March 2003 - אֲדָר א׳ .. אֲדָר ב׳ תשס״ג Adar I..Adar II 5763

Do you remember from when you were younger how much fun Purim was? We would dress up like King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther or Mordecai. I always put my bathrobe on backwards, wore a white beard made out of a sheet of cotton, and a crown cut out of shirt cardboard and covered with tin foil (okay it was really aluminum foil). That always worked for the king or Mordecai, which ever I felt like that year. Sometimes my brother (the vonce) would wear his robe backwards, make a three cornered hat, and my mother would use an eyebrow pencil for his mustache. He would be Haman. Not me, I was always a good guy!

I always sing with gusto (remembering those childhood days):

O once there was a wicked, wicked man,
The Bible called him Haman,
He lied and lied about the Jews,
Whom he was always blamin'.

O today we'll merry, merry be,
O today we'll merry, merry be,
O today we'll merry, merry be,
And nosh some hamentaschen.

Of course, every year at the Purim carnival we would try to toss the ping pong ball into the goldfish bowl, and the beanbags through Haman's open mouth. I vividly remember the whistles, and especially the ‘finger torture’ prizes. And eating the hamentaschen, who could forget the hamentaschen. (I honestly think that Barbara's hamentaschen are vastly superior to those of yesteryear, but think about it, who else besides Jewish children like poppy seed or prune filling?)

But Purim is not only for children. Besides the raunchy humor and the required alcohol consumption, there is an important lesson of Jewish survival. On both Purim and Chanukkah, we recite the blessing, “Ba-rukh A-tah Adonai E-lo-heinu, melekh ha-o-lam she-a-sa ni-sim la-'a-vo-tei-nu ba-ya-mim ha-hem baz-man ha-zeh” “Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the universe, who did miracles for our ancestors in those days in this season.” In the Purim megilah, God's name does not even appear. How could there be a miracle in the Purim story without God being named? If there is no miracle like the story of the Chanukkah oil, why say this blessing? The similarity between the two holidays and the reason for the blessing is that in both cases the Jewish people survived the oppression and attack of a vastly stronger foe. The few triumphed over the many, the weak over the powerful, and good triumphed over evil. We may have a good time celebrating Purim, but the message is very serious. So please join us on March 13th when young and older will celebrate this important holiday together.

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff will be at the Central Conference of American Rabbis conference in Washington, DC, from March 22 - 30.

New TBS Adult Education Offering: Jewish History Through the Eyes of Abba Eban's Heritage Series.

Rabbi Manhoff has offered to teach a new Adult Education offering on Thursday afternoons after the MID lectures beginning on January 9th at about 12:00 noon. The Rabbi will screen about twenty minutes of Abba Eban's PBS show entitled Heritage. Then he will lead a discussion of the portion of Jewish history portrayed.

Please bring your dairy bag lunch for this ongoing Lunch with the Rabbi. We will try to keep these sessions to an hour weekly so that business people can join us and return to work at a reasonable time. We hope to see you there.

Rabbi Manhoff to Address Temple Shir Ami

There has been a change and Rabbi Manhoff will speak at Temple Shir Ami on Sunday, April 6th at 1:00 PM (instead of March 16th). Rabbi Manhoff will discuss his studies of the Jewish Jesus and the origins of Christianity. He will also address the commonalties between Judaism and Christianity. Held in conjunction with Temple Beth Sholom, Temple Shir Ami and the Interfaith Forum, this lecture is open to the entire community. Lox, bagels and beverages will be provided for the price of admission, $7.00 for members of either synagogue, or $10.00 for non-members. Everyone is asked to bring a salad, dessert, cheese or fruit dish to share. Seating is limited to the first 40 reservations. Please reserve by phone after 5:30 PM, with Barbara or Stan Heimowitz, (510) 537-2066.

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