On March 19-20, Jews celebrated Purim — the holiday that comes straight out of a university student’s dreams.

On this holiday, it is customary to:

  1. Dress up like it’s the Jewish Halloween;
  2. Eat a festive meal;
  3. Send a gift basket of food to a friend;
  4. Drink until we can’t tell the difference between Mordecai (the “good guy”) and Haman (the guy who tried to annihilate the Jewish race in the fourth century BCE — not to be confused with the others from the other centuries);

So, instead of enduring a 24-hour fast or sitting through prayer services (although, we do read a scripture depicting the series of events we are celebrating), essentially, we party!

You may be wondering: if Purim is a matter of eating treats and drinking alcohol — all while wearing outfits deemed inappropriate for any other occasion — then how does it differ from Halloween?  

Well, for one thing, we aren’t masquerading ourselves as an excuse to be scary or slutty. We are emulating the way in which the miracles of Purim took place through covert means.  

Esther, the name of the story’s heroine, comes from the Hebrew word that means “hidden.” Esther became the queen of Persia without revealing her Jewish identity in an effort to save her people. Haman, a high authority in the kingdom, tried to wipe out the Jews, but did not consult the king. Without obvious interference from God, the events of Purim were perfectly orchestrated so that, in the end, the Jews were saved.

Purim, then, is a time for reflecting on the idea that people are not always as they appear on the outside — for better or for worse.
It is also a time to realize that even though something might seem bad when thought of as an isolated event, life is fluid.

Sure, breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend might feel detrimental in the moment, but 20 years down the road you’ll probably be thanking God the breakup allowed a new partner to come into your life.

This is a philosophy I’ve heard echoed in numerous contexts: contemporary spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle writes about it, Shakespeare said “Tis nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so,” and here I am now to remind you about life’s mysteries, sharing with you what remains of Purim 2011 — its lessons.

So, buy a gift basket for a friend, eat a festive meal, and drink a little wine — if we can’t figure life out, we might as well enjoy it.