RABBI TSIPORA GABAI

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Purim

"Mi she'nichnas Adar, marbim b'simcha"
(With the advent of Adar, our joy increases).

It is truly great fun to observe PURIM (literally "lots", as in casting lots), our holiday whose name derives from the method devised by the evil Haman to select the date for the extermination of our people. We are instructed to hear the story of our triumph over evil, to share food and drink with both those in our circle and with the needy, and to celebrate our good fortune with those less fortunate by giving Tz'daka.

The Megillah (the scroll on which the Purim story is written) teaches us that we have reason to celebrate, since on the thirteenth of Adar "the enemies of the Jews were expected to prevail over them; yet it was a turnabout: the Jews prevailed over their adversaries."

Jews have joyously celebrated Purim in every generation, with customs such as preparing games and plays (known as Purim "spiels"); limiting work on Purim week; and engaging in "mishlo'ach manot" (the sending of [food] portions, or gifts), which children are often sent to deliver, in order to teach them at an early age to share and to give.

Before the Megillah reading we give the modern-day equivalent of the Biblically designated Machatzit Hasheqel – the half-sheqel per person used in the desert for the purpose of census-taking for the Children of Israel and as an atonement offering. These funds are then given to charity.

Since Mishnaic times, a community Purim fund would be set aside and children would be sent as couriers expressly to deliver these Maot (funds) to the needy, the widows and the orphans, so that all could enjoy the Purim feast.

On the menu of this holiday we find "ozney Haman" – Haman's ear triangles (also known as Hamentaschen) and triangular kreplach (filled dumplings).

Tradition also enjoins adults to drink "until they cannot tell the difference between 'cursed is Haman' and 'blessed is Mordechai'". This is, of course, tempered with the proviso that no behavior should interfere with the keeping of even one commandment (a sobering thought in itself!)

While the Megillah does not mention God's name explicitly (and is thus unique in all the books of our Bible), the behind-the-scenes Divine role in our salvation is understood and acknowledged in our Purim prayers. The motif of identities and actions first hidden and then revealed is realized in another Purim custom, that of donning disguises and costumes.

Reversals and turnarounds characterize the story: the threatened destruction turns to triumph, mourning to celebration, the hidden (Esther's religion and nationality) is revealed, and those who are threatened ultimately prevail and, in turn, rout the enemy.

While women have special roles in each holiday, Purim is one of the holidays that is specifically incumbent on women to actively celebrate. This is because it took the courage of a woman – Queen Esther – to help create the turnabout in the edict to destroy the Jews.

The threats of destruction have been with us throughout all the years of our existence; more so during our time in exile. These threats were not only physical but spiritual, as well, with the dangers of assimilation ever present. What is clear is that one of the most courageous and powerful of our resources for protection over the generations has been our women, and the greatest of these: our mothers.

Like my own mother, whose yahrzeit – memorial date – falls around the date of Purim. She navigated and dealt with her life with courage and a steadfast belief. She gave to the poor, not out of a sense of "charity", but rather from a sense of obligation, a sense of looking out for all her brethren. She kept her family together and close-knit, with a clear sense of values and ideals that have continued in all of her children and grandchildren and on until this day. Her love of humankind and her love of Torah were her steady guides in a very difficult and unforgiving world.

Purim, for me, in addition to being a holiday of courage, giving and miraculous turnabout, is also the memorial for the personal courageous woman in my life: my mother. She is my Queen Esther; she is the eternal Purim that lives on in our hearts and in our souls forever.