KUMMUNIQUE

Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!

In this issue you will find:

1. "Looking Good This Purim" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Purim, An Aliya Story" Stewart Weiss
3. "Getting Drunk on Purim" By Moe Fine

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1. "Looking Good This Purim" by Malkah Fleisher

Well, good people, here we are – Purim Fest, 5766. This edition of Kummunique is loaded with deep and meaningful articles – if you read them, you are guaranteed to have a holier Purim experience and a more passionate bond to the Land of Israel. So let me stray away from trying to compete with the righteous people who are featured here this week and talk about a lesser-discussed Purim theme: Being Pretty.

There are two interpretations of Queen Esther's appearance. The Megillah itself says that Esther was gorgeous, seemingly a no-brainer for Achashverosh's choice of Queen. However, some commentators say that Esther was distinctly unpretty, with a rather sickly green hue. Either way, she was chosen as Queen from among hundreds of candidates.

There are two lessons we can learn from this information, corresponding to the two interpretations. The first is that being Jewish is being pretty. There are some people who become upset when told that they "look Jewish" – you sad unfortunates have been duped by a vicious worldwide conspiracy. Jewish men and women are the best looking people on the planet.

The second lesson is that being pretty is being Jewish. There is something so attractive about a person who lets herself be complete and confident. It's mesmerizing, and we all want a part of people like that. All the more so when that fullness and aliveness come from absolute Truth with a capital "T" – Torah values instilled in the house of Mordechai the Jew. In even a very strangely pigmented body, a fervent and refined Jewish soul leaves an irreversible imprint on everyone it touches. King Achashverosh was putty in Esther's grassy green hands - she saved the entire Jewish race from destruction, facilitated their massive return to religion and ultimately enabled them to return to the Land of Israel.

So this Purim, don't forget that you're a beautiful Jew. Dress up in a nice costume, smile and chat with the other beautiful Jews, look pretty. But let most of that dazzle radiate from within – only G-d knows what will come from it.
In honor of the incredibly symbolic wine we will be drinking this Purim, take it to the next level:

Esther's Royal Beauty Treatment

Crush a grape or two on your face, and lie down for 15 minutes (on your back). Follow up with your moisturizer. With daily treatment, in two weeks you will likely see smoother skin and the disappearance of fine lines – you might as well be wearing a crown.
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2. "Purim, An Aliya Story" Stewart Weiss
From Jacob Richman's site

Is the Bible relevant? As we read the Book of Esther during these days of Purim, I find myself wondering just what this story is all about. On the surface, it is a classic morality play. The forces of injustice and cruelty become ascendant, threatening to exterminate a whole people simply because they are different. A reluctant band of heroes enters the scene, eloquently pleading their cause and ultimately gaining the favor of the King. The despicable tyrant is vanquished, Good triumphs over Evil, and all live happily ever after. Neat, sweet and complete. But hark, fair reader. Purim doth teach that all is not as it seemeth; that masks of many shapes and sizes disguise a much deeper message hiding behind the poetry and prose.

I suggest that one of the central themes of the Purim story is the ancient, yet ongoing, interplay between the Jew of the Diaspora and the Jew of Israel. It is precisely this motif which not only makes the Megila eternal, but among the most popular and well-known of all the books of the Bible.

THE JEWS of Shushan are your archetypal Diaspora Jews. They seem to live quite comfortably under a benevolent ruler who respects their rights and ignores their idiosyncrasies. They are even invited to royal banquets – where the food is glatt kosher – and are called upon regularly for advice. Yet, for all their prominence, the Jews still tread that thin line between security and suspicion. Can they trust their hosts, and can their own loyalty to the crown be trusted? Among themselves they perpetually debate – with no foregone conclusion – whether they are Persian Jews or Jewish Persians.

Haman and Mordechai enter the scene, bringing the deeper issues into focus. Haman is no stranger to Jews, having lived among them and observed their rites and rituals for quite some time. He has no love for Jews, to be sure, but is quite prepared to strike a modus vivendi with them – if they demonstrate that their first allegiance is to the state and its sovereign. Haman therefore prepares a test, convincing the king to hold a party celebrating the end of Jewish independence, even using the vessels of the Temple to toast Jewish subservience to the mighty Persian Empire.

Alas, the Jews submit and enthusiastically attend the party celebrating their own demise. They laugh and make merry, hardly realizing the joke is on them. But there is one Jew who will not abdicate his soul. Mordechai is of a different character. He remembers Jerusalem, having survived the Temple's destruction. He dresses like a Jew, and prefers Hebrew to Persian. He will neither bend nor bow, despite the intense pressure from both the grand vizier and his own co-religionists. Mordechai may live in the exile, but he is a son of Israel in form and substance.

When Haman sees Mordechai unbowed, he understands – better than the Jews themselves –that they will not forever be compromised. He therefore employs the age-old charges of "dual loyalty" and "fifth column" against them, convincing the Persian monarch that "once a Jew, always a Jew," and that this "certain people" will never mesh with the pure Persian pedigree. In the battle of wills that follows Mordechai must convince his people that abandoning their heritage will not keep them safe. Eventually, their salvation lies in reasserting their unique character and "casting their lot" with the King of Kings rather than with despots of flesh and blood.

Esther, for her part, is the story's most tragic figure. Caught between being a daughter of Israel and queen for a day, she never does make a whole and final peace. While she will save her people from disaster and gain lasting fame, in the process she will leave her home, intermarry, and bear a child for a man she does not love.

On stages all over the world this same little piece of theater is played out each and every day. Jews in countries throughout the exile live in various conditions of pain or pleasure. They pray to be left alone, yet know that their own personal Haman may be lurking right around the corner, just waiting to take advantage of their precarious position. They fear the day will come when they will be tested and have to choose between fealty and faith, and they are afraid they will choose wrong. They wonder if a Mordechai or Esther will arise to save them, too.

But there is a big difference between Persia then and the Jewish world now. Today, we have a place where a Jew can live as a Jew, with no fear of religious persecution, at present or in the future. We have a homeland where no Jew need divide his loyalty. We have a country and an army that will do battle with every Haman that tries to torment us, that will quash every plot that tries to destroy us.

The Jews of the Persian Empire are largely a footnote of history, but Israel is the center of history in the making, beckoning every Jew to come home, where we truly belong. And that, as they say, is the whole Megila.

The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach and Ohel Ari Heritage Center in Ra'anana.

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3. "Getting Drunk on Purim" By Moe Fine
From All Holy Land Wines.com

Perhaps one of the more fascinating aspects of our religion is the strange requirement that obligates men to get drunk on Purim. Mostly we think that religion preaches self restraint and "clean cut, healthy family" type living. Well, obviously, Judaism is for all that, but, it also includes this one "let's blow it" type of holiday that traces it's origins to the Talmud.

The Rabbis of the Talmud said, "A person is obligated to drink on Purim until he can no longer distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordachai." This statement of the early rabbis who lived during the Talmud (about 1700-1800 years ago) had caused much concern by the later rabbis who concerned themselves with the codification of Jewish law (about 1000 years ago until today). (Exactly what the position of the rabbis in the period in between was can only been assumed that it did not bother them.)

Now some rabbis understand the words literally, and others understand the word to mean not really to get drunk. Those who understand the words literally, we don't have to prod our imagination to understand them. Yet other rabbis did not see this as an opportunity to get smashed in the sanctity of the Torah's teachings. They explained that the idea here isn't the drinking but the joy that is expressed when we realize the good that G-d has done for us. With the aid of a bit of wine, we are able to bring out more clearly our expressions of joy and gratitude to G-d, This thanks can be on a much deeper level when we ingest more wine than is our accustomed habit.

Others saw it coupled with the comparison between the cursing of Haman and the blessing of Mordachai. This they felt had deeper implications, such as the gematria (the mathematical equivalent of the Hebrew letters that comprise the words)of "cursed be Haman" which " happens " to be equal to "blessed is Mordachai". They reasoned that as long as one can reckon the gematrias, one may continue to drink, but once the mind becomes blurry, and the proper gematria can not be computed, then the drinking must cease.

Other later rabbis, to whom drinking is abhorrent, suggest that one may drink only a bit more than one is used to drinking, and then take a nap. In this way, the person drank a bit more on Purim, and since he slept, he did not know the difference between cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordachai. Hardly keeping in the holiday spirit, yet these rabbis were more concerned that no sins should be caused by drinking, therefore, it is better to sleep.

What seems to end up here is a watered down version of Purim which seems to void the holiday of all festivities other than ramming some food down the tubes. Yet there are other concepts in the purpose of drinking that should be explored before you sip your favorite non alcoholic grape juice and retire for a nice snooze. One is the idea that maybe there is something deeper in imbibing that the sages of the Talmud wanted to impart to us. The other is that the words of the sages must be understood fully.

The actual words of the Talmud, which is brought down in the code of Jewish law is that "a man is obligated to get drunk . . ' the word is not really to get drunk, the true translation of it is "to smell nice". In Aramaic, the language of the Talmud " le-basumi " really is related to the Hebrew word " bosem " fragrance. That means that a person is suppose to make himself fragrant , meaning becoming something that another person would enjoy.

When you think of something fragrant, perhaps you think of a flower or of perfume. Another person can enjoy the fragrance with out diminishing that essence of the original. When we smell a flower, we do not diminish the flower, the flower may continue to grow, yet we can get benefit from it. Secondly, the fragrance is to us the least physical of our senses, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling.

In addition, the comparison of Haman and Mordachai is interesting. We realize that there are two parts to the Purim story. One part is the downfall of our archenemy, Haman. When he was in power, we Jews were doomed to extinction; with his removal, our lives could have returned to it original pace. We really did not have a need for Mordachai to be selected to become the vicar of Persia. With out Mordachai, we could have continued our daily existence as we have in so many other lands.

Why was Mordachai elevated? What divine purpose was there in that? What is there to compare with the downfall of Haman, in which our lives were spared, to the elevation of Mordachai, which we could have done with out. But no, there is something special in the special selection of Mordachai. In Mordachai becoming the vicar of Persia, we Jews were able to go beyond our mundane daily activities of merely making a living. We could not strive and actively work to rebuild that part of our life that had been taken from us, the holy Temple in Jerusalem. And so it was that the exile in Persia began to approach the end. Yet as we have another drink and begin to ponder this, we see that the hand of G-d is not stingy. When G-d gives his blessing we must take it and act upon it. The average Jew at that time would not have wanted anything other than a return to regular life, yet it was G-d's plan that we return to our supra existence in the Land of Israel with the rebuilding of the second Temple.

And having another drink, we could possibly realize that the word Haman really has more than one meaning. HaMan, spelt in Hebrew the same as Haman, means "the manna" that fell from heaven during the forty years that the Jews traveled in the dessert. This was the food of G-d for a nation of spiritual souls; it had whatever taste that you desired. After eating it, it was completely absorbed in the system and no waste excrement was purged from the body. Yet it was on this HaMan that the Jews complained, with no reason to G-d.

To complain to G-d about a gift that He has given you is a terrible thing. If G-d gives you something, there is nothing better. Perhaps we may want something else, but G-d in his infinite wisdom knows what you really need and deserve. Complained about HaMan (the manna from heaven) we ended up with Haman (from Persia).

We must always thank G-d for that which He has given us. As we ponder and contemplate the goodness that he has bestowed upon us both personally and nationally, we should be swept up with thanks. Our hearts should yearn to praise G-d and our hearts should beat with anxiety to meet He who is so kind. Only as we continue to drink and we release ourselves from our worldly preconceptions and prejudges can we free ourselves on this special day only to sing true praise to He who is all good and giving. Through this realization we will merit not just living during the building of the third Temple, but also participating in the renewed service to G-d, each person according to his talents and abilities, and may it be swiftly and speedily in our days.