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.