Jews celebrate and sing
In costumes of disguise


         

Dressing up for Purim

 
 
 
 

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Not Your Neighbor's Halloween

By Sheri Bernstein

Once a year in the spring

Jews celebrate and sing

In costumes of disguise

A past victory over a wicked man's demise!

 

Haman was the evil man

With a crooked nose and a devilish plan:

"On Purim we will wipe out

Any and all Jews who roam about"

 

But Mordechai was most near

So Haman's awful plan he did hear

A brave man, he rallied the Jews

To fight Haman; to refuse to lose.

 

To his cousin Esther, he did beseech,

"to overthrow Haman is in your reach.

The King does love you, it is true

So just tell him you're a Jew.

He may cry, he may fuss

But really, you simply must."

 

Queen Esther did fear for her life

(as the King did kill his previous wife.)

"But what choice have I,

The time to save our people is nigh."

 

So to the King our Esther spoke

And informed him she was of Jewish folk,

"If your chief Haman has his way

Jews will not live to see another day."

 

"My beautiful Esther behold,

I will put that wicked Haman on the scaffold.

I declare Mordechai my new chief

May this war to defend Judaism be brief."

 

Each year we celebrate our success

With Hamentashen cookies meant to jest

These treats make fun of Haman's ears

From where he was hanged, while others gave cheers

 

Each year we dress up and pretend

Like our Queen Esther did for our Judaism to defend

We stomp and pounce

Whenever Haman's name is announced

We drink and read

From the Megillah do we heed

For it is vital to know

Our Judaism will never go

 

In Persia is this tale begun

And in modern times it is there with guns

For on Purim in 1991

The Gulf War ended under a Persian sun

 

So every year we must reenact

To remind us as Jews to act

For many people would love nothing more

Than to end our lives, to show us the door

 

And while Purim comes sans tricks-or-treats

Without broomsticks, or sorcerer's feats

Our day comes with its own form of sweet:

Remembering who we are and Haman's blessing defeat!

* * * * *

For more on Purim, see our Purim Archives

~~~~~~~

from the February 2008 Edition of the Jewish Magazine

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