Religious Pluralism \ Parashat Hashavua-- The Weekly Torah Portion by Rabbi Amy Levin

Purim: "Nothing is What it Seems"

March 11-12 1998, 13 Adar 5758

For those of you who live outside of Israel, Purim should be a special delight. For, according to the tradition, Purim is the quintessential holiday of diaspora Jewry. The holiday celebrates diaspora Jewish leaders (Mordecai and Esther) and the salvation of a diaspora Jewish community (that of the Persian Empire).

But the diaspora Jewish leaders' names are the names of Persian gods Mordecai/Marduk and Esther/Ishtar. And the head of this mighty empire is a hedonistic wimp who can't make a decision on his own -- but knows how to throw one great party. Then Haman, the evil prime minister, has to publicly honor his Jewish nemesis, Mordecai, and winds up hoisted on his own petard -- or , rather, hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai.

Esther obediently joins a beauty contest to see who will be the new queen -- but wins on the strength of her self-deprecating demeanor (not to say she wasn't beautiful, of course!). Then she winds up saving her entire people by asserting herself in the king's court and plotting to expose his most trusted officer.

Mordechai starts out by directing Esther's every move (2:10, 4:8) and ends up by taking orders from her (4:17, 8:2). He also appears publicly in sackcloth and ashes (4:1) but ends up triumphant in glorious royal garb (8:15).

Yes, nothing is what is seems in the Scroll of Esther -- and yes, it's all meant in good fun. Two classic forms of humor run rampant in the Esther story, turning things on their heads and exaggeration (Ahasuerus's 180 day party; the seven courtiers he sent to deliver a simple message to Vashti; the disproportionate punishment she receives for turning down the invitation -- and all this just in the first chapter!).

But, the Scroll of Esther is in the Bible (although there are talmudic discussions about the wisdom of this move), and reading it is a mitzvah, a halachic obligation. Therefore, we must assume that there is more to the message than just a 2,000 year old version of a Marx Brothers movie!

There is a serious subject underlying the humor of the Scroll of Esther -- and finding it is a challenge because it comes in the guise of the humor of the story itself. Luckily, the name of the holiday points the way to its more serious side -- Purim. Purim is the plural for "pur" or lot. The Esther story depicts the decision-making process among the leadership of the Persian Empire as a throwing of lots. Haman wishes to determine the month that will be most propitious for his campaign of slaughter. He does not consult with military advisors. He does not consult with experts in the ways of the Jewish population of the empire. He doesn't even think about the weather. He throws lots, and he keeps throwing them until one month pops up as propitious -- Adar (3:7).

But the joke was on Haman -- because Adar turned out to be totally unpropitious for him. It became the month in which he and his sons met their death on the gallows he had intended for Mordecai.

One could contend that Haman's fate is simply an expression of the folly of relying on the throw of the dice to determine the future. But it has occurred to me that we may be meant to see God's hand in Haman's downfall. For the days that turned out to be fatal for Haman were exactly the days that turned out to be triumphant (if bloody) for God's people.

This, of course, is a slightly unconventional way of presenting the eternal question of God's presence in history. If God's hand was guiding Haman's "pur", then the story could only have turned out as it did. If God's hand was not guiding Haman's "pur", then the salvation of God's people rested on the same capricious fate as Haman's downfall.

Or, maybe Haman wasn't capable of interpreting the "pur" as it fell before him -- and he could have saved himself and his family if he was open to the truth, instead of being intent on his own agenda.

You may believe that life really is a throw of the dice

You may believe that God, upholding His end of the Brit with His people,

does intervene in history

You may believe that God intervenes in the course of the personal lives of

individuals, yourself included.

All of these are conceptions of the relationship between God and His creation that are expressed in a multitude of Jewish sources. There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to such belief. God is "other". As His creations our powers of perception are limited. Any person of integrity may speak of belief, even of conviction, but certainly not of "knowing" the parameters of God's relationship with other people.

Enjoy the exuberance of Purim -- but try to find a quite moment or two ponder the holiday's deeper themes.

Chag Purim Sameach!

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Amy Levin has served as rabbi of the Masorti (Conservative) Family Congregation of Beit Ha-Kerem, Jerusalem, since September 1995. She is one of the first women to study in the rabbinical school of the Masorti/Conservative Seminary of Judaic Studies in Jerusalem. In addition to her congregational work, Amy teaches Talmud at Hebrew Union College's new Liberal Yeshiva -- a program designed to introduce English speakers to the basic texts and concepts of the Jewish tradition. Amy made aliyah in 1981 and is the mother of two wonderful teenagers.