The Merry Holiday of Purim

Editor's note: the posts dated March 13-19 were not written on those dates. Since the writer had no access to a computer over the vacation, he wrote notes about his activities. The following are his expoundings on those notes.

I realize that I did not complete my description of the Purim night celebration at the yeshiva. After the Megillah reading, there indeed was a party at 10 p.m. Held in the lunchroom, the party featured four good things that every Purim party should have: music, dancing, drinking, and rabbis. Music: six students got a band together and called themselves "The Six Books of the Mishnah." They were Omer Zilber (guitar, vocals), Natan Drucker (vocals), Yakir Ben-Aliz (guitar), Roi Ravitzky (keyboard), Moshiko Fogel (drums) and Avraham Kellner (harmonica). Dancing: There was a lot of it. And almost all of it in circles. We went round and round so many times that it made the Spinning Teacup ride at Disneyland seem linear. Perhaps that's why we drink on Purim; so that the dancing doesn't seem so repetitive. Drinking: The yeshiva provided a bar with a selection of alcoholic beverages. As it says in the Megillah, "In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had instructed all the officials of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure (Esther 1:8)". I drank a little, but I did not get drunk, and I don't think most people did either. Rabbis: all the rabbis were there, helping us celebrate. I experienced a sense of community at the party, with everyone dancing arm in arm, student and teacher, to the beat of the same drummer.

This morning after davenning and Megillah we performed the second of the four Purim commandments, the festive meal, by having a lasagna brunch with Rav Yossi and his family. By the way, the other two commandments are giving comestibles to a friend and charity to the poor. Immediately after the food, we boarded the van for non-stop service to Jerusalem. Since my host was not expecting me for another day, I read most of the afternoon away at the place of my stay, Yeshivat Ohr Sameach. The literature of my perusal was Wendy Shalit's "A Return to Modesty," a New York Times bestseller. In addition to have wanted to read it for awhile, it seems to be quite helpful for my Rav Elisha project about modesty.

Since Ariel Hausman was still running late, I headed over to the yeshiva for the Megillah reading. Now wait one second, you say. Megillah reading? Didn't Yoni do that yesterday... twice? Well, yes. However, since I was in Jerusalem on the fifteenth of Adar, which is Purim in Jerusalem (as opposed to the fourteenth, which is Purim everywhere else), I was obligated in all the commandments again. The fourteenth everywhere, the fifteenth in Jerusalem. I just had to ask-- if I was in Jerusalem for the fourteenth and elsewhere for the fifteenth, would I be obligated? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. You can be obligated for two Purims, but not for none.

So after my third Megillah reading, I went to a festive dinner with Ariel's class at the yeshiva. They called on me for an inpromptu Dvar Torah, but since I happened to remember a Purim-related lecture from the yeshiva, I was spared from embarrassment.

After dinner, we went to the apparently yeshiva-world-famous Ohr Sameach Purim Shpiel (shpiel is another word for "play"). The Shpiel was put on by some Ohr Sameach Ba'al Teshuvahs (people who became religious) who were professional writers, directors, and actors in their former lives. Other than my qualm with the longish lengthy long length of the performance, I must admit that it was quite well-done. Although most of the yeshiva jokes went over my head (as I imagine parts of the Americans' play did when you read the script), it was very funny. Some clever song parodies, clever wordplay, and Rabbi Monopoly highlighted the performance of "The Big Shmuze," a parody of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

When the night finally ended, I got back to the dorms and immediately fell asleep.