Saturday, March 7, 1998

Feast of Queen Esther to be celebrated Friday

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

Queen Esther may not have envisioned it this way, but her celebration has become "something like Mardi Gras" to modern day Jews.

On Friday, at 7:30 p.m. a local celebration of the Feast of Queen Esther will be held at Temple Mizpah, 849 Chestnut, with Rabbi Sherman Stein of Plano officiating.

After the service, Terra Kintzele and Cherry Shiflet will serve refreshments, which will include hamantashen, three-cornered prune and poppyseed filled pastries resembling the hat worn by the villain, Haman, in the story found in the Book of Esther.

Although the local celebration won't be elaborate as in larger cities with a greater Jewish population, Friday's observance will be special, said Dave Bach, cantor at Temple Mizpah. A study session will be held the next day in a private home.

The Feast of Queen Esther, also known as Purim, isn't as major as some other Jewish holy days, but it is still significant because it commemorates the act of one woman who saved the Jews from extinction about 480 B.C.E.

In the story, Esther is chosen by Ahasuerus, a Persian king, to be his wife after discarding his queen.

Esther does not disclose her Hebrew heritage to the king, but later when she learns that the evil Haman, a court official, plans to eradicate the Jews, she tells her king husband that if that happens, she too, will die.

The date for the destruction of the Jews was chosen by lots, call "pur" or the plural "purim," and that is how the holy day got its name. Before the eradication can be carried out, Esther saves the day and Haman is hanged.

The hanging of Haman is a favorite part of modern observances of Purim. Dr. Susan Pigott, a professor of Old Testament at Hardin-Simmons University, has her students take part in a Purim observance.

"Whenever Haman's name is mentioned, they boo and hiss," Pigott said.

Pigott and Bach both said the celebration today has become more of a children's festival, partly because the historical accuracy of the account of Esther has been called into question.

"It's like a fairy tale type of story," Bach said. In fact, the story of Esther is not contained in the Torah, Bach said, but rather in a separate scroll because it isn't considered to be as significant.

In larger cities, Purim celebrations often include dramas and costume contests.

"I always looked upon it as a children's story," Bach said, and added that children still love the pageantry.

Even if the local celebration isn't as elaborate as in larger cities, it will be festive with Rabbi Stein reading the story and waiting for the boos when Haman's name comes up, Bach said.

Pigott teaches her Hardin-Simmons students that the historical nature of the book is often questioned.

"That's part of why it's become more of a children's story," she said. "It's mainly just a fun, hilarious festival."

Another reason the authenticity of the Book of Esther is questioned by scholars is that "is doesn't mention the name of God," Pigott said. In fact, it is the only book of the Bible that doesn't.

However, it was included in the Old Testament because it was a "wonderful victory for the Jews," Pigott said.

In fact, a rabbi writing on "Which Side of Genocide" notes that Jews have been historically threatened by two forms of genocide -- physical and spiritual.

Hanukkah, celebrated in December, is an observation of "heavenly rescue from a threat of spiritual genocide," Rabbi Mendel Weinbach wrote in his article published on the Virtual Jerusalem website.

On ther other hand, Purim celebrates the rescue of the physical body of the Jewish people.

Therefore, the Purium celebration is more festive than Hanukkah.

"It is incumbent on the survivors and their heirs throughout the generations to celebrate with their bodies by eating, drink, and sharing such indulgences with others," Weinbach wrote.

The service at Temple Mizpah may not be that festive next Friday, but it will include the traditional reading, booing of Haman, and authentic hamantashen.