Purim as a Portal to new Perspectives
Hi!
The Jewish holiday of Purim is coming up this Saturday night and Sunday and I have recently come across some fabulous resources that bring fresh perspectives to the holiday and its traditions. Hint: All the Red text is hyperlinked! Have fun clicking!
From Beit Toratah:
Megillat Mordechai - Read it and experience what happens in you when the story is a gender-swapped. All the details are the same as in Megillat Esther (the scroll of Esther, which is the original Purim story), except the genders of the characters. So this one is about a brave virgin-lad (Mordechai), his strategic aunt (Esther), a rebellious king (Vashta), a villanous advisor (Hamani) and the queen who rules them all (Achashveroni). I got to participate in a study session of this text with Beit Toratah’s creators this week and it was an inspiring and confronting experience. It was so good that a) I am sharing it with you and b)I signed up to attend their regular online Toratah study sessions. Maybe you will join me?
From The Shalom Center:
The Chapter 9 Project - Envisioning wholeness and peace: New endings for Purim’s Book of Esther (Chapter 9 of Megillat Esther is the one where the Jews survive almost being killed and rise up in a fit of rage and (over)kill the enemy.)
If you would like to join me in person in Toronto, I will be celebrating Purim and Earth Hour together, leading the Danforth Jewish Circle’s Earth Hour Havdalah and Earth Hour and Purim Coffee House - a double header on Saturday night!
And how could I share a Purim post without a reminder that the cookies some of us eat on the holiday, Hamentaschen, are actually cakes for the Queen of Heaven… shaped like vulvas? Here’s a (slightly dated but still fabulous) article from Lilith Magazine to tell you all about it.
Annie