Hope you brought a snack....
During my studycation I had a bit of an argument with a friend of mine while perusing a Mennonite bakery. In the small retail section of the establishment was a spinner rack of books. As I was giving it a twirl, one jumped out at me; 'The Story of Esther' (a children's illustrated book). I was going to purchase it for a certain 4-year old monkey, until I began to read it from cover to cover. When I finished, I was confused and a little angry. No where in this book did it use the word Jew or Jewish to describe Esther, or "her people". Meh?
I showed the book to my friend and told her the error on leaving out the most important fact in this book; ESTHER WAS JEWISH and the King set a decree to kill ALL the Jews. My darling friend did not understand why I was upset or what the big deal was - it's still the same story, right? Esther from the bible? What does it matter? And there we stood, surrounded by lard-filled pies, home made jams and knitted things, arguing until we finally gave up our stances, dropped the subject and purchased some baked goods. Just for the record, she also showed me an article from a Christian magazine that said that we will all return to Israel, rebuild the temple and be at peace through the help of Jesus Christ, but I digress...
So what was my non-hormone, locally raised beef about with this book? The facts ma'am, just the facts. By not educating the reader of the particulars of the actual story, you are grossly misleading them. When they refer to the Jews as "her people," they could mean anyone; her family, neighbours, other women, etc. but those in the know, KNOW, (don't you know). The core of the story is the salvation of the JEWISH PEOPLE from being annihilated. So what is the point of publishing a story that thousands of Jews around the world read together and celebrate, by purposely leaving out the heart and soul of it because it was made by a Christian publishing company and being sold in a Mennonite eatery, out in farm country? Don't want the children to know there are Jews in the bible?
The Megillat Esther tells how Mordechai told her to hide her true religion (not the over-priced jeans) from Achashverosh and those around him, presumably out of fear for her safety. How many of us have a mother who said at one point when you were young 'don't let them know you're Jewish.' Growing up in a multicultural neighbourhood and going to school where I was the Jewish and the visible minority put the paranoia in my mother's head way too often that G-d forbid (poo poo poo) something horrible will happen if they(?) knew. Like Mordechai, perhaps she had a sense of foreboding; the fear of possible persecution from those who hold animosity towards us and what may or may not follow after the reveal of who we are. Turns out their instincts were correct - please don't tell my mother.
Esther was willing to sacrifice her own life in order to save others. Approaching the king without permission was in itself enough to be executed. Not only did she take a risk to go before the king, she put her life on the line when she admitted that she was the same as the people Haman (boo) ordered to be attacked. The word Purim comes from the word pur which means lot. This is usually referred to the 'lot' that Haman (boo) used to determine when to attack the Jews. However, Mirriam Webster also defines lot as "one's way of life or worldly fate; fortune"- and it was Esther's lot in life that she was chosen to be queen and she was asked save the Jews from impending genocide. Quite a lot, if you ask me.
So when I look back to the episode in the bakery (oh, the cheesecake) or think about my mother and her warnings, I realize that we shouldn't be scared to hide behind a façade, veil or mask from the world. Those who hate are going to hate, no matter what. If the Megillah did not use the word Jew or Jewish, would it still hold the same weight and meaning as it does now? WE would understand the meaning behind the story and the who's and the how's, but would we look at Purim differently or celebrate it differently? We've all made it this far; thank you Esther and Mordechai! So please pass the hamantashen and wine and lets get silly.
baby steps...
