Comments on: Purim and the Jewish Id

By: Joe Purim

Joe Purim — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:42:37 +0000

Powerless? At the end of the day we had a Jewish queen and a Jewish prime minister. They were ruling the roost. Mind you Mordechai was not ashamed of who he was either he was Mr. Jew We have yet to have any Jewish leadership of that stature in this country. They are the ones that push for the story to be told.

Some Jews are just so much more comfortable being victims than taking the initiative to defend themselves.

They are the ones who have absorbed the victimhood of the galut menatlity.

May the eternal lessons of Purim permeate our souls. Be proud of who we are. Do not bow to the Hamans of the world. Unify our people. Defend ourselves. Than as the megillah tells us many of the nations adopted Judaism. You cannot value the lives of those who are trying to kill you more than you value the lives of your innocent children. The mistake Jews have made and the mistake many of the wellmeaning orgs. you support as listed on this webpage is to be merciful to the cruel because that causes us to be cruel to the innocent.

Happy Purim time to SOBER UP!

By: Elliot Zashin

Elliot Zashin — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 05:09:15 +0000

Brant: Basically, I am with you on Purim. Some years ago, I actually read that megillah carefully and learned that we really don’t know a lot about how it came to be written. But it is, to my mind, a fantasy–no doubt a powerful one–but as you say, it represents the imagination of relatively powerless Jews run wild. Do we really want to celebrate our people’s slaughtering the gentiles among whom they lived–even after their [the gentiles'] leaders were acting like Nazis and giving the people permission to savage the Jews? Perhaps that is one reason you are allowed to get really drunk on Purim–because the reality is so painful, you need to blot it out.

By: mark stein

mark stein — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 04:08:08 +0000

Well, we liked it. These are our stories, we tell them and we learn from them. We can debate veracity, but it’s unclear if that’s what would benefit us most.

Bu then, we really liked that news flash when our learned rebbe imparted to us that the Maccabees were not exactly warm fuzzies. It’s good to have one’s assumptions challenged.

By: Joel Blechman

Joel Blechman — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 05:02:08 +0000

I believe the power of a myth is in the lesson it teaches and what it says about our culture more than in the truth of the story.

I think the lessons of Purim are a very powerful allegory for the world today. The lesson is that there will always be threats to our society, and if people take it upon themselves to speak out as Esther did, even though they may feel powerless, they can make a difference.

Why not look for the good that a centuries old story can teach us and cherish our people’s ability to find that goodness or “godliness” in the story, rather than trash it since it can’t be historically substantiated?

By: Shirley Gould

Shirley Gould — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:04:47 +0000

Reading your take on the Book of Esther is like going into a sunny, warm beautiful place this cloudy Erev Shabbat.

I’m amazed that no one ever pointed this out before, and I feel great about the interpretation. Thanks, and I’ll tip one too.

By: Jordan Margolis

Jordan Margolis — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 18:03:22 +0000

As one who religiously exercises chuzpah of Purim-dik proportions, and who takes Purim so seriously and literally that I read the Megillah as scripture; it’s fortunate for you, learned Rabbi, that I’ve already tipped more than a few this morning and am too profoundly drunk to take offense at your heretical notions.

L’Chaim, Shabbat Shalom, Chag Sameach. Happy Purim.

Hiccup. Brech.

Jordan Margolis a/k/a Mr. Purim