64 Friday, February 25, 1983
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Ancient Holiday of Purim Brightens Winter Spirits
By DR. DAVID GEFFEN
(World Zionist Press Service
JERUSALEM — "Even
when all the contents of the
Prophets and the Sacred
Writings have been forgot-
ten, the Book of Esther will
still be remembered and ac-
cordingly, Purim will still
be celebrated." This state-
ment from the Jerusalem
Talmud stresses not only
the eternity of the Book of
Esther, but even more so,
that of Purim itself.
Three elements in the
Purim celebration, gift giv-
ing, special foods and noise
making, help to build the
holiday into one which can
surpass even time itself.
Purim occurs at the end of
the winter when people
have been overly concerned
with keeping warm and
avoiding contact with
others because of the
transmission of ailments. A
kind of self-centeredness
has descended upon us.
Purim, however, appears to
help shake us loose from Our
Selfishness and urges us to
give two types of gifts, one to
our friends and associates
and one to those in need.
Esther (9:22) enjoins us:
"They were to observe
them as days of feasting
and merrymaking, and as
an occasion for sending
gifts to one another and
presents to the poor." Yet
to give a gift with a truly
open heart requires an
act of commitment, and
this is one of the lessons
which the holiday
teaches us.
According to the Shul-
khan Arukh, "Each indi-
vidual is obligated to give
gifts to the poor on Purim."
In certain communities this
is accomplished by placing
an anonymous donation just
before the Purim evening
service, on a plate in the
synagogue.
There are those who fol-
low the Shulkhan Arukh's
dictum which emphasizes,
"We are not careful to whom
we give on Purim, but we
give to anyone who
stretches out his hand to
take," and thus they know,
personally, whom they as-
sist. Yet there is a univer-
sality to the act, as the con-
These silver and wooden cases for Megillat Esther
cluding section records: "In
are from 17th and 18th Century Turkey, Iraq,
a place where it is custom-
ary to give also to non-Jews, Morocco and Persia.
we do so."
The second type of gift "shalakh manot" (sending mate goal — to strive to bet-
traditionally
called portions). It must be com- ter the human condition.
posed of two different types
The third Purim element
of food and drink. In North of noise-making may stern
African countries it was from an unusual source.
customary to bake for Wheras Judah Maccabee
shalakh manot sweet cakes led the resistance against
Albert Speer to handle laced with colored sugar in the Greeks, the Persian
upwards of 400,000 the shape of people, soldiers Jews were leaderless but
people), the edifice was and heroes of the Megilla. fought bravely to defend
now a U.S. military tran- Since the Moslems knew of themselves from Haman's
these culinary delicacies, edict. Even though Haman
sient facility.
The boisterous Jews con- they labeled Purim "Id As- had been executed, his order
to destroy the Jews stood,
tinued to celebrate the joy- shkar," the sugar holiday.
In Eastern and Central and only via self-defense did
ous Purim there well into
the wee hours fully aware Europe the traditional they save themselves.
An echo of that action
that some 30 years earlier, Purim food was called
no less than a big (no pun "mohn taschen," pop- may be seen in stamping
intended) anti-Semite, pyseed pockets. As the one's foot or making other
(may his name be blotted various legends de- types of noise to drown out
out), Air Reichsmarshal veloped about the three- Haman's name during the
Hermann Goering stayed in cornered cake and its recital of the Megilla. How
suite 379 where the rooms connection with Haman's is it possible that in the syn-
were lined with a two-inch hat, these treats became agogue when a Biblical
thick carpet of white lamb's "haman tascher." The book is being read, we
word "mohn" in Judeo- encourage ear-splitting
wool.
The Americans chose the German was written with noise? Why do we seem to
Bavarian American Hotel a 'rnem,"hei,"nun.' break down the decorum in
mainly to show the Jewish These letters can be the house of prayer in this
triumph over the Nazi evil, turned around and be- deliberate fashion?
The Biblical passage
substituting the modern come the Hebrew name
day "Hamans" for the an- of Haman. Thus, even the states, "You shall surely
cient variety. Truly for all filling of the pastry itself erase the remembrance
concerned it was a relates to the archvillain of Amalek (the family of
Haman), and the name of
German-Jewish Purim to of the Purim tale.
the
wicked will rot." This
remember.
These foods for Purim
(Editor's note: "Ad-lo- suggest that even from the led to the custom of draw-
yada" is the term applied bitterest of experiences ing pictures of Haman or
to the Purim tradition of sweetness can burst forth. writing his name on
permitting a measure of Foods, moreover, nourish stones and sticks and
inebriety that leads to not our bodies and tLerefore then rubbing them to-
knowing the difference grant us an opportunity to gether to erase what had
between "barukh Mor- elevate our souls. Purim been drawn or written.
In Italy it was customary
dechai" — blessed Mor- bids us eat and drink and
dechai — and "Arur enjoy ourselves, but still to break a bowl with- Ha-
Haman — cursed Haman. reminds us who we are and man's name on it and recite
It is in this tradition that what ethical concepts must Isaiah 30:14 — "It is
the three-day celebration motivate us in our daily smashed as one smashes an
of Purim in Israel is pursuits. We can satiate earthen jug, ruthlessly
known as the annual ourselves but we must shattered so that no shard is
left in' its breakage." Tur-
"Adloyada.")
never lose sight of our ulti- kish Jews wrote Haman's
name on a hammerhead and
banged away.
In the 17th Century the
gregger (noisemaker) came
into special use as an ear-
shattering method of blot-
ting out Haman's name.
Even before the modern cap
pistols, slingshots were
used to fire tiny exploding
balls against the wall or on
the floor.
Hamans, Purim: Chaplain
Recalls German Celebration
By ALLAN M. BLUSTEIN
Chaplain, Sinai Hospital
The event was unique for
both Nuremberg and West
Germany. It was Purim of
1971, the night when Jews
read the Book of Esther
raising a ruckus at the men-
tion of the accursed enemy,
Haman.
The American Jewish
military personnel
stationed in Nuremberg
and nearby Furth, gathered
together with the local Jews
of the Kultusgemeinde at
the refurbished synagogue
on Blumenstrasse (Furth)
in order to blot out arch-
villain Haman once again
with the Purim greggers
provided for that purpose by
the JWB.
After a gala time (and
some delectable authentic
German-Jewish haman-
tashen pastries too) at the
gemeinde (community), the
happy Jews adjourned for
some continued partying
and adloyada-ing (on Purim
one is enjoined to drink so
much until one can no
longer tell the difference be-
tween Haman and Mor-
dechai) at the Bavarian
American Hotel in Nurem-
berg.
Built originally to
house Nazi big-wigs for
the annual party rallies
in the now defunct Con-
gress Hall and at Zeppe-
lin Meadow (designed by
Various suggestions have
been offered that this is a
noisy method to scare the
winter spirits away, but
basically another element
seems to be present here.
Two key words connected
with Purim are to "re-
member" Amalek, the an-
cestor of Haman and sym-
bolically of all our adver-
saries, and never to "forget"
it. Merely to remember, we
can just read the Purim
story as a tale of woe, but
never to forget emphasizes
that we did strike back
when our lives lay in the
balance.
Indeed, this has been
the character of the Jew
throughout history, in
spite of the various in-
terpretations of the
Jewish past. We have se-
verely limited our mili-
tary actions as we speci-
fically limit our
noisemaking, but we
clearly demonstrate that
even the powerful should
be wary of attacking us.
The eternal holiday of
Purim is a time when we
must act out certain basic
emotions, emotions about
which we have to be careful.
Through shalakh manot
and gifts to the poor,
through hamantashen and
sugar cakes, and through
the various means of eras-
ing Haman's name, we
demonstrate how to direct
our deeds. Thereby we are
aiding those in need and
reaffirming that resilient
self-image • of the Jewish
people, not only in this day
and age, but throughout all
of history.
* * *
Purim Celebration
in Jerusalem
The sights and sounds of
Purim fill the streets of
Jerusalem almost a week
before the holiday itself. A
festive atmosphere fills the
air, the smell of haman-
tashen is pervasive, intri-
cate costumes are under
secret production so that
they will be a real surprise
when they are worn for the
first time.
This is Purim number 10
for me in Jerusalem, and
each one has possessed a
flavor all its own.
Being a student in
Jerusalem in 1964 was a
wonderful experience espe-
cially when you knew that
no matter how hard you
tried, you could never drink
in all the knowledge that
the city can impart to you.
Thus on Purim, when you
are commanded to drink
enough so that you cannot
differentiate between
"Cursed be Haman" and
"Blessed be Mordecai," you
assume that no matter how
much liquid refreshment
you try to imbibe it will not
be sufficient.
Searching for the inten-
sity of Purim, I wandered
down into the ultra-
orthodox Mea Shearim area
and listened in different
synagogues as the Megilla
was read.
Wandering to the end
of Mea Shearim Street, I
knew that I was near the
boundary between
Jewish Jerusalem and
that occupied by Jordan.
The key to the heart of the
rest of the city was the
Mandelbaum Gate, that
tiny but ominous
structure through which
people passed from one
side to the other. With my
noisemaker in hand and
a bottle of schnapps, I de-
cided to give the guards
there a bit of the spirit of
Purim.
In America, Esther,
Ahasuerus and Mordecai
are on display, while here
in Israel, cowboys and
Indians and even Super-
man and Spiderman pro-
vide themes for Purim
costumes. After finishing
all the costumes and get-
ting our children dressed
for the Megilla reading,
we made our way to the
synagogue where we da-
wn.
Snow had started to fall
while we absorbed the
words of the Megilla. The
flakes dropped in plentitude
and turned that night into a
white Jerusalem Purim.
Slogging our way home in
the snow and throwing a
few snowballs at imaginary
Hamans, we knew that, no
matter what Purim might
be in the future, for us, after
this white treasure, it would
never be the same.
A snowy Purim in Jer usalem, 1980.