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Purim: A Time for Healing

It was on a Monday, March 19, 1984, that I arrived in Jerusalem on my first trip to Israel. The smell of spring was in the air and the streets were littered with the remains of holiday parades. It was the conclusion of Purim, a strange, yet joyous holiday. One couldn't help feeling that everyone had been out having a grand old time. There were posters and banners still hanging from lampposts, even my hotel room had a holiday greeting perched on the dresser, telling the story of Purim.

This year it falls out on Saturday night, March 3th, the fourteenth day of Adar. We celebrate with the mitzvah of a Purim seudah, a grand family feast; mishloah manot, giving food gifts to friends and relatives; mattanot le'evyonim, money to the poor and the grand mitzvah of all—hearing the Megillah, the Book of Esther, read aloud. Purim means lots; it was Haman, the evil advisor to King Ahasuerus who drew lots that was to decide which day the Jews exiled in Persia were to be killed.

Purim is truly Mardi Gras, but what is it about this cherished story that invites such frivolity as masquerades, parodies, parades? The Rabbis stated, mi'shenikhnas adar marbim be'simchah -with the start of the month of Adar we greatly increase joy. It's an exalted joy that calls for letting loose, feeling good and consuming sufficient amounts of liquor as not to be able to tell the difference between "Blessed be Mordechai and Cursed be Haman."

Throughout the centuries court jesters have been hired to relieve the royalty's stress from governmental duties. King Solomon gave us one of the earliest recorded accounts regarding the healing power of humor and laughter. He wrote, "A cheerful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22).  Perhaps the most insightful recording of the benefits of laughter and humor healing came from Dr. Norman Cousins in his book, Anatomy of an Illness.. Purim is abound with hilarity, laughter and merriment. But, have we ever stopped to consider the healing properties of this holiday?  Laughter and humor can and does enhance our overall well-being. In 1964 Dr. Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a crippling and extremely painful inflammation of his body. With his physician's assistance, he checked out of the hospital and into a hotel to utilize as many natural resources as possible to treat his condition. His experience became a controlled study in pain management and overall healing.

Dr. Cousins had a strong will to live and knew if he focused on love and faith, he could generate positive emotions. He decided to experiment with laughter to create a positive factor in altering his body chemistry to be in a healing mode. Dr. Cousins systematically watched Candid Camera classics, Marx Brother films, and read books with funny stories.  He later wrote, "I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain free sleep." He recovered from this condition and spent the next 20 years teaching about the merits of laughter and humor in healing. Experts now agree that laughter is good for you. It boosts your immune system; it relieves tension and benefits the mind, body and spirit.

Tickle your funny bone with these few gags:

Four Jewish women are having lunch at a nice restaurant. The waiter comes over and asks, "Is anything all right?"

Moishe is an old man with terrible hearing and has just gotten an amazing hearing aid. He goes to his friend to tell him about it. The old man raves about his new hearing aid. "It is made of glass so you can't even see it! It has so much power in it. It's almost impossible to break as well. I love it!" His friend asks, "What kind is it?" Moishe looks at his watch. "Quarter to three."
There was a Church and a Synagogue next to each other. One day the Priest asks the Rabbi: "Why is it you don't have any mice in your shul?" The Rabbi answers: "Well, when they become 13 years old we make them to become Bar Mitzvah. After they become Bar Mitzvah they don't come to the shul anymore."

Many more jokes to keep you laughing and healing can be found at http://www.jewishjokes.net. Purim is the kick-off holiday of  the year when fun and hilarity predominate. We could do as Mr. Cousins did, add humor to our lives everyday to enhance our personal healing process.

 The Book of Esther a farce in the most literal sense of the word with men issuing decrees that their wives must be obedient to them. It smacks of the Jewish peoples experience in exile. We listen to the story, some of us in outlandish costumes, patiently awaiting  "Haman" to be uttered so we can drown out his name with our gragers and noise makers to fulfill the curse, yimach shmo-may his name be erased. What fun!

From a deeper perspective, Purim consummates the cycle of Jewish festivals. The cycle begins with Pesach, where God is the principal player. Pesach is intimately connected with the Giving of Law at Shavuot. Moses went up to Mt. Sinai on Shavuot to receive the Tablets; he remained there for forty days and as the people grew impatient for his return they began to worship the golden calf. This marks the beginning of three weeks of mourning culminating on Tisha B'av. What follows is the ascent to Elul (the period of Repentance), then on to Yom Kippur when Moses descends with the second set of tablets and finally to rejoice on Succot which concludes the festival cycle with Purim.

A midrash tells us that on Purim, the Children of Israel having gone through the experience of all these festivals, fully accepted Torah (a higher spiritual level), even if for a brief moment before beginning the holiday cycle again. A joyousness of endings like New Years Eve. The There was a Church and a Synagogue next to each other. One day the Priest asks the Rabbi: "Why is it you don't have any mice in your shul?" The Rabbi answers: "Well, when they become 13 years old we make them to become Bar Mitzvah. After they become Bar mitzvah they don't come to the shul anymore." teaches that since God is not mentioned in the story, Israel is now fully matured, capable of handling their own destiny. Through this story, we can all experience our maturity. Isn't that worth celebrating?

Purim also gives us free rein to that part of our personalities signified by the phrase-ad de'lo'yada-the state of not knowing the difference between Mordechai and Haman. It is not a primitive state of stupor, but rather a higher degree of consciousness. A mystical moment, a spiritual maturity where there is no difference between Mordechai and Haman, between good and evil, for both are found in the Holy One "who created light and darkness, made peace and created evil (Isaiah 45:7)