men must avoid hearing lest they risk sexual arousal. Since men and women have an equal obligation to hear the reading of the scroll, women will kill two birds with one stone by performing this task in a small community that lacks men capable of doing it properly. Further, the rabbi said that women could write a kosher Scroll of Esther. He noted that ancient megillahs written by women have been found in Yemen. Thus, they should be able to do this today, "to earn a living for their household" and because women "were part of the miracle" the scroll describes. Nevertheless, he admitted that he isn't sure who would buy such a scroll and, further, this ruling doesn't apply to other sacred texts such as the Torah. Equality can only go so far but the the reporter described this landmark decision is bound to outrage many of the rabbi's Ashkenazi counterparts.
On Tuesday the biggest Purim parade in the country takes place in Holon near Tel Aviv. From what we can tell it is something like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade with 4,000 participants, street theater, circus performers, bands, dancers, balloons, doves and flowers. This year the theme is “We Got the Whole World in Our Hands”---preserving the world’s resources. I hear that there are going to be huge floats of political figures—Livni, Netanyahu, etc., although what that has to do with environmental preservation is a mystery. Environmental concerns were prominent in the Purim parade we attended on Friday with our friend Atar and her small son Zeev in Ra’anana (a very pleasant, well-kept and prosperous community between Herzilia and Netanya where Atar grew up). We came prepared, having purchased our costumes---rabbit and tiger ears with accompanying bow ties and tails--at the central bus station in Tel Aviv last week as we passed through on our way to the HaTikva market. We chose a minimalist look (see the accompanying photo of Lew). It turned out to be an unseasonably hot day and we regretted having left extra sunscreen and hats at home as we rushed out to catch the train to meet Atar. As we stood in the blazing sun watching the school and youth groups pass by in their colorful and clever costumes, we admired their stamina and good spirits. Undoubtedly they were sweating mightily underneath their finery. Each contingent had its own theme with unique costumes and, in many cases, an accompanying float. Some groups played musical instruments or performed dance routines as paraded down the relatively short route on the main street. Each group was introduced with a recorded trumpet fanfare and an announcement from a very loud public address system. Friends and relatives cheered and waved from the sidelines as they passed by—definitely a home-grown affair.
When the parade ended we recuperated from the noise and heat with a visit to Atar’s parents in a nearby “village”, one of a number of small communities between Ra’anana and Netanya populated by upper middle class families and retirees. These communities have expanded beyond the original older areas with their smaller homes to include new streets with more elaborate single family homes--some quite large with yards and occasional swimming pools (price range around 10,0000 shekels or $2.5 million). The villas in the newer areas reminded me of Palm Springs. Each village has its own school, community center and other amenities surrounded by orange groves and fields in a rural buffer. Atar’s parents moved here eight years ago. They built a modest but lovely home, designed to accommodate their needs as they age (they are in their 60’s). The house is on one level with complete access for walkers/wheelchairs and a separate living space for “a Filipino” (i.e. a caregiver) if they need help in the future. One of the small bedrooms is a “safe room” which can be sealed off to serve as a bomb shelter should the need arise. Eating strawberries and sipping iced coffee in their large open living, dining, kitchen space (which can accommodate 45 people for seder, including their five children, spouses, and grandchildren), we learned that they spent two summers at Camp Judea in the late 1970’s when Atar’s father worked for the Jewish Agency in Atlanta. They were quite interested in our impressions of Israel and particularly in our opinion about whether the society’s many internal fractures will cause it to implode. We hope to have an opportunity to continue our conversation with them. As we left, Atar’s mother gave us one of her ceramic creations, a hamsa with a household blessing, to take home. Our day ended with a leisurely lunch-- beautifully prepared, freshly caught fish with chips (fries)—sitting outside at a seaside restaurant not far from Kfar Vitkin with Atar and Gil. Zeev played nearby, bringing us “drinks” (plastic cups filled with sand) that he “bought” on the beach. Afterwards, Atar dropped us off at the bus stop on the highway where we caught the sherut back to Tel Aviv, arriving before the onset of Shabbat. Another beautiful day.
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