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Years ago my wife suggested that it would be wonderful to take one of
our holidays and go public with it, as is done with St. Patrick’s
Day, Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year and other ethnic days that become
part of the public domain to celebrate.
The ideal holiday
for doing so would be Purim, which we just celebrated.
Everyone likes to dress in costume, and it is filled with
partying and merry making, in fact the one Jewish holiday of them all
that doesn’t frown on over indulging in food and drink.
Adloyada (referring to imbibing to the point of not
distinguishing between Haman and Mordecai) was the name of the public
parade they used to hold in the main streets of Israeli cities in the
earlier years of the state.
My wife’s
reasoning in having a public Purim parade (she calls it Going Public
with Purim) as a day where everyone can be Jewish is to remind the
world and ourselves that Judaism is more than seriousness and
heaviness in terms of the burden of survival that we carry over
hundreds and thousands of years. The
world is aware of the history of Jewish precariousness since
consciously or unconsciously they know they have born a large measure
of responsibility for our endangered status as a people, most
dramatically reflected in the lack of caring as European Jewry was
destroyed in the Holocaust.
Those of us
involved in holiday celebrations, including Shabbat, know that there
is much joy in Judaism, yet much of it is overshadowed by the struggle
to survive as a people and keep our heritage alive.
Many feel disconnected to rituals and practices they understand
need to go on, to keep the tradition alive, but that need doesn’t
necessarily turn them on. Moreover,
it is not uncommon to feel guilt for not doing more.
My approach to
Judaism is to teach it as a program of partnership with life,
including the presence of God, for those comfortable enough and open
to doing so. To make that
Presence more comprehensible, I think of it as being connected with U
KNOW HU, i.e. HU U KNOW, in noticing more of people, time and
circumstances in our lives. This
secular bridge for Judaism to ongoing daily application I call the
Five Trails, the basis of the program I am now doing in the Bay Area,
including at CBI (the next installment is Tuesday, March 2 at 6 PM;
people of all backgrounds are encouraged to participate).
In engaging life
as partnership with U KNOW HU, it includes times for joy, happiness
and even frivolity, as well as times to get serious.
Paradoxically, in
the Jewish calendar now before us, it starts with frivolity.
The last month of the Jewish calendar is Adar, whose theme and
slogan is “When it is Adar, we increase joy and happiness”.
And appropriately it is Adar that is home to Purim.
Even after the silliness of Purim, itself a fascinating
approach and response, psychologically, to addressing fears of
destruction, the Purim theme of happiness continues throughout the
month, leading us to a whole new energy for the arrival of Nisan, the
first month in the Jewish calendar (even though the year stays the
same: 5770). Suddenly
things get very serious: we are readying ourselves to celebrate human
liberation from bondage: Passover, with the Seder, filled with joy and
delight, nevertheless constricted (even with 4 cups of wine we need to
stay sober!) in absorbing and sharing the lessons of freedom and the
conditions we must create to maintain it.
How ironic that
the feast of freedom with all its celebration and rejoicing in our
launch as a people, no longer just an extended family, is accompanied
by limited tastes in food and constant reminders of the pain of the
past. In the seriousness
of the celebration, accompanied by so many reasons to be joyous, we
are given our mandate to develop this people and its approach to life:
that we create and promote society built on different principles than
those driven by rulers protecting themselves and their families.
We are serious
about our joy because we know we are given a unique opportunity to
make a difference for good in the few moments we inhabit history’s
stage. We have the choice
to connect with Judaism not just to keep it alive, but to get on with
why we have done so, building new relationships with one another, with
those who share such values, and with all of life.
See you for the
big celebration of Passover! If
we are serious about that, we can plan on a wonderful time!
Sippin’
Vintage Judaism next meets on Tuesday, March 23 at 5:30 PM
in the Rabbi’s office, unless the group is too large!
In addition to a Jewish Sip from Sippin’
on Top of the World to focus the conversation, plan on
enjoying wine/non-alcoholic beverages, cheese and crackers.
A great way to finish up your Tuesday, and welcome the new
Jewish day!
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