March 2020 | Adar-Nisan 5780 | Volume 68 Number 2 THIS PURIM WE'RE GOING INSIDE THIS EDITION: HOW JEWS USE MEMORY AS A TOOL ON PURIM 10 REASONS YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS THIS YEAR’S SPIEL ANNUAL PURIM CARNIVAL HAMANTASCHEN BAKE RenewHow Jews Use Memory Our as a Tool Days on Purim By: Brandon Chiat, Digital Media Manager Jews are a people of memory. In many ways, the past Purim calls to mind the verse from Lamentations: Restore grounds Jewish identity, infusing Jewish life with context, us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our purpose, and meaning. days as of old." Jewish memory is why Beth El gathers every year on Rabbi Schwartz explains the bizarrely worded phrase Purim to hear the words of Megillat Esther read aloud in "renew our days as of old" ("chadeish yameinu its entirety. Uniquely, Purim is the only Jewish holiday in k'kedem"): "We have a natural yearning for the past. We which the tradition explicitly commands Jews to listen to look back to happy moments in our life, like sitting next the story in full. to Zadie at Passover Seder, or eating Bubbie's matzah ball soup. These are moments that speak to our identity, "The Megillah is a story of secular, non-religious, our understanding of who we are and where we came unobservant Jews, who find themselves directly from." responsible for the fate of Jewish identity in their part of the diaspora," explained Rabbi Steve Schwartz. "The While it is natural to idealize the past, reflection in powerful message of Purim is that even if you're on the Judaism is more purposeful. Routinely revisiting Jewish fringes of the Jewish community, the day might come history helps Jews gain the perspective which might that you will be the one who will make the difference in improve their present and future. Jewish continuity." "When we renew ourselves, and our connection to Impressively, the ancient wisdom of the Purim story is Jewish identity, we recover a feeling of meaningfulness," directly applicable to modern Jewry. Reflecting on those Rabbi Schwartz said. "Remembering is not only a teachings demonstrates how the Jewish people use nostalgic indulgence but an exercise in using the past to memory as a tool. derive meaning from the present and to nourish us into the future." For this reason, Beth El chose "Back to the (57)80s" as the theme for this year's Purim Spiel. Specific themes surface when revisiting thePurim story, many of which have been echoed for decades in popular For those unfamiliar with the plot of Back to the Future culture. - perhaps the quintessential '80s movie - here's a quick synopsis: 1980s teenager Marty McFly is thrown back "The tension between free will and predestination drives into the 1950s when an experiment by his eccentric the plot of Back to the Future," Cantor Blatt observed. scientist friend, Doctor Emmett Brown, goes awry. "That conflict also drives thePurim story and is central to Traveling through time in a modified DeLorean car, Marty Jewish theology." encounters young versions of his parents and must make sure that they fall in love, or he'll cease to exist. Even Indeed, the question of free will versus predestination more daunting, Marty has to return to his own time and is a very Jewish idea and defines Esther's dilemma in save the life of Doc Brown. Achashverosh's palace. So too in Beth El's Purim spiel will the clergy travel back "In one sense, Esther was a pawn - the literal queen in time to Shushan, where they will interact with key on the figurative chessboard - placed by God in this characters from the Purim story, hoping to stave off the specific place, at this precise moment in Jewish history, destruction of the Persian Jews. specifically so she could save the Jewish people," Rabbi Schwartz said. "If (Back to the Future director) Robert Zemeckis had to choose a verse from the Torah that best captures the Or, as George McFly said to his future-wife in Back to the theme of his beloved movie, it would be Lamentations Future: "Lorainne, my density has brought me to you." 5:21," suggested Cantor Melanie Blatt. "The mitzvah of Of course, George meant destiny, but that awkward The Voice of Beth El Congregation bumbling is part of his charm: an unlikely figure thrust conundrum. In a world where there is an unspeakable into the pivot point of the narrative. Similarly, while God evil, where antisemitism runs rampant and historical predetermined that Esther would have a central role to bigotry has made Jews hated across generations, how play in the Purim story, she had to play it nevertheless. can the Jewish people live without hate in their hearts? "God predestined that Esther would be queen, but The answer is found not only in the Purim story but Esther had to make the hard choice to stand up and take also in the Passover narrative. The Egyptians of Moses' action," Rabbi Schwartz said. "That's how predestination day had enslaved the Israelites, and "embittered their and free will work together. There was some spark lives.” Not unlike Haman, Pharaoh embarked on a path that spoke to Esther. Even though she could have been of attempted genocide, commanding his people to killed for speaking up, she ultimately claimed her Jewish throw every male Israelite child born, into the river. And identity." yet, forty years later, Moses delivers a command so counterintuitive that he repeats it twice to ensure the Esther's assertiveness mirrors that of Marty McFly in Back Israelites received the message: "Do not hate an Edomite, to the Future. Upon his arrival in 1955, Marty takes action, because he is your brother. Do not hate an Egyptian, aggressively searching for answers. because you were a stranger in his land." "Accountability is another core theme to the Purim story," "To be free, you have to let go of hate," Rabbi Schwartz Rabbi Schwartz said. "Judaism will always tell you, at the encouraged. "If you let hate take over your heart, then end of the day, that you are responsible for your actions. hate becomes your guiding value, and that's no way to The message is not to passively wait for God to create a live a holy life." miracle, but instead, to take the initiative." "In the past, we see our future," Cantor Blatt added. Accountability - whether for action or inaction - has "Judaism believes that any singular moment can directly influenced Jewish identity for millennia. encompass the imperfect present, the perfect past, and the perfected future, all at once. It's an anamnestic King Saul had a chance to wipe out Amalek, a nation experience in which we recall the past and envision the that sought to destroy the Jewish people during their 40 future so that we might experience the present guided years in the desert. But in pity, King Saul spared Agag, by the full wisdom of our tradition." the king of Amalek. Centuries later, Haman, a descendant of Agag, plotted the mass extermination of Persian Jews, All of this purposeful reflection left Rabbi Schwartz with only to be thwarted by Mordecai and Esther, themselves a closing thought: "Just as it was for Moses, King Saul, descendants of King Saul. Mordecai, and Esther, there comes a moment in every generation, where a Jewish person has to be the one to From this perspective, the characters and events of step-up-to-the-plate and take responsibility not only for Purim - and all biblical narratives - act as paradigms. their lives but the fate of the Jewish people." "If Amalek is the symbol for evil, then Haman must In the timeless words of Marty McFly: “Whoa, that’s descend from Amalek," Rabbi Schwartz said. "The heavy.” Jewish people have conflicted with Amalek since the Exodus, through the Purim story, even to today. In every generation, there's the Amalekite, and there's the Israelite, and when they find each other, they'll be in conflict. It's through the act of memory that we glean meaning from these intergenerational conflicts and learn how to respond to them." Marty McFly quarreled with Biff Tannen -Back to the Future’s antagonist - across three historical time periods. King Saul spared Agag. Generations later, Esther and Mordecai confronted Haman. But each generation's narrative paradigm is defined by a similar moral The Voice of Beth El Congregation 1 5:30 PM - 6:45 PM Purim Carnival this purim Games, Prizes, Arts & Crafts and Fun for all ages! *Free of charge Ages 0-5 - Myers Auditorium we're going Ages 6 and up - Offit Auditorium *Dinner available for $5/person this purim were going Mishloach Manot Chesed Project Build a special mishloach manot to benefit families who have lost a loved one in the past year. 80’s Museum Miss the 80’s? Come check out our 80’s Museum in the Weil-Mandel Lobby, full of special items from the 80’s, from the first cellphone to scrunchies, games and more. Look out for a surprise on the patio that will take you right back to the 80’s! 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Purim Spiel - Back to the (57)80’s monday, march 9 and a Congregational Megillah Reading monday, march 9 8:00 PM 5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.: 80’s After Party with a guest DJ, desserts Purim Carnival and more! Games, Prizes, Arts & Crafts and Fun for all ages! *Free of charge Ages 0-5 - Myers Auditorium; Ages 6 and up - Offit Auditorium *Dinner available for $5/person Mishloach Manot Chesed Project 10Build REASONS a special mishloach manot to benefit YOU families ABSOLUTELY CAN'T MISSwho have THISlost a loved one inYEAR'S the past year.