This holiday is just nuts! So unlike the other more serious holidays we celebrate throughout the year. And celebrate we must – costumes, masks, noisemakers, drinking (drinking?!), eating, playacting, etc.

Purim (14 Adar) retells the story of Mordechai and Esther’s triumph over the villain Haman. The story is related in the Book of Esther (Megillat Esther) which is found in the Writings section of the Hebrew Bible. Purim means ‘lots’ which Haman drew to decide on which month and day he would kill all the Jews in Persia. There is nothing really sacred about the day. There are none of the prohibitions that accompany other holidays. The holiday is really an invention of the rabbis so that the megillah might be read to the people. We are told that each time Haman’s name is mentioned, we must drown it out with yelling and noisemakers. There is usually a festive meal on the afternoon of the holiday. It is also customary to donate money to help the poor and to send gifts of food to friends (mishloach manot).

At the beginning of the story, Vashti, the queen, is banished because she refuses to appear before King Ahashuerus and his courtiers during a drunken party. The court fears that she will set a bad example so that the women in the kingdom will also rebel. Ahashuerus determines to find a new queen from among all the virgins in the country. Mordechai, a Jew, persuades Esther, his cousin (and adopted daughter), to join the throng without revealing that she is Jewish. After a long time of preparation and selection, Esther is chosen the new queen. While Mordechai awaits news of the results, he hears of a plot to assassinate the king. He passes this news on to Esther who alerts the king thereby saving his life. At the same time, a courtier, Haman, becomes the grand vizier. Mordechai refuses to bow down to him. Enraged, Haman convinces the king that all the Jews should be killed.

The king finds out that Mordechai has saved him from assassination. He asks Haman what should be done for a man who has honored the king. Thinking that the king means Haman himself, he says that this person should be dressed in royal garb with a diadem on his head and that he be paraded with honor through the city of Shushan. Much to his anger and dismay, Haman discovers that the king is talking about Mordechai. Haman is forced to dress Mordechai and lead his horse through the city.

Mordechai gets word to Esther that she must see Ahashuerus to let him know about the danger to their people in order to save them from death. She wines and dines the king and Haman. She reveals the awful plan that Haman has for the Jews. The king immediately leaves the banquet hall. Haman is prostrate with fear. When the king returns, he thinks that Haman has tried to ravish Esther. Haman’s punishment is that he is impaled on the pike that he had set up for Mordechai. The king gives Haman’s property to Mordechai and instructs him to send messengers with royal documents throughout the kingdom to countermand Haman’s order to annihilate the Jews. The tables are turned and on the very day that all the Jews are to be killed, they take up arms and kill those who sought to hurt them.

Some elements of the story don’t ring true. We aren’t even sure of the truth of the story. It is hard to believe that King Ahashuerus would choose a queen from among all the women since it is known that Persian kings only married high-born Persian women. In addition, the names Esther and Mordechai hark back to the ancient Near Eastern pagan gods Ishtar and Marduk. Another interesting fact is that the name of God does not appear in the story. Perhaps that is because the story’s intent is whimsical and irreverent. Ahashuerus is a silly king. Haman is a stock villain. Although the fate awaiting the Jews appears serious, no one ever seems to take it seriously. The story itself is perhaps the first Purim parody. Jews have often had to endure cruelty from the people among whom they lived. But this story stresses the surprise of victory and buries the long, sad centuries of persecution.

Purim is a time to let loose. Dress in costume and become someone other than yourself. One rabbinic saying is to “become so drunk on Purim that you can’t tell the difference between ‘Blessed be Mordechai!’ and ‘Cursed be Haman!’” This Talmudic statement has caused worry and frustration. Many have tried to downplay drunkenness. However, it is clear that drink is meant to help enliven the celebration.

We read the megillah with lots of merriment and silliness, interrupting it with songs and skits and costume contests. We eat hamantaschen, filled triangular cookies supposedly shaped like Haman’s hat. We send little gifts of fruit, nuts, cookies, juice or wine to friends. Some people even paint the plates on which they send these gifts as part of a folk art tradition. We send monetary gifts to the poor so that they, too, will be able to celebrate the holiday. In some homes, there is a late afternoon meal on Purim that is second only to a Passover meal. It doesn’t have any particular rituals. It’s a time for friends and family to gather, eat and have a great time.

In Israel, this is the holiday for dressing in costume (not Halloween) and giving gifts (not Hanukkah). It gives special meaning to the oft-repeated joke: "They wanted to kill us; they failed; hooray – let’s eat!"