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Purim 2003: This year in Iraq?
by
Tom Mysiewicz
" I
confess I never did
understand this part
of the Book of
Esther. After all,
the catastrophe was
averted; the massacre
did not take place.
Why then this call
for bloodshed? Five
hundred men were
slain in Shushan in
one day and three
hundred the next.
Seventy-five thousand
persons lost their
lives elsewhere...Is
this why we are told
to get drunk and
forget? To erase the
boundaries between
reality and
fantasy--and think
that it all happened
only in a
dream?...This must
explain why God chose
not to give His name
to the Book of
Esther: He refused
to be associated with
the denouement--with
the bloodshed. It
was His way of
saying, Don't ascribe
this to me; I had
nothing to do with
it; you wanted
revenge, all
right--but don't make
me responsible for
it."
-
Ellie Wiesel, Nobel
Prize Winner
-
from SAGES AND
DREAMERS
-
(Copyright 1991 by
Elirion Associates,
Inc.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"There are no
historical documents
to verify the story
of Purim. Some
scholars think that
the events in the
Megillah did not
occur, but rather
that they are based
on stories related to
the Babylonian gods
such Ishtar (Esther?)
and Marduk (Mordechai?)"...In
some communities it
was not enough to
drown out Haman's
name with noise.
People also made
effigies of Haman and
burned them. This
practice led to
instances on Purim
when Jews made and
burned effigies which
resembled new
enemies, helping them
to vent their hate
and frustrations."
-
Dalin Renberg in "The
Complete Family Guide to Jewish
Holidays"
-
(Copyright 1985 by
Adama Books, N.Y.C.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My earliest memories
of Purim as a
non-Jewish boy
growing up in East
New York was an
elderly Jew (with
curls) giving me a "gragger"--the
ceremonial noise
maker used in Purim
celebrations. I
walked along happily
spinning it until I
came across my
Eastern European
grandfather, who
immediately hurled it
away (with horror)
and gave me the first
"lickin'" I can
remember--and it was
a pretty good one!
I'm thinking of that
Purim some 45 years
ago and am afraid the
United States may be
unknowingly
participating in an
ancient ritual--much
like I did as a young
boy so long ago. I
have long been afraid
that the U.S. might
"choose" this time
for its invasion of
Iraq and the final
installation of the
Israeli State as the
dominant Mid-East
power because of the
extremely negative
signal this would
give to Islamic
extremists and even
countries in the
region and
elsewhere. That this
year, the celebration
of bloodshed on Purim
might be more than a
dream or a ritual.
That instead of the
sounds "graggers".
the night of March
17th may echo with
the sounds of a
massive U.S.
bombardment--the
so-called "shock and
awe" bombardment of
Iraq that we are
being prepared to
accept.
Australia's Daily
Telegraph on March
6th reported that
British troops had
been told the
bombardment would
commence March 13th
with the actual
invasion slated for
March 17th.
If this is the case, many booking March 13th-21st Purim travel
packages to the Mid East may want to reconsider. And President
Bush may want to go back and fill in a few of the gaps in his
education, especially since Rabbinic teaching also holds that the
Purim celebration will continue even after the "Messianic Period"
begins, apparently in 2016 if one is to take seriously what's being
said in some circles.
Source:
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