Jewish celebration Purim marks survival in ancient Persia

Mar. 3—PLATTSBURGH — Monday and Tuesday, observant Jews will be celebrating Purim (lots) the world over.

Its historical threads in ancient Persia are recounted in the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) in the Hebrew Bible.

Born Hadassah in Persia, Esther marries King Ahasuerus, Xerxes I, who reigned between 486 and 465 BCE.

"It's a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation," Rabbi David Joslin of Temple Beth Israel in Plattsburgh said.

"Purim is a little bit of history, a lot of folklore and the main characters are Esther and Mordecai. They are niece and uncle. They are the protagonists. The antagonists in the story are King and his minister, if you will, his cabinet member, Haman. Basically Haman has an ax to grind against the Jews, and he uses the King's weak, sort of feeble authority, to pass a decree against the Jews."

Haman's rage is fueled by Mordecai's refusal to bow to him as he sits at the gates and the King's celebration of Mordecai for foiling a plot by two courtiers against his life.

Mordecai is of the tribe of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob (Israel) and Rachel.

Haman concocts a plot to kill all Jews, including Queen Esther, and hang Mordecai on the 13th day of Adar (March), a date decided by casting lots.

"It's a case of the king's aide using his relationship with the king to pass the decree," Joslin said.

"And the Jews spend most of the story trying to revoke the decree, trying to win over the king's favor. Esther uses her intelligence, her savviness to save the day. Her Jewishness is center because it's what Haman focuses on to drive a wedge between the Jewish community and to elevate his own sense of importance in the story."

Queen Esther exposes Haman's plot to King Ahasuerus after a feast.

"In the end we find, we find that thanks to Mordecai's wisdom and Esther savviness, they are able to not only save the day, to find favor with the king, and to overturn the edict or decree while giving Haman his just desserts."

At Temple Beth Israel, the scroll with this account will be unfurled.

"We tell the story," Joslin said.

"We read the story. We are commanded to celebrate the holiday. There are certain commandments associated with it. You got to tell the story of Mordecai, Esther and Haman. You have to read in the evening, and then you have to read it again in the morning of the holiday.

"When we are retelling the story and reading the story in synagogue, every time we read the name Haman, we boo, we hiss, we make noise. We are literally booing him out of the story. That's when people have those groggers (noisemakers). Some people stamp the floor or they boo or they hiss."

Purim customs include: exchange gifts or food among friends, a hefty donation of charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal.

"It's a boisterous, sort of festive, feel to the mood," Joslin said.

"You have to understand this is a holiday where the Jewish people were on the verge of being annihilated, but they survived. Not only did they survive, they turned their tables on their oppressors here."

Though Haman was the baddie, and it didn't end well for him and his sons, he is honored by a delectable treat during Purim.

"We commemorate the holiday by baking a three-pointed, three fruit-filling cookie known as the Hamantaschen," Joslin said.

"It looks like an old colonial hat with the three points. You can bake it with strawberries, apricots, chocolate. People bake it and it translates basically as the ears of Haman. You're eating Haman's ears."

Originally for Purim, Jews used to dress up as the characters in the story.

"They would dress up what they thought the king looked like or what Esther or Mordecai or Haman," Joslin said.

"But nowadays, it's become just a general costume party. The telling of the story becomes a real sort of revelry. A little bit of libation is consumed to the point where the tradition has it you have to drink until you can't quite tell the difference between the blessed Mordecai and cursed Haman. It's a good time."

In the afternoon, spiels, roasts, jokes and skits are shared.

"Every culture, every group of people, every society, needs a day of mischief," Joslin said.

"A day to let it out. A day to be able to tell people how they think and feel but in ways that aren't so hurtful but in ways that joyful and fun. People do skits in costumes. It's a fun time. It's a joyous occasion."

In terms of the Jewish calendar, it's the one day of the year to "let your hair down."

"You relax," Joslin said.

"You learn to take a joke. You learn to give a joke. You know that people have the best intentions. It's a day to celebrate, to rejoice Jewish survival, to laugh at our haters and to thank God for being alive. We're celebrating survival."

Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

Twitter@RobinCaudell