March 2006 - אֲךָ .. נִיסָן תשס״ו Adar..Nisan 5766

This is the month that we celebrate Purim. Some people call Purim the Jewish Mardi Gras. I call Mardi Gras, the Christian (Catholic) Purim. Which way do you see it? In our society, Mardi Gras is much better known than the minor Jewish holiday of Purim. On the other hand, clearly Purim is centuries older than Mardi Gras. As a matter of fact if there had been no Purim, there could not have been a Mardi Gras. By that I mean that if Esther and Mordecai had not saved the Jewish people, then Jesus the Jew would have never ridden into Jerusalem as the Judean messiah, the Romans would not have crucified him for the treasonous claim of King of the Judeans. Without the crucifixion there would not be a Lenten period, and without the self-deprivation of Lent, there would be no need for the excesses of the day before Lent, the fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras.

So much for the lesson on the Catholic tradition of Mardi Gras. Which is it for you, the Jewish Mardi Gras or the Catholic Purim? Is this an important question? The reason that I ask the question is to see whether you see yourself as a Jewish American Jew or an American Jew? What is the difference? A Jewish American sees himself or herself as an American, with Jewish being one of many adjectives that describes him or her. Substitute other adjectives such as Anglo-American, a wealthy or poor American, or an educated or illiterate American. On the other hand, I see myself as an American Jew. My essence is my Jewishness. American is one description of what kind of a Jew I am. I am also a Reform or Conservative Jew. I am a professional Jew (= a rabbi), and I am a socially conscious (liberal) Jew.

I know more about Purim than I know about Mardi Gras. (I had to Google Mardi Gras to check if it was Fat Tuesday or Fat Wednesday. OK, my French is not as good as my Spanish, but I should have stayed with my original philology.) I have thought about going to Mardi Gras or Carnival some day, but I always attend Purim megillah readings. I have especially fond memories of the year I read the megillah with a bottle of HeBrew (beer) at my side while I retold the megillah. Apparently, I was becoming increasingly inebriated as I took larger and longer drafts from the bottle. When I could barely stand up any longer, someone in the back row yelled, “Wait a minute, the Rabbi doesnÕt drink!” Of course the bottle was filled with water, but halakhah requires that one becomes so drunk ad lo yada, that he or she cannot tell the difference between blessed-be Mordecai and cursed-be Haman. And the halakhah is the halakhah! I had to get drunk, so I did.

I also remember the Purim that I enjoyed at Beit Chabad in Jerusalem. Talk about celebrating with reckless abandon. We danced and sang, many drank as well, all night long. (Barbara and our other female friends did not like being confined upstairs in the WomenÕs section, but the men had a great time. I hope God forgives me for this one and only sin of political incorrectness.)

I can tell you about my costumes that I wore as a child and then some that I dreamt up as an adult. And I brag unabashedly that BarbaraÕs hamentaschen are without a doubt the best in the world. (Besides, her recipe is simple and has been used many a year for cooking in the Torah School.)

One year when I was in college, my roommates borrowed my car and drove from New Haven, Connecticut to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. They drove down in one day, celebrated for one day and drove back the next. I decided to go to class instead. I have never been to Mardi Gras or Carnival. Maybe some day I will, but until then, I have Purim. Everyone else can eat their hearts out.

Chag samayach,

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D., D.D.

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