My brother Yonah over at meiselspot.blogspot.com encouraged me to get back in the blogging game.
This week, Jews observed one of the happier holidays, Purim. Traditionally, Purim is observed by reading the story of Esther, dressing in costumes, getting drunk, delivering goody bags to friends, performing farcical skits, and baking triangular pastries--variously called hamantashen (Haman's pockets) or oznei haman (Haman's ears). The observance is something like American Halloween meets American St. Patrick's Day.
The story of Esther goes something like this: King A* of Persia summons Queen Vashti to strip at his party and executes her when she refuses. To replace Vashti, King A holds a beauty pageant, which is won by Esther, a nice Jewish girl. Esther's cousin Mordechai refuses to bow down to the King's chief minister, Haman. Haman gets very pissed off, learns Mordechai is Jewish, and decides to kill all the Jews. Haman gets a rubber stamp from King A for his murderous plan. Meanwhile, Mordechai discovers a plot to kill King A and turns in the conspirators. King A rewards Mordechai, which adds salt to Haman's wound. Mordechai informs now-Queen Esther of Haman's plan to kill all the Jews. Esther fasts then invites King A and Haman to dinner. She reveals she is Jewish and that Haman is trying to kill all the Jews. King A executes Haman and tells the Jews to defend themselves, which they do.
There's an old joke that the summary of every Jewish holiday is, "They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat." Purim fits that mold probably more than any other, but I would say that Passover does not fit that mold. Passover commemorates the exodus from Egypt. "We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt, and now we are free." The theme of Passover is freedom, and it is used all over the place as a justification for other ethical requirements. "Do not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." I'm a Passover Jew. I think collective memory of oppression and appreciation for freedom is inspiring and meaningful.
Purim is different. The lesson from Purim is that they're out to get us. Powerful villains in general want to kill all the Jews, and a Persian villain in particular wants to kill all the Jews. This lesson is not entirely wrong. Some people hate Jews. Antisemitism is real. But that is a terrible starting point for building identity.
On the other hand, it is a great starting point for AIPAC. Thematically, Purim is spot on for AIPAC lobbying Congress about Iran in so many ways. Persian villain who wants to wipe Israel off the map? Check. This year the role of Haman was played by the Ayatollah. (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a better fit, but he left office two years ago.) Well-placed safe Jew who has the opportunity to defend Jews in danger? Check. The role of Esther is now played annually by American Jews at the AIPAC policy conference. The religious resonance is deafening.
So, are American Jews reenacting a biblical story as spokesperson-defenders of Jews against a determined Persian villain, or dressing up in costumes for a farce? It depends how you view the threat from Iran. I believe Israel's security professionals when they say that "deterrence works against state-like entities" and that ISIS is scarier than Iran.
This week, Jews observed one of the happier holidays, Purim. Traditionally, Purim is observed by reading the story of Esther, dressing in costumes, getting drunk, delivering goody bags to friends, performing farcical skits, and baking triangular pastries--variously called hamantashen (Haman's pockets) or oznei haman (Haman's ears). The observance is something like American Halloween meets American St. Patrick's Day.
There's an old joke that the summary of every Jewish holiday is, "They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat." Purim fits that mold probably more than any other, but I would say that Passover does not fit that mold. Passover commemorates the exodus from Egypt. "We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt, and now we are free." The theme of Passover is freedom, and it is used all over the place as a justification for other ethical requirements. "Do not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." I'm a Passover Jew. I think collective memory of oppression and appreciation for freedom is inspiring and meaningful.
Purim is different. The lesson from Purim is that they're out to get us. Powerful villains in general want to kill all the Jews, and a Persian villain in particular wants to kill all the Jews. This lesson is not entirely wrong. Some people hate Jews. Antisemitism is real. But that is a terrible starting point for building identity.
On the other hand, it is a great starting point for AIPAC. Thematically, Purim is spot on for AIPAC lobbying Congress about Iran in so many ways. Persian villain who wants to wipe Israel off the map? Check. This year the role of Haman was played by the Ayatollah. (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a better fit, but he left office two years ago.) Well-placed safe Jew who has the opportunity to defend Jews in danger? Check. The role of Esther is now played annually by American Jews at the AIPAC policy conference. The religious resonance is deafening.
So, are American Jews reenacting a biblical story as spokesperson-defenders of Jews against a determined Persian villain, or dressing up in costumes for a farce? It depends how you view the threat from Iran. I believe Israel's security professionals when they say that "deterrence works against state-like entities" and that ISIS is scarier than Iran.
* The king's name is Achashverosh in Hebrew, which for some reason is written as Ahasuerus in English. Either way it's too complicated, I'll use King A.
