Purim Sameach!

Happy Purim, darling readers! For those of you who are unaware, Purim is pretty much the most beastly awesome holiday on the face of the planet. Combine Halloween, pastries, carnivals, and a mandate to drink, and you have this lovely Jewish festival. Purim is not a very religiously significant holiday, or at least not one of the most sacred. But boy oh boy is it fun. Purim comes not from the Bible, but the writings surrounding the Torah, specifically the Megillah. It's based on the story of Queen Esther and the Evil Hamon.

The story takes place in the 4th century BCE. The King of Persia, King Ahasuerus, orders his queen to be executed for not obeying his orders (Basically, she refused to be shown off like a piece of meat in front of all his male guests at a party. And as a woman back then, such a refusal is unacceptable).

The King realizes, after his anger dies down, that now he doesn't have a wife anymore, and is so lonely and sad. So, he searches the land for a beautiful new bride and chooses a beautiful woman named Esther. Esther did not want to participate in the "Persia's Next Queen" contest, but is forced to. She doesn't really put forth an effort like the other women, but she's really really pretty, so the King chooses her anyway. Unbeknownst to the King, Esther is Jewish and the cousin of "Mordechai the Jew." Mordechai was the leader of the Jews at that time and had raised the orphaned Ester as a daughter. Esther refuses to reveal her nationality to anyone, even the king, at Mordechai's directive. Mordechai discovers a plot to assassinate the King, and he and Esther bring it to the King's attention.

The King has an evil Prime Minister named Hamon. Hamon hates Jews. He especially hates Mordechai because Mordechai refuses to bow down to him. He decides that he's going to kill all of the Jews, and the King tells him he can do whatever he wasnts with the country. Mordechai appeals to Esther to save her people. At first she refuses, knowing she will be killed if she goes before the King unsummoned. Mordechai convinces her, and she risks her own life by going before the King, unsummoned, and invites him to a feast. After a lot of in between happenings, she eventually tells the king that she is Jewish and that Haman plans to kill all the Jews, including Mordechai who once saved his life. The king is very angry that Haman has planned to kill a man who should be honored for protecting the king. The king kills Haman and appoints Mordechai in his place. Now there is a Jewish Queen and a Jewish PM, and the Jews are allowed to defend themselves against enemies. They fight a battle against their opponents, and kill all of Haman's sons in the process. Everyone is happy, except for those who are dead. (Story paraphrased from http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/645995/jewish/The-Basic-Purim-Story.htm)

I like this story, because it features strong women, including both Esther and her predecessor. We learn from this story that it is important to stand up for your people, even if it endangers your life. Esther may not have been killed along with the other Jews, but she ultimately chose to risk her life defending her people. Go her. We also learn that you should never ever piss off a Persian King, because they don't take it very well.

To celebrate Purim, we Jews dress up in costume, go to carnivals, eat humentashen (delicious triangle pastries), sing songs, and drink. Drinking is a fairly large part of Judaism, and many Jewish festivals involve wine.

I decided to travel to the fairly secular city of Tel Aviv to commemorate this festival with my friends from home, Charlie and David. Last night, we all dressed up in costume, and went out. At 1am, the city was filled with bright costumes, neon bar signs, and loud music being pumped out from every building. Crowds of Israelis and tourists filled the sidewalks, bedecked in fantasy with beers in hand. It seemed appropriate to celebrate the biggest party holiday of the year in the biggest party city. As I said, this isn't one of the most important religious holidays, as it does not even come from the Torah, but it is one of the most joyous and fun. And after our history, my people could use some joyous festivities.