Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea

PURIM AND THE NEW REFORM JUDAISM

(1/4) > >>

Tag-MehirTzedek:

 
by Asher Keren
 
I really do not like what Purim has become, pagan mask parties, people getting drunk to no end and my ear drums exploding every time the evil Haman is mentioned during the reading of the Megilat Ester. So I, as do many others, try as hard as possible to stay focused. When someone greets me with a "Purim Sameach", I simply answer as follows: "Purim Sameach to you as well, and may God protect us from our enemies and may we and God together destroy all of our enemies, all of the modern day Amalek!".
 
Seems to me a reasonable enough response, but more and more the following refrain is thrown back: "First, we must destroy the Amalek within each and every one of us "(funny, I always thought we were the Children of Israel, the exact opposite of Amalek) and then comes the gematria game: "as you know, Amalek and doubt ('safek') are the same number in gematria". I just smile as I do after eating a full plate of cholent, knowing that this too will pass.

Yesterday I read how the venerable rabbi of Tekoa, Menachem Fruman, wrote that there is more than one way to skin a tiger, or an Amalekite, that is; one need not kill him, one need only to cause him to change his colors, give him some flowers, some chocolate, explain to him the evil of his ways and presto chango, we have destroyed his Amalekite tendencies and thus fulfilled the deeper Mitzvah within. After all, as it is shown in the Talmud, even some of the ancestry of the Amalekites ended up as Jews studying in the Beit Midrash.

Nice in theory, Menahem Fruman, but personally I do not plan to wait around until Ahmadinejad sees the light. I expect he will try to turn out the lights on us first. (Besides, oh spiritual Fruman the magic man, wouldn't the sainted Abraham Abulafia – yes, that's right, the one that tried to convert the Pope and almost got butchered in the process – tell you that the name Haman is contained in the name Ahmadinejad - go mediate on that for a few moments!)
 
At any rate, and to the point, well, you get the point. Purim is about being saved and about destroying the enemy. Very spiritual, but also very physical; just as are the commandments of the Torah. It is actually the Reform branch of Judaism that always tries to run away from the physical performance of the commandments by emphasizing the "deeper meaning", where still applicable, and thereby providing the perfect excuse for not taking the commandments literally. Further, as the first Reformer Abraham Geiger stressed, the nationalistic elements of Judaism should be suppressed and give way to the universal tendencies of the tradition. This latter "theology" is what we see when we take the concept of Amalek and channel it into our own selves and further, try to stress the destruction of the Amalekite ideology over that of the Amalekite people.

This is what Orthodox Judaism today is becoming; a "kosher" version of Reform Judaism. Obviously, the search for spirituality in the performance of the physical is an entirely legitimate branch of traditional Jewish experience and thought – but when this tendency sublimates the commandment to the spiritual realm solely, well, let's just say that the Sabbatean Geiger is probably now smiling from his grave, thinking "Purim Sameach", no doubt. As each generation is confronted by its Hitlers, Chmelnikis, Ahmadinejads , Nassers or whomever, let's praise the Israel Defense Forces and pray that they and their soldiers are up to the task of confronting Amalek, the physical Amalek; unless, of course, Menachem Fruman has a breakthrough very quickly.

http://machonshilo.org/en/eng/component/content/article/34-featured/581-some-post-purim-musings

muman613:
Whoever writes this stuff has a big problem. They don't like Jews to be happy. So this person must be an anti-Talmudist because the concept of becoming happy in Adar is from the Talmud. And so is the concept of Masks, and the idea of drowning out the name of Haman, and so is drinking on Purim. So this guy is an apikoris in my opinion.

I attended a Purim party the type of which this so-called talmid chocham despises and I have no problem admitting it. I enjoyed myself, I drank and ate, and we discussed what must be done to save the Jewish people from todays Hamans. We were not waiting around for someone else to take action. Those Jews who I come in contact with almost uniformly agree that Obama is an anti-Israel president and we will all do what we can to protect Israel from his wicked plans.

But this machonshilo site seems to prosper on Lashon Hara against righteous Jews... And I rebuke them for  that.

muman613:
Also what does the writer of this piece suggest we learn from Purim? What action did the Jewish people take? Did they pre-emtpively strike against the King? Did they assasinate Haman? They did sincere repentance and fasted and made changes to themselves, which invoked the divine forgiveness and set into motion the ability to reverse the decree. That is the true message of Purim. Thus it is correct to say that we need to perfect ourselves in order to change the world. There is nothing wrong about saying this. Those who are too perfect to admit it have the real problem.

muman613:
In Talmud Megillah 7b Rava states:

Rava said: A person is obligated to drink on Purim until he does not know the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordechai"

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/2814/jewish/The-Purim-Drunk.htm


--- Quote ---Many of the greatest Halachists follow Rava’s ruling. Maimonides writes: "What is the obligation of the [Purim] feast? That one should eat meat ... and drink wine until he is drunk and falls asleep from drunkenness" (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Megillah, 2:15). The Rif, Rosh, Tur and Shulchan Aruch all cite Rava’s dictum without any qualification. The Rama, on the other hand, comments that "There are others who say that one need not become that drunk, but rather that one should drink more than is one’s custom." The Rama concludes: "Whether one drinks more or drinks less, the main thing is that his intention is for the sake of Heaven."
--- End quote ---

muman613:
Then there is the story of the two Rabbis who drank and one killed the other...

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/beacons-on-the-talmud-sea/15.htm


--- Quote ---Understanding Our Sages' Conduct
Our Sages state:[1] "A person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim to the extent that he does not know the difference between 'Cursed is Haman' and 'Blessed is Mordechai.'" To cite an example, the Talmud continues, relating:

Rabbah and Rav Zeira celebrated the Purim feast together. They became intoxicated. Rabbah stood up and slew Rav Zeira. On the morrow, he prayed for mercy and brought him back to life.

The following year, [Rabbah] again invited [Rav Zeira] to celebrate the feast together. Rav Zeira answered him: "A miracle does not happen every moment."

The story begs explanation.[2] How is it possible that one of the Talmud's leading Sages performed an act that - were it not for a miracle - would have resulted in a colleague's death?[3]

The Maharsha[4] indeed tries to explain that Rabbah did not actually slay Rav Zeira. Instead, he compelled him to drink extensively until he became sick and was at the brink of death. This interpretation, however, does not fit the simple meaning of the text which speaks of Rav Zeira being slain and then "brought back to life." Moreover, even such conduct, compelling a person to drink to the point that his life is in danger, is not appropriate for a Torah sage.

There is another element of the story which is also problematic: Rabbah's invitation to Rav Zeira to repeat the feast the following year. The Talmud does not tell us that Rabbah repented; quite the contrary, it explains that he was prepared to share a Purim feast with Rav Zeira again despite the possibility of a recurrence of the events of the previous year.

And what is equally amazing is Rav Zeira's answer. He did not refuse Rabbah's invitation categorically. Instead, he told him: "A miracle does not happen every moment," implying that he would like to accept Rabbah's offer, but could not because he was not sure that the miracle would repeat itself.
--- End quote ---

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page