Last night was our Purim spiel (I played Haman again, not sure what the people doing the casting are telling me) and it was amazing. We will be posting on the website next week in case you missed it. Tonight I will be talking about the notion of self-sacrifice in Judaism. In light of Esther sacrificing her life to save her people, it got me thinking about when sacrifice of oneself is okay, and other times it is not. Join me tonight for services as we discuss. Also, Sunday we will be holding a public Megillah reading in the parking lot of Barker Animation at 10am so I hope you can join us.
Lastly, my younger brother Rafi, a rabbinic student at Hebrew College in Boston, posted the following on Facebook yesterday about the four mitzvot of Purim:
“Just remember the four mitzvot:
1. Reading the Megillah (Active Listening + Brave, Vulnerable Sharing) (קריאת מגילה)
2. Giving Gifts to Neighbors (Selflessness + Community Organizing) (משלוח מנות)
3. Providing for Those in Need (Meaningful, Relevant Social Action) (מתנות לאביונים)
4. A Festive Meal (Joyful, Restorative Practice) (סעודת פורים)
Happy Purim! חג פורים שמח!”
Now granted I am a little biased, but I believe that there is true wisdom here. What the younger future Rabbi Ellenson is reminding us here is the power of ritual actions to feed our spiritual muscles. We can think of Purim as simply a fun holiday of dressing up and drinking. However, these mitzvot and the ideas behind them remind us that there is deep spiritual wisdom in the practices of Purim. If we allow these mitzvot of Purim to serve as a jumping off point to work on our spiritual journeys, we will be that much more spiritually whole by this time next year. Wishing you all a Shabbat shalom and happy Purim.
