Monday night is Purim! I've learned over the years that there are two parts to Purim. The second part is the celebration. The first part can only be done beforehand — thinking a bit about the holiday and the Book of Esther, the Megillah.
Here is Part I of my quick-and-dirty guide for getting ready. Check back tomorrow for a short podcast.
First, read the Book of Esther! It's pretty short. You already know a lot of it, but you'll be surprised at some things that are different from what you learned in Sunday school. Pay attention to ways in which the story and the setting are like our world. For starters, the book is not set in Israel or in Egypt or in a desert — but in a multiethnic empire where the Jews are intermixed with everyone else. The book is a laugh, but try reading it once through without laughing for some of serious observations it makes.
While a lot of the Bible is good to read in a kind of thou-thee, King James-type translation — not so good for the Megillah. This is a story, and the best version for it would be the "new" Jewish Publication Society translation. It's the one in the JPS Tanakh and in the Five Megillot and Jonah. Unfortunately it's not on-line. If you've found your way to mechon-mamre.org, what's there is the "old" JPS version. It's a little somber but OK.
Second, there is the theme of hiding and masks. I'll write more next Purim when I get a head start. Esther's name is often taken to be related to the Hebrew root s-t-r, which means "hide." Esther herself was hidden behind her Persian name — think Ishtar, the goddess — when had the beautiful Hebrew name Haddasah. There's much to say about this…One fascinating exercise to do is called the Johari Window. You can read about it on wikipedia. Here is a quote to think about; I don't know the source:
The greater you are, the more you need to search for your self. Your deep soul hides itself from consciousness…until finally your soul reveals itself to you, spangling a few sparkles of her lights.
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