Don’t worry, be happy?
Every life has its creation, revelation of great truths, and redemption from forces greater than us. It seems to me that we in the US have suddenly started ignoring our revelation of democracy. It was only 250 or so years ago, that we conceived a new way of government meant to empower the populace: a better way than monarchy. And we’ve turned our back on it. Satan has been whispering in our ears, something about immigrants, the price of eggs, and things aren’t like they used to be. We made the bad old days into the new normal. And we’re laughing and partying?
On the holiday of Purim, we’re supposed to be happy. “I always hated Purim, admitted my friend, Chaim.” He didn’t like to be told to “be happy!” That’s understandable! American culture loves to tell us to be happy: party, have fun, divert yourself. Here’s Dick Van Dyke singing Put On a Happy Face. “wipe off that frown and cheer up, put on a happy face” It sounds obnoxious to be told “cheer up, it’s not that bat” On the other hand, Laughter really can be the best medicine! When is the last time you had a really good belly laugh? It is wonderful at breaking the tension, and it’s great, and humbling to make fun of your self, or impossible situations. Clowns and comedians are among our favorite entertainers.(Make ’em Laugh) Even if things are rough, it’s good to laugh at it! Who can forget Mel Brooks’ “Springtime for Hitler”, from the Producers?!
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay
We’re marching to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race!
But humor is subjective, and sometimes not at all the right timing. On Purim The Book of Esther is an amazing political farce, basically SNL in Ancient Persia, railing against the monarchy. It begins with a king who is so disinterested in the people he rules that at the end of a 180-day drinking and feasting party for the princes, he declares, you guessed it, another week-long drinking party. When his queen refuses his demand to “dance” for his princes, he proclaims an edict to disempower all uppity wives. This is a dangerous situation, one which leads in just a few moves to a proclamation of genocide from the monarchy. If not for the courage of a woman who hid her identity, and was clueless about the genocide order, who seduced the king and made him jealous (careful not to appear uppity) all would have been lost. Whew. For this reason we fast on the day of the edict, and when the day is done we are supposed to joke, drink and be happy? Isn’t it drinking to a stupor that got us in this predicament.
For many, these are difficult times: our democracy seems to be replacing itself with something not very kind: A ruling party that cares about empowering and enriching itself, to the exclusion of the welfare of the most vulnerable. A party seeking scapegoats, who has little respect for truth or justice, and even empathy for others. We can stop assistance to fight malaria and AIDS abroad, round up folks who are undocumented, and scare the insides out of those of us who have lost a federal job, who know about climate change and the 1% among us who are trans, and their parents. And yet life seems to go on. Superbowl parties, celebrities partying on TV…. Yet what is wrong with trying to party and have a great time all the time? As I was preparing to chant from the book of Esther, I noticed a new line, from chapter 4, verse 2, that I had never paid attention to. The hero of the story, Mordechai comes to the gate of the walled city, but is not allowed in. He is in mourning, dressed in sac cloth, and no-one dressed that way is allowed in. Trying to shut out what and who disturbs us so we can be more cheerful? That’s not a time for laughter.
In the Torah reading for this week, the Israelites are also having a good party, dancing and in bawdy, raucous joy around a golden calf. They had been so worried that Moses was late, Satan whispering in their hearts that he was gone, “whew, that was a close one, good thing we made this calf!” they must have thought. This uninhibited dancing and release is why Moses broke the G8d-carved set of tablets. Not when he saw the idol, but the inappropriate revelry. The legend/ midrash tells of a character that disappears mysteriously from the tale: Hur, an assistant to Moses and Aaron. The legend explains he was murdered when Aaron hesitated to build the calf. Hur’s name translates to “hole” This is no time to be dancing ecstatically. We have just been freed from slavery. The Israelites saw the awesomeness of revelation, a scripture that would bring us closer to “love our near ones as ourself” and in a flash have been “stiff necked” unable to apply it when Moses was “late” coming down the mountain. In a flash, the old way of doing things becomes the new normal.
In the Babylonian Talmud Rava instructs us: It is one’s duty levasumei, to make oneself fragrant [with wine] on Purim until one cannot tell the difference between ‘arur Haman‘ (cursed be Haman) and ‘barukh Mordekhai’ (Babylonian Talmud) levasumei is sometimes translated as “get drunk” The S’fat Emet disagrees, we get drunk on, not wine, but the fragrance of the Ten Commandments, the fragrance of revelation. Drunk with this we get silly, we get on the floor with the kids, as was the habit or the Baal Shem Tov, get messy and make mistakes so that we may rise again. And we see beyond the dualities of right and wrong. The Israelites have committed idolatry, yes. But in this same weekly reading, a new covenant based on forgiveness are revealed as Moses makes a second trip up the mountain and yearns to experience. El rachum v’chanun, erech apayim v’rav chesed v’emet. Love, grace, patience, kindness and truth. Second and third chances are possible. Perhaps it was a good thing the tablets of the commandments were smashed so they wouldn’t become an idol, says the S’fat emet.
On that Purim day, when we’re snookered on the Commandments, and loving one another as ourselves, we’ll be able to sing this song, and all will be Eden again.
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense ~Rumi
(Melody coming soon for this!)
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