Tu B’Shevat marks the beginning of the planting season in the land of Israel, and we imagine what we want to see grow in the literal fields and within the soul.
On Pesach, we realize the jubilation, hope, and power of redemption. With these bookends, how does Purim function as an intermediary step? How do we move from the realm of seedlings toward liberation?
Esther 9:25-26 reports:
וּבְבֹאָהּ֮ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֒לֶךְ֒ אָמַ֣ר עִם־הַסֵּ֔פֶר יָשׁ֞וּב מַחֲשַׁבְתּ֧וֹ הָרָעָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־חָשַׁ֥ב עַל־הַיְּהוּדִ֖ים עַל־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ וְתָל֥וּ אֹת֛וֹ וְאֶת־בָּנָ֖יו עַל־הָעֵֽץ׃ עַל־כֵּ֡ן קָֽרְאוּ֩ לַיָּמִ֨ים הָאֵ֤לֶּה פוּרִים֙ עַל־שֵׁ֣ם הַפּ֔וּר
“And Esther came before the king who declared with a proclamation: ‘Turn the evil plan that was intended for the Jews on its head and hang Haman and his sons.’ Thus, the holiday is called Purim.”
This celebration receives its name from the lots that Haman cast to pick a day to kill the Jews. We celebrate how his scheme was turned on its head. The day of our annihilation was antithetically transformed into the day of our salvation. While the hanging of Haman and his sons may appear a grotesque form of justice, the sentiment of the king’s decree remains. Purim is a day of subverting expectations. Esther required her fellow Jews to fast on her behalf, and upon her success, she demanded a day of feasting.
Still today, people observe the Fast of Esther on the 13th of Adar, and they reverse course for a day of indulgence and merrymaking on the 14th. Purim provokes a jarring sensation. In the narrative and in our observance, the celebration comes suddenly. It breaks an established mold, turning something on its head in pursuit of goodness and joy.
The mystical tradition is built upon the notion of opposites. The Kabbalists included a teaching that Yom Kippur is a day כפורים – like Purim. We dedicate both days to “transform afflictions into delights.”1 Furthermore, in the Torah reading cycle, we set aside the week after Purim for a passage from Numbers about how to purify oneself upon seeing a corpse with a פרה, a red heifer.
The Chasidic Rebbe Nachman of Breslov observed that parah and Purim contain the same letters. He posited, “The Chapter of Parah is read so that people will be alerted to purify themselves… Purim, too, is certainly an approach and path to Pesach.”2 Amongst the revelry and exuberance, Purim presents an opportunity to shed excessive aspects of the soul. By discarding that which limits or afflicts us, we make ourselves ready to experience Pesach’s miracles.
Between Tu B’Shevat’s germination and Pesach’s redemption, Purim is the day dedicated to challenging assumptions. As we wear unusual costumes and quickly pivot from fasting to feasting, we question existing structures and established norms that exist throughout our society and within the self. What in our lives requires a shakeup or a rapid shift? Where have our beliefs and actions sunk into a place of stagnation, negligence, or evil?
To borrow from LGBTQ studies, this holiday serves as an opportunity to queer our existence. Esther questions existing categories and hierarchies for the sake of a better future, overcoming her fear. Perhaps, cowardice or arrogance causes us to cling to a bias that blinds us to other possibilities. Misidentified priorities and worries may prevent us from leading the life we hoped for ourselves. Out of spite or prejudice, we may dismiss or mistreat someone, missing the opportunity to witness the part of them created in GD’s image.
As we enter this season of joy, I invite you to reflect upon what you need to turn on its head. Where are the assumptions in our lives and how can we subvert them in pursuit of redemption?
1 Tikkunei Zohar 57b
2 Likutei Moharan 74
We look forward to celebrating Purim together!
Adam Graubart
Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern
