Like many Jewish holidays, this one revolves around food and has been corrupted to one of frivolity, merriment, and the commercial imperative of gifts.
There are of course, other elements associated with Purim, such as the virtue of Charity (shalach mones), and celebrating the rare occasion that Jews triumphed over imminent genocide.
However, increasingly we are seeing the focus of the story to be that of female empowerment and one that raises many challenging conversations around power and agency, beauty and objectification, domestic violence and intersectionality (among many others). How apt then that it tends to coincide closely with International Women’s Day. A day in the Western calendar of mixed blessings. True we can celebrate growing consciousness of the impacts of a patriarchal society. We can also celebrate the growing awareness of the need to acknowledge women as true partners; emotionally, financially, spiritually and productively. But old habits die hard, and in particular concepts of women as chattel, as owned, continue to lead to violence and abuse at so many levels.
Vashti, the archetypal witch, asked by her husband to dance in front of the crowd wearing nothing but a diadem. (Seems a familiar story only weeks ago at the Grammy awards). She refused, in a courageous act of assertiveness and dignity. The men of the court were outraged! What was her crime? Challenging the supreme authority of the male ownership model. Not to be countenanced. She paid the price; banished, stripped of her status, condemned to poverty and death. But her legacy remains, not forgotten, a bold challenge to the status quo.
Esther, the archetypal seductress, asked by her uncle, her guardian, to use her ‘feminine wiles’ to insert herself into the arms of the King and the good graces of the court. Timid, too scared to reveal her religion, compliant to the demands of men in her life, she does all that is asked of her. We hear nothing of her turmoil. The story demands that there is no conflict between Esther the woman and Esther the seductress. However, she faces a crisis. Whether she willed it or no, she is in a position where only she can save the Jewish people from genocide. Years of conditioning would indicate that she could not muster the courage to speak up. Yet come the hour, come the woman. She commands the Jewish people to fast. She fasts in preparation to approach the king unannounced. Surely, if the seductress is going to make such a bold move, she should be at her best, her most alluring. Yet, she understands that this is a pivotal moment, not a moment for hormones.
And what course of action does she take? She asserts her identity; she pleads not for her life but argues on behalf of a threatened minority. A minority whose membership has been forced upon her. Another archetype, the Jew who wishes to shed their identity. But she doesn’t shy away or despair of her misfortune. Rather she wears the mantle, allowing her skills to emerge and display the easy diplomacy required to save the Jews of Shushan.
Unlike Vashti, Esther lives to save the day, yet also to see little change in the Jewish his- story. Purim is not a primary holi-day, merely a minor fast-day, a footnote of frivolity. Sure, take the opportunity to celebrate a rare case of right triumphing over might, dress up, have fun. Goddess knows there are few enough occasions to rejoice.
But we should also pause to reflect on the then and the now. The story of Purim is a story of domestic abuse, and of the triumph of women reasserting their power. The former is still too prevalent and the latter still emerging. Vashti and Esther are role models for women (and for men). Stand up, be counted, embrace your identity in your own way and know that your dignity is no less important than anyone else, just as other’s dignity is no less important than yours.
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