All your questions for Naomi Adler, Esq., answered! This week’s question:
What’s your favorite thing about Purim?
There’s a lot to choose from, because it’s a holiday like none other. People who’ve never celebrated Purim before can hardly believe how fun and silly it is. You to go shul dressed like it’s Halloween? You put on silly plays, have a feast and make tons of noise? And I love all of that, of course – my family and I always have the best time. I put on a crazy wig and take part in the Purim spiel and stamp my feet at Haman’s name. My kids think it’s hilarious that they’re encouraged be loud in synagogue, and that their dad is up on the bimah wearing a Clifford the Dog costume.
But my real favorite part of Purim is a little less obvious. It’s the tradition of sending friends mishloach manot: bags or baskets of treats. Because at its heart, the celebration of Purim revolves around Jewish unity. Haman’s evil plan was supposed to wipe all of us off the map, but he didn’t — and together, we celebrate our collective survival. We feast together, pray together, get silly together. We give to the needy on Purim, a mitzvah that strengthens our communities. And another Purim mitzvah is strengthening our friendships through sending mishloach manot. I love to send and receive them. They’re a little like Hallmark cards that say “Thinking of You,” but even better, because they have hamentaschen inside.
Shabbat Shalom,
Naomi