Turning Purim Over

Purim has to be one of my favorite holidays: a day of unmitigated joy, a day of turning things upside down, a day of good over evil. The story of Purim is presented simply and farcically—Haman wants to kill the Jewish people, and Mordecai and Esther team up to reverse the evil decree. Throughout the narrative, there is humor and sexual innuendo. Interestingly, Megillat Ester (the scroll of Esther) does not mention God; living in exile, the Jews must fend for themselves, though many see God’s hand moving the events or inspiring the protagonists in their mission. Whether one understands the actions of the story to be influenced by God; luck; Esther and Mordechai’s cunning, foresight, and courage; or some combination of all of these, the feeling is one of relief and happiness.

Toward the end of this short ten-chapter book, we are told to go out and observe this holiday by performing several vital rituals that relate to the Purim story: holding a feast (a Purim seudah), sending gifts to one another (Mishloaḥ Manot) and sending presents to the poor (Matanot La’evyonim). The last mitzvah of Purim is to hear every word of the Megillah read from the scroll.

The key phrase in the text is “V’na’hafokh hu—and it was turned over.” As the Scroll of Esther states: “And also, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the oppo-site happened, (V’na’hafokh hu) and the Jews got their enemies in their power.” Sometimes, when things seem darkest, they can be turned upside down and good can rule over evil.

This “turning over” inspired a number of different customs that remind us of this topsy-turvy day. First, we dress up in costumes. Second, while we normally are not supposed to drink much alcohol, on Purim, we imbibe a bit more. Third, while we normally act with some measure of decorum (especially in shul), on Purim, a spirit of levity, joy, and laughter takes hold and we simply have fun.

Here at Temple Emunah, we have a rich history of engaging with Purim. We have held Purim feasts, parties, and car-nivals in the shul and in our homes. The Temple Emunah Religious School Parent Association runs our Mishloaḥ Manot program, which not only allows us to fulfill this mitzvah, but also raises needed funds for our school and youth program. Many individuals and families also deliver their own homemade Mishloaḥ Manotcomplete with their own hamantashen recipes. Anyone interested in ordering Mishloaḥ Ma-not may contact Sue Wilner:

781/860-9829
All congregants should have received a mailing about this, but if you need further guidance, please contact Sue.

Our community has fulfilled the mitzvah of Matanot La’evyonim (gifts to the poor) in many ways. For the last several years, we have worked with a wonderful Boston charity, Yad Chessed (the hand of lov-ing-kindness) to raise funds for poor Jewish families in the Boston area, including many recent immigrants. Last year we collected over $3,000 in one night! The challenge is that the gifts or tzedakah money are supposed to be col-lected on Purim and distributed on Purim to those in need—not a simple matter. Thanks to our community and Yad Chessed, however, we have been able to do just that. Yad Chessed distributes vouchers that are good at the Butcherie and other supermarkets. The exact value of these vouchers is not known until the night of Purim. At our synagogue and many others around Boston, tzedakah is collected during the Megillah reading. Thanks to a number of volunteers, we quickly count these funds and, after services, I call the Yad Chessed coordinator; he then adds up the donations from all the communities to determine the value of the food vouchers which are then used the next morning and afternoon. Please bring cash or a check to our reading on Saturday night, February 27, to participate in this mitzvah. See page 9 for more on how to contribute to Yad Chessed.

Finally, the most challenging mitzvah is hearing every word of the Megillah. This is made even more diffi-cult by having us make noise with grogers (noisemakers) to drown out Haman’s name during the reading! In order to help those who want to fulfill this mitzvah and have another reading where we enjoy songs and the “Jews Broth-ers” with some reading mixed in, we have held two readings for many years. Just as soon as Purim started, we would read the Megillah in its entirety in the Large Chapel, followed by a community reading where we enjoyed mu-sic and excerpts of the Megillah.

However, many have asked us to consider combining these two readings. In this spirit of Purim’s “V’nahafokh hu,” of turning things over, we are turning over or, at least, changing our Megillah reading format.

This year we will experiment with having one reading for all. Beginning at 6:45 pm on Saturday, February 27, we will gather in the main Sanctuary to hear the Megillah read in the traditional trope from a traditional scroll in its entirety, enjoying the cute jokes like yelling “neigh” any time the word “sus” (horse) is read. To make this more accessible, we hope to have some kabuki theater, where members of the shul will act out scenes from the story silently, and we will project some of the text and/or pictures on a screen at the front of the shul. If you are interested in joining this, please contact David Landis:

We hope to enjoy some songs by the Jews Brothers and our students. We will still have our costume parade and tzedakah collection as well. And for young families, we will have activities in the back of the Sanctuary. While the reading will take a longer amount of time, everyone is free to come late or leave early. Around 8:45 pm, when we ex-pect to conclude the reading, we will enjoy some food and drink and more music from the Jews Brothers. See page 6 for a complete Purim schedule.

I hope everyone will enjoy this new experimental format, which will allow us all the opportunity to fulfill all the mitzvot of Purim while keeping the entire community together to enjoy this most freilakh (fun) festival.

If you have any questions or to volunteer to help with any of this fun, please contact myself, Rabbi Jacobs, or David Landis, Vice President of Religious Affairs.

Happy Purim,
Rabbi Lerner