Purim

On March twentieth, I attended a Purim gathering at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. Purim is a very unique time of celebration for the Jews. People dress up, drink alcohol, and celebrate freedom from bondage, commemorating the freedom granted through Esther millennia ago. The festivities and the gatherings were a representation and reminder to me about the way of life for the Jewish people.

The festivities in Jerusalem around the time of Purim were full of smiling people, happy conversation, and joyous celebration. The costumes on the children and adults alike were both jolly and intriguing. I could not help but wonder at a few of them. Some people wore costumes that represented other religions, and other dressed like demons or devils. This was quite surprising to me and I wondered about the thought process behind such decoration. Was there no reasoning behind wearing a devils costume in the Synagogue?

I noted the diversity of the Jewish population. While the majority wore costumes of all kinds, some Jews were not wearing costumes. I compared such actions to my Halloween experience in the states. Around Halloween, many consider the holiday an inappropriate celebration and avoid all association. I wonder what the thought process of such Jews might be.

At the Synagogue I was excited to hear the reading of the scroll of Esther. The reading of the entire scroll was an admonishment to my own experience in the Christian church. Many congregations read the story of Christ’s birth on Christmas, but that is the extent of large portions of Scripture being read publicly. It is clear through such action how seriously a congregation upholds the words of what they consider to be sacred texts. On the other hand, two different aspects of the reading of Esther seemed inappropriate. First, quite a few children were running around and shouting during the reading. After talking with friends who attended different synagogues, it became apparent that this was actually subtle compared to the merriment at other synagogues. Their shouting and running seemed very disruptive. Second, the shouting during the pronouncing of Haman’s name seemed almost like a cheer for the man himself. From noisemakers to clapping hands, it seemed that Haman was more important than any other part of the story. Though I respect the public reading of sacred texts, the treatment of the occasion seemed incongruous from my perspective.

A final experience on my way from the great synagogue gave me another picture that will linger in my mind. Surrounded by drunk Jews saying and doing things that seemed to me improper, a man on the bus struck up a conversation with us. After sharing a little of his background he began to speak about his thoughts of the Jewish faith. He said he was studying Torah, but was nonchalant acting like it was not a big deal. He implied any religion was good when it helped people do good things. Though this man was under the influence of the alcohol, I wondered if such speech was coming out from deep inside of him. Did he really think that such matters were not a big deal?

I come away from Purim with a mixture of good and bad experience. I question my own understanding and the strengths/weaknesses of my own foundation of experience. Is this what the Creator of the universe calls good? Is this a fitting way to celebrate freedom for those who are called God’s people?