Happy Purim!

Happy Purim! Today, the 13th of Adar, marks one of the most festive holidays on the Jewish calendar. The story of Purim takes us back to around 360 BCE in a place called Shushan, which is somewhere in modern-day Iran. Here is the "Cliffs Notes" version for those of you who need a refresher so you can explain what a Shaloch Manot basket is to your friends (as I did this afternoon):

Purim in Two Minutes or Less:

The king of Persia, Ahasuerus II, asks his Queen Vashti to appear before him and show off her beauty. She refuses, he has her killed. He's in a bad mood, and asks for all of the beautiful maidens to be brought before him so he can pick one. He picks Esther. She's Jewish, but she doesn't tell him that because her cousin Mordechai advised her against it. Meanwhile, Mordechai discovers a plot to kill the king. He warns him, and is now on the king's favorite list.

There's a bad guy named Haman who is buddies with the king and makes everyone bow down to him. Mordechai refuses. Haman convinces the king that he should not just kill Mordechai, but all of the Jews. Haman draws lots to see when he should annihilate the Jews. He picks the 13th of Adar. (In Persian, "pur" means lottery, hence the name of the holiday, Purim). Jews start mourning. Mordechai calls his cousin, Esther, to see if she can help.

And of course, the woman saves the day! She invites both the king and Haman to one party, and then to another. The king grows jealous of Esther and Haman's developing relationship, can't sleep, and his servants tell him the story about how Mordechai saved his life. After the second party, Esther reveals her Jewish identity and tells the king that Haman wants to destroy her people. The king has Haman hung, on the gallows Haman had prepared for Mordechai.

A Feminist's Perspective:

I was very fortunate to receive a wonderful Jewish education as a child. Although I can't say I always loved hebrew school (at least when I was in elementary school), I have great memories of going to synagogue on Purim, eating candy apples and shaking a grogger each time Hamen's name was called.

I also remember always wanting to dress up as Queen Esther because (for whatever reason) as a kid, I thought she was "the good queen" or "the pretty queen" - in childrens' books, Vashti was always depicted with dark hair, and was never as celebrated as Esther. I never questioned this growing up. But after reading an article entitle "Taking Back Purim," by Tamra Cohen, I realized that maybe I should have re-thought my outfit (not that it would have been too different from my Esther-ware!)

In her article, Tamra points out that the story of Purim has two parallel plots - a main story, about how Jews were almost victims of power but, in the end, prevailed; and the second about women - one in which was punished for refusing to obey her husband, and another who is given a significant amount of power. In both stories, rights of an entire group are threatened - Jews and women. Yet, although we celebrate Esther and Mordechai's bravery which led to the salvation of the Jewish people (as we should!), Vashti is often overlooked. Shouldn't we also celebrate her courage for standing up to the king? Tamra suggests that we should.

Read her article here, enjoy some hamentaschen, and celebrate the courage of all of the Purim heroines this holiday. We should all be so condident and courageous.

Additional Purim resources:

Did you know that Moses is online? This is hysterical (and is actually a very helpful recap):

AskMoses.com - Purim

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about Purim from Wikipedia.

Here is a basic description from Judaism 101 (including very detailed directions on what they think the best way to make Hamentaschen is).

How to Live Like a Millionaire (Without Winning $214 Million)

Earlier this week, I attended an offsite during which each participant was given a large piece of paper and asked to illustrate what we would do if we won the $214 Million "Mega Millions" Jackpot.

Thoughts started running through my head as quickly as the 10 employees in Tom's River, a N.J. shore town only 80 miles away, probably ran to tell their families they had won. I picked up a marker and drew a picture of a ticket. After calling my friends and family to report my good fortune, I thought, the first thing I would want to do is purchase tickets for the next flight to Florence. I would gather my close friends and family so we could all fly to Italy and buy a Tuscan villa, in which we would begin plans for my first big project - starting my own charitable foundation.

With the excitement of winning the jackpot, I thought, would surely come an overwhelming feeling of responsibility. Clearly, I would have to call Bono and Oprah, and seek their advice regarding how best to distribute the money. I would want to start with my hometown. I would feed the hungry, house the homeless...fund local animal orphanages. I would visit local women's shelters to see what they needed, and then make sure they had a lifetime supply of whatever it was. I would set up scholarship funds. I would establish savings funds so my family would never want for anything. I'd ask them for their top three wishes, and then I would grant them.

I would not stop working or learning, and would go back to school full-time, for a long time. I would get my MBA, or my Master's in Nutrition. I would have the ultimate job title: MBARDVHP (Master's of Business Administration, Registered Dietitian, Very Happy Person).

Then I would work on my first book, and build my first business - an online marketplace where women from around the world could sell artisan crafts and connect with one another. Then I would take the family jet I purchased and travel the world to meet them.

The group briefly shared their pictures, and then tucked them safely away into binders and computer cases - some threw theirs away - and we quickly moved on to the next topic.

Of course, I didn't really expect to win the lottery this week. According to Bloomberg, the odds of winning the jackpot, which was the 10th-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, were 1 in 176 million. But I have to admit that later that day, after dreaming big, I felt a slight pang of disappointment that I wasn't in fact an instant millionaire.

But as I pulled out my illustration from the ice-breaker, I realized that all of the dreams on my list were attainable.

I can't afford to go to Italy tonight. But I can go to my favorite Italian BYOB in Philadelphia this weekend, which is owned by a family from Italy, and have a truly authentic meal. I can leverage technology to brush up on my Italian just for fun by downloading free podcasts. I can probably even find a great ribollita recipe from an Italian family online. Experiencing world cultures right at home has never been easier.

I don't have the resources with which to start a charitable foundation right now. But I can give of my time, and continue volunteering for local non-profits. I am strong, and healthy. I can serve soup, build houses, walk dogs that need adopting and clean up parks that need cleaning. As the saying goes, "to know that even just one life has breathed easier because you have lived is to have succeeded."

I have the passion I need to achieve my dreams, the drive I need to reach my goals and the power to make change. I live in a country where everyone has the opportunity to live and contribute to society to their fullest potential. I have a very loving family. And although I can't grant them their three wishes, by counting my own blessings, I've realized that everything I've ever wished for is within reach.