By Eli Bass, Director of Jewish Life
Next week the Jewish community celebrates Purim. Purim is a holiday celebrating the victory of good over evil which is recounted in the Hebrew Bible in the book of Esther. The simple story of the book is one of fairy tales. A quick recap: a queen is banished for her refusal to dance naked at the king’s parties.
The king hires an advisor named Haman. Haman develops a hatred of a Jewish man named Mordachai, and of the Jewish people overall. The king decides to throw a contest to choose a new queen.
The king chooses Mordachai’s niece Esther as the new queen. Haman plots to kill all the Jewish people in the kingdom. Esther, the new queen, eventually reveals that she had been hiding her Jewish identity.
The story ends with Haman and his entire family being hung. Purim literally means lots, and it is one of the most festive Jewish holidays on the calendar. Lots refer to the gallows built to kill the Jewish people that were instead used to kill Haman’s family.
Jewish communities celebrate Purim in many ways. Some traditions include wearing a costume, sending gift baskets to friends and donating to charity. It is also traditional to listen to the reading of the megillah, the scroll of Esther.
Purim is celebrated as a festive holiday with a carnival like atmosphere. People dress up in costumes to hear a raucous reading of the story which ends with the victory of the Jewish people of Shushan. The costumes we wear at Purim are a chance to try on an identity which doesn’t match our own.
According to Dr. Pnina G. Feller, “On the surface, it seems that Purim involves an escape from reality…Purim provides us with the hope that the garments we put on that seem only to mask our present realities can reveal the deepseated consciousness of our potential for change, our ability to bring happiness and fulfillment to our lives.”
At a liberal arts institution, we struggle with many of the themes which are shared in the story of Purim. On campus we regularly encounter students, staff and faculty who don’t share our world view. Many views expressed on this campus challenge me to my core.
There are clear challenges of living in a community where we are split in backgrounds, races, sexual orientation, political ideologies and gender identities. Susquehanna encourages us to engage with the other. To create community with those who will challenge the core of who we are. It is in this way that we can work to become our best selves.
I’m also deeply challenged by some of the themes presented in the book of Esther. When Esther is victorious the tables are turned on the king’s advisor. The book of Esther recounts the murder of over 500 men in retribution for the attempt to exterminate the Jewish people.
The statement of this act makes me deeply uncomfortable and makes it hard for me to differentiate the differences between true good and evil. It is this choice of violence in the ending that deeply troubles me.
I’m inspired by the words of Martin Luther King Jr. who challenges us to engage in a better way.
As King said, “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert.”
Director’s Discussion reflects the views of an individual member of the religious field. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire university. The content of the Forum page is the responsibility of the editor in chief and the Forum editor.
